SOMUANYIRO - Chapter 6

Yet another morning and I wake up to the awful sound, my sons have recently brought in a stray dog to the house and named him Nwakanti. It seems to me like this dog was always hungry at odd hours, or maybe the boys just don’t feed him during the day. I have tried unsuccessfully to get rid of the dog but it always comes back, I think my children actually go looking for it. Silly boys! Nwakanti kept at it, I believe the howl even got louder. I reluctantly pulled myself up from my bed and pick up the mpan’aka lamp I leave close to my door. As soon as I got outside my hut the dog ran to me and started barking.

“Alright, alright,” I said to Nwakanti “just follow me to the cooking shed so we can find something for you. Leftovers maybe, that’s if Ubaka hasn’t been the wiser.”

I rummaged through Chielo’s cooking shed in search of leftovers for the howling dog. This is a difficult task because Chielo never has any and Ubaka would rather eat all the food than allow room for leftovers; kama oga dulu n’ite ka o dulu n’afo. I found no leftover, so I ended up feeding Nwakanti some azu okpo dried fish I found in the nkata basket that hung above the fire place. Then I got some water from the near empty water pot and washed my face, hands and legs at the wash corner behind my obi. After which I hurried down to my father’s graveside, just behind my compound, with only Nwakanti for company.

When I got to the graveside I saw a silhouetted figure. My first reaction was to run away, the gods must be angry enough to pay me a physical visit. Then on a second though I decided to keep approaching, it may just be my father’s ghost who has come physically to talk with me. Then the figure stood up and I saw its small frame, I realised it was my wife Chielo. 

“Dim biko gba’alum,” she apologised, everyone in my household knows I don’t like to be interrupted when I go to spend time with my father. I approached her and she drew up a log for me to sit on, then she continued. “Nnam, I know how busy you would be today, being that it’s your pre-wedding feast today and also the day for the cleansing rites. I just wanted to have a little talk with you before the day becomes hectic.”

“Then go ahead Chielo, you have already gotten my attention and my time. What’s so important that you have to come here? You could not even wait for the day to brighten, or come to my room and have a private talk with me.” My tone was reproachful.

She was quiet for a while, probably trying to put her words in order. I really didn’t like this invasion of my private time. Then she began to speak. “I wish I could tell you not to go ahead with this marriage, but I guess am too late. Besides I was the one who told you to help my friend. Though I wish the help didn’t involve marrying her.”

“Nwanyi”, I responded, “I think you are just jealous. Although I must tell you that the reason I made this decision is not just because I wanted to help your friend, but also because I wanted to help my own friend, also because it is the right thing for me to do. I need another wife in this phase of my life.”

“But my husband, you are paying too much for something that is not your fault, you didn’t make Nwando pregnant, so I don’t see why she and her family have the right to fix the marriage before the yam festival or before you take up your new title.”

“Tufia!” I spat out a curse. “You are my wife and you, as well as every other person, are forbidden to speak such about me.”

“Nnanyi, am very sorry please forgive me, I spoke in error, but it was only to emphasis my reason for…” I cut her off; I was really upset with her.

“No matter your reason Chielo, I cannot believe you will speak to me in such manner. I will only attribute it to your jealousy and nothing else. You women are never satisfied with anything. I must warn you now Chielo, once Nwando moves in, I will not tolerate any form of feud between the both of you. So you must curb your jealousy and not let it control your actions.” By now my voice was a pitch higher than usual. I hardly speak in anger or raise my voice, so she must have understood how unhappy her words had made me. If my words were too subtle to express my unhappiness about her topic of discussion, am sure she could see it on my face just by looking at it. The sun was rising already; I had wasted my precious time with a jealous wife.

“Leave me in peace Chielo. Go and prepare yourself and wake the children.” I now spoke in my usual tone. I had to dismiss her; I have so much to do with my time this day. “Besides the umuada will be here soon, you need to receive them.”

“Ezigbo dim, I am very sorry,” she said in an attempt to smoothen my ego, “I know you’re a great man, it was stupid of me to have doubted at all that Nwando’s pregnancy wasn’t yours. I am only a woman, therefore unable to hide my jealous and argue with your sense of good judgement.” I gave her a pat on the back, a sign that all is back to normal as it should be. “I had a troubling dream,” she continued, “but we will talk about it some other time.” She stood up to leave.

“Don’t forget to wake Zamoku, he has to be ready to leave with me in a short time.“ I called after her. I had promised to take my youngest son along with me and the umunna for the morning palm wine presentation at Ezemmuo’s house.

After she left I sat down to think on the issue she had raised. Am I really paying so much for a woman, just for claiming I was responsible for her pregnancy? What a laugh! As if I could actually father a child if I tried. One thing just pleased me and kept me going; Omeka was responsible, he had told me himself. So I could go extra miles to make this woman my wife. I still have to pay her bride price, and also refund the bride price her previous husband had paid. I have not even mentioned paying for the taboo of impregnating a widow. Sacrifices had to be made to cleanse the entire village of my mistake, and spare us from impending death that came with such taboos.

All these made my precious Chielo unhappy, but I could tell it was nothing more than jealousy on her part. Come to think of it, my father had done so much more when I supposedly impregnated her. Chielo is from the famous Agbazikwe village where bride price di na ngalonu, very expensive, and their women are rarely married by men from other villages. She had come to my village as a war tribute, when she was barely twelve years old and was placed under the care of Ayiyora, the dreaded priestess of Ajala, the protector of ndi ogbenye, the less privileged.  I had, or rather my father had also paid for the rituals to cleanse the entire village of my taboo. Huge fines were placed and all cleared by my father. Chielo was betrothed to Gosife the old hunter, I also had to pay back his bride price and redeem his family of the shame because he was unable to claim her pregnancy. Biko kwanu! She had no right to complain as far as I see.

Yes! Even my father would not have had any reason not to be proud of me. I outdid myself at the feast; everyone in the village had been well fed, there was so much to eat and drink and take home afterwards. Dancers had performed, wrestlers had wrestled and we all had been merry, the elders had eaten their alligator pepper and bush meat, d youth had mingled and socialised, the children had played and listened to stories told by the old women. Yes! It had been a feast in the right sense, merriment after the cleansing rites.

The cleansing rite had been much different than it was when I married Chielo. This time it had been more routine and less people had attended, though the Ejiofor of all the clans had been there as mandated by custom. In Chielo’s time it had been somewhat scary and dramatic.  Ayiyora and her five male urchins danced around and burnt incense, they looked so stupid yet scary in a funny half naked way, Chielo and I were even stripped off and painted with a smelly mixture of whatever.  Ah! So much drama! 

I want for nothing at this stage of my life; all is well with the world. Chielo’s premonition can wait awhile, am sure it was nothing good. I looked forward to my igbankwu wine carrying ceremony and my title day. “Why attempt a fight the gods have already won for me?”