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NEGOTIATING SOCIETAL SPACES: THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN NIGERIAN
ORAL LITERATURE

By

Shaina Osaretin Amienyi

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS
Literature in English

2010

ABSTRACT

NEGOTIATING SOCIETAL SPACES: THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN NIGERIAN
’ ORAL LITERATURE

By
Shaina Osaretin Amienyi

African feminism is concerned with women’s impact on political, economic,
religious, and social segments of society. A sample of approximately thirteen oral
narratives from the Kaltungo region in Northeastern Nigeria and from the
southern region of Nigeria, especially Delta and Edo states, reveals that the
narratives characterize women as archetypes—daughters, barren women,
mothers, old women, and jealous wives. The archetypes and common tropes
about women reveal societal anxieties, and the morals of the stories aim to
reinscribe societal values by demonstrating the consequences if one does not
abide by society's rules. The tales are also about women achieving or attempting
to achieve some sort of power, whether in political, social, familial, communal, or
economic spheres. They speak to the complex matrix of power that is involved in
relations between women and men and women and other women. Further
research could compare stories that female and male narrators tell in order to
determine if the gender of the narrator affects the anxieties that the stories deal

with.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ........................................................................................ 1
Chapter 1

Cultural Background ............................................................................. 3
Chapter 2

From Being Barren to Achieving Motherhood ............................................ 4
Chapter 3

Old Women: The Case of Nanamudo ...................................................... 15
Chapter 4

Jealous Co-Wives and Other Conflicts Wives Face .................................... 25
Chapter 5

Conclusion: The Importance of Narrative Tropes Involving Women. ...............30

Bibliography ....................................................................................... 32

Introduction

In Ruth Finnegan’s influential book Oral Literature in Africa, she called on
scholars to analyze oral literature like any other literary text. She also argued that
“any analysis of African oral literature must take account of the social and
historical context—and never more so than in the case of oral literature”
(Finnegan, Oral Literature 48). Since Finnegan’s work, other scholars have
performed literary analyses of African oral literature, and they tried to do so
without making claims about the society as anthropologists or ethnographers

would do.

When analyzing oral literature, one faces the issue of how to analyze a
performative body of literature. As Isidore Okpewho reminds scholars,

so many factors are involved in the delivery of words that to
understand the meaning or impact of the words themselves in their
proper context, we have to take these factors into consideration [. . .]
oral artists use much more than their mouths to express their
words; to consider the effectiveness of the words, therefore, we
should examine the usefulness of those accompanying resources
where such information is available or can be deduced (Afn'can
Oral 46).

When the oral narrative gets transcribed and translated into written form, there

are many elements lost.

Nevertheless, this paper intends to analyze tales taken out of their original
context1 (the oral performance) and focus on the contents of the narrative, while

realizing the limitations of not having the intonation, gestures, etcetera. By

 

1 The oral narratives discussed in this paper are taken from four compilations, which were written
or edited by the same scholar who collected and translated the tales. See Shoki (1999), Offodile

(2000), Jungraithmayr, (2000), and Schaefer (2000). The collections are from the Emai, Tangale,
and lgbo ethnic groups, as well as ethnic groups from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

1

focusing on the narrative content, this analysis differs from that of literary critics
and folklorists who, according to Karin Barber, “have taken up a stance which
combines a limited contexualisation (the emphasis being on ‘performance’ and
the immediate conditions of performance) with a formalist analysis of texts (with
emphasis on the incidence of wordplay, repetition and other literary devices):
thus ignoring by and large what the texts actually say" (1). This paper is not only
interested in what the texts say, but more so what tales from various Nigerian
ethnic groups and regions say about women. In the various tales, women are
defined by their functions in society and the family—in other words as queens,
mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, old women—and must negotiate these

positions to acquire a certain level of power.

The majority of the tales to be discussed were collected and told or retold
by men, yet they contain an element of African feminism. Diedre Badejo argues
that African feminism “recognizes the inherent, multiple roles of women and men
in reproduction, production, and the distribution of wealth, power, and
responsibility for sustaining human life” (94). Furthermore, she argues it “is
always poised and centered in womanness. It demonstrates that power and
femininity are intertwined rather than antithetical (Badejo, 94). The tales this
paper will analyze are all about women achieving or attempting to achieve some
sort of power, whether in political, social, familial, communal, or economic

spheres.

Cultural Background

The Tangale people live south of Gombe, Gombe State, Nigeria and are
divided into Eastern and Western Tangale. The texts discussed here were
collected from 1982-1983 in the Poshereng quarter of Kaltungo, the main city in

Eastern Tangale (Jungraithmayr, xiii-xiv).

The Emai people live in the area north of Benin City and between the
Edion and Owen rivers in Edo State. Afuze is the principal political village for the
Emai, and it is where the tales were collected (Schaefer, 1). Four main
storytellers—Chief Ohioze, Mr. Omogafen, Mrs. Omogafen, and Mr. Afengbai—

told the tales from 1981 -1 985 (Schaefer, vii).

The lgbo also live in southern Nigerian (southeastern) near the lower
Niger River. Like the Emai, the lgbo are geographically close to the Bini
(descendants of the Kingdom of Benin). The lgbo, along with the Edo (Bini),
Urhobo, Ibibio, and ljaw, are the major ethnic groups in the Niger Delta region,
which is comprised of nine states: Abia, Akwa lbom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta,

Edo, lmo, Ondo, and Rivers.

From Being Barren to Achieving Motherhood

A common trope found in Nigerian oral literature is of a woman who is
barren, which is seen as a condition that must be cured. Children are seen as
necessary to keep the society going; a woman who does not conceive is seen as
a failure. Few other virtues she might possess make up for not having a child.
Some of the tales place a strong emphasis on children by portraying characters

who want children from any source or by any means.

For example, "The Calabash Childz” starts out with the familiar dilemma of
a king who is worried because he has no heir to succeed his throne. His wife,
whose role it is to produce the heir, prays for a child. The narrator makes a point
to tell the audience that the queen farms her own land, therefore defying social
conventions. Already she is depicted as a woman with her own mind, though she
still has to answer to societal pressures about childbirth. The king’s wife’s
success with her crops is compared to her ability to take care of a child. When
she meets the Calabash child in the fields, the child only agrees to go with her

and be her daughter because of her commercial success.

While the king and his wife are not named at first (they are referred to by
their role in society), the so-called Calabash child, Onunaeliaku, is. The fact that
she is a girl and is still considered a legitimate heir is a unique aspect to the tale,
though it does come to be an issue with the characters. The narrator tells us,

“Although some people were not happy with the prospect of a female king, they

 

2 This version of “The Calabash Child” comes from the lgbo and was told by an unspecified
source, and then retold by Buchi Offodile.

had no choice but to rejoice in the good fortunes of their king” (Offodile. 159).
The king appears to hold women in unusually high regard. He will not let his

daughter marry so that his kingdom will stay in the family.

The servants do not have as high an opinion of the girl as her father does.
The way the servants treat the girl reveals some of the class issues within the
society. The Calabash Child was not born a member of the upper class, so the
servants do not respect her or feel she is above them. They only serve her
because the king orders it, and their lives will be in danger if they disobey.

However when the king and queen leave, they insult the girl and drive her away.

What sets this tale apart from others of its kind is how the king feels about
his daughter. For example, the narrator says,

Seeing that he had lost his daughter for good, the king’s eyes

became red with tears, which began to roll down from the corners

of his eyes. We all know that it is very hard for a man to cry. The

welling up of a man sends goose bumps over all those who see it.

And here was not just a man, but a king who had the power to do

anything, yet didn’t try to force a little girl to go against her will.
(Offodile. 161)

For the love of his daughter, the king breaks the stereotype that only a weak man
would cry. This moment of tenderness is what makes Onunuaeliaku go back and
live with her parents. However this emotional moment is juxtaposed with physical
violence. The king orders all servants to be killed, hoping to “restore
Onunuaeliaku’s honor” (Offodile. 161 ). By killing the servants he also releases
Onunuaeliaku from being a calabash. A spirit told her, “You shall be bound to
remain a calabash [...] until human blood has been shed for your sake” (Offodile.

161). The narrator does not give background information to shed light on why the

5

spirit cast such a spell on her. The more interesting question, however, is why

the violence was necessary.

The story ends with Onunuaeliaku becoming the Eze Nwanyi, the queen
of the village. The narrator tells how she ruled with compassion and “marked the
beginning of female leadership in the village, which has been traditionally ruled
by men” (Offodile. 161). The ending continues the pattern of unconventional
characters defying stereotypes. Onunuaeliaku does not get a prince because that
would mean he would rule the kingdom instead of she, and the narrator wants to
emphasize female sovereignty to show that lgbo women did and could still

participate in the political sphere.

The Emai have a tale similar to “The Calabash Child.” In “A Barren
Woman and her Cowifea,” a woman is insulted and degraded by her co-wives
because she cannot bear children. Therefore, when she sees small and large
gourds, she asks them to be her children. They agree on the condition that they
will not be called gourds, thus establishing a contract between a mother and her
children. The woman goes from having no kids to having fourteen, which would
surely build her up in the eyes of her husband and co-wives. Tales like this
demonstrate that having children, no matter their origin, is better than not having
children at all. The emphasis on having children is not about the familial bond

that comes from childbirth. Among other things, children are a labor source, as

 

3 With the tales from the collection of Emai narratives, it is unclear which of the four narrators told
each story.

seen when the fourteen children help the woman on the farm. Because she has

many helpers, she is able to reap the economic benefits of a good harvest.

Aside from the desire to be a mother, another common trope in this tale is
that of the jealous co-wife, or in this case jealous co—wives. They wonder how the
woman could come back from the bush with fourteen children who now help her
with her farm work. The jealous co-wives break the dish that the gourd-children
eat from. What differentiates this tale is what happens between the mother and
the particular co-wife who breaks her children’s dish. The mother and the co-wife
go for firewood, both armed with knives that they thrust into each other’s
stomachs. The narrator ends the story saying, “The mother gripped the co-wife’s
intestines, the co-wife gripped the mother’s also, she twisted them, they joined
together. They joined as one. Those are two vines which are in the bush”
(Schaefer, 819). That the two who previously had animosity end up joined
suggests that women should work together and support each other instead of
fighting. However, the joining also suggests that discord can lead to harmony,

and it teaches the audience to work through issues with another person.

“The Origin of Female Chiefs,” another Emai tale, offers another
perspective on the issue that comes up in the lgbo version of “The Calabash
Child.” The tale starts with a man who marries an infertile woman, and then
marries another woman because he wants a child. The first wife sabotages the
second wife by calling her name at the witches’ court every time the woman is
pregnant, thus taking the fetus and killing it. The wife that is a witch sabotages

the other wife’s pregnancy seven times.

After consulting an herbalist and visiting a man who can see the spirit
world, the husband and wife get instructions on how to have a child safe from the
first wife’s magic. The husband is told, “This woman you should give to an elderly
A woman who is opposite your house. Take your wife to her to care for. In this way
she will have a child for you” (Schaefer, 1014). The old woman is also a witch—
the leader of the witches. When the first wife goes to the witches’ council they
penalize her because she did not contact the leader. Therefore, she has to take
matters into her own hands and deal with the second wife herself. The old witch

defeats her and takes care of the child (a male) until he grows up.

The story carries the moral, “everyone should be doing good things. Don't
bear hatred toward another person” (Schaefer, 1017). It goes on to say, “In the
time we are now in, a man marries a woman. The woman which he first takes,
she does not bear children. When he has taken another one, when this other one
bears, her co-wife will start bearing children. This co-wife did not have patience”
(Schaefer, 1017). The first wife is able to bear children after her co-wife. She
marries a king and has seven children with him. She still has hatred towards
lzeloa, the second wife’s son. She sends some villagers’ children to the spirit-

world, and lzeloa goes to rescue them.

The witch hopes he will die in the spirit-world, but lzeloa returns victorious,
and to celebrate, the people want to make his mother a king. However,

Because lzeloa’s mother was menstruating, they couldn’t make her
king. So they decided to make lzeloa’s mother a female chief.
lzeloa’s mother could have been king because indeed her son’s
actions were impressive enough. Because she was menstruating

they couldn’t make her king. So she became a female chief. This
explains the origins of female chiefs today. (Schaefer, 1018)

This story about female chiefs differs from the story where the girl becomes the
chief of her village. In this story the woman attains respect and prowess because
she has given birth to a son who becomes the hero of the village. It is interesting
that she is selected to be king instead of him or his father. She is not a
supernatural being. The old witch—who is the reason the boy has the powers he
has, including the power to be unscathed in war—is dead by this time. The
mother being given the title of chief signifies that a woman is respected. To have
birthed and raised such a man is considered very honorable and deserving of a
title and all that comes with a title—land, subjects, wealth, etc. The girl in the
other tale is an heir to the chiefdom since she is the daughter of the chief. Unlike
in the tale discussed above, she receives her title at the cost of human blood.
There is no human blood spilt in the Emai tale. lzeola fights with beings in the

spirit world, so the violence does not affect the village.

The name of the tale emphasizes that it is a story which aims to explain
why there are female chiefs in contemporary society. The audience members
would probably be familiar with Benin history since their cities are surrounded by
Edo-speaking people. The story has traces of what happened to Princess
Edeleyo, the daughter of a fifteenth century Oba (king) who could not ascend to

throne because of prolonged menstruation (Egharevba, 76).

The story also discusses how a woman could take the throne. A woman

could gain power if she was a daughter of a king because at least then she would

still be of royal blood. It was harder for wives, however, because they were often
non-royals. There are documented cases of wives and mothers gaining power in
the Benin Kingdom. The title of lyoba or “Supreme Mother” was a position of
"supreme authority and power” (Nzegwu). In fact, “the early lyoba title was an
office with extraordinary powers and duties much higher than its present status of
senior chief, that contemporary accounts represent as equivalent in status to the
Eghaebho n'Ore or town chiefs” (Nzegwu). The tale speaks to the power women
had in pre-colonial era in order to compare the various forms of power women in
contemporary society can exercise. The tale also posits childbirth as a way of

gaining and exercising power.

The Niger Delta tale “The Envious Wife,” narrated by Ahwinahwi Caro 0.,
is a different version of a well-known tale involving barren women. A man or king
has multiple wives but none has produced a male heir to the throne. The king
consults an herbalist who creates peppercorn that will allow whoever eats it to
conceive and birth a male child. The king has a most favored and least favored
wife. The least favored is ostracized becauseidespite being a king’s wife she is
poor, meaning she probably came from a poor family, and does not have
anything to offer the household. Amebo, the wife the king likes most, is described
as “the stereotyped-beloved wife in African myths” (Shoki, 40). She is also the
stereotypical wife who conflicts with others and is in competition with one of her

co-wives.

The medicine makes all the wives pregnant, but only the medicine with the

alligator pepper makes one of the wives have a male child. All the wives become

10

pregnant at the same time and go to their parents’ houses to have the babies.
The poor wife, lnarie, does not have family so she must wonder around and look
for a place to have her baby. During her wanderings, she sees an old woman
who asksher for help standing up. She is afraid of the old woman, thinking the
woman might kill her. When she lifts the old woman up, the old woman “roar[s]
like thunder on her and heaven and earth [thunder] back on the old woman”
(Shoki, 41-42). The references to thunder, heaven, and earth signify the old

woman’s spiritual powers.

The old woman essentially adopts lnarie; after hearing of lnarie’s
problems she takes her into her hut as the other wives' parents do for them. The
old woman also serves as protection for the new born child, whom she throws
into a magical pot for three months. When he emerges, he will be protected by
her magic. lnarie does not know she gave birth to a male, however, and starts to
leave before the old woman brought out the boy. Eventually the old woman gives
lnarie her son and gives her instructions for getting home. lnarie is told that she
“will come across two paths but should not pass the path that is smooth and
clean but should pass the dirty road” (Shoki, 43). The significance of taking the
dirty road is that lnarie should not expect life to be without complications just
because she has a son and the king’s heir. Taking the dirty road would remind
her of where she came from and how she was poor, but through her child could
be made rich. However, she does not take the old woman’s advice, which
results in consequences. lnarie meets one of her co-wives on the path she takes,

and the co-wife takes lnarie’s baby and throws it into a river. However, we are

11

told “the child did not die because the woman gave the child protection that will
sustain him in any danger that he will encounter” (Shoki, 43). The child is
rescued from the river when he sings out to one of the king’s daughters, claiming

that he is the king’s son.

There must be a test to determine who the boy’s mother is, and in this tale
the herbalist devises the test—all of the wives will cook meals and whichever
meal the son likes will be revealed as his mother. Six of the wives have fancy
plates and cutlery for the boy to eat from. lnarie, on the other hand, only has
broken plates and a meager meal. This tale calls into question why there is such
inequality between the wives. Despite what those in her family and the rest of
society think about her, lnarie is the mother of the future king. The boy proves
this when he ignores the riCh food in fancy dishes and chooses the meager meal
with a meager presentation. All of the tales of this sort end with the boy choosing
his rightful mother and recognizing her by her cooking. This supports the idea
that there is an inherent bond between a mother and her children and that family
will remain close. The issue of family members being close could be an issue if
some family members go to the cities for work or school. The idea is that children

will not deny their parents.

Okpewho discusses a tale similar to “T he Envious Woman” but told by
Charles Simayi of Ubulu-Uno. Okpewho argues that “the image of a young man
raised at the outskirts of the domain becoming poised to succeed to the fabled
monarchy is as much a symbol of subaltern wish-fulfillment as of a stress

between two political systems” (Once 118). He reads Simayi’s tale as an allegory

12

for conflicts between the Kingdom of Benin and surrounding groups. “The
Envious Woman” suggests the same tensions. The future king’s mother is not a
respected member of society so is regarded as an outsider. She comes across
the old woman once she leaves the city, which becomes the symbol for order

and rules because it is where the monarchy is established.

One can argue that because the old woman lives far from the city, she
dwells outside of the rules that govern the society. Before she meets the old
woman, lnarie “[passes] through forests upon forests” (Shoki, 41). The forest is
contrasted with the town, and the symbol of the forest can be read in various
ways. The “forest” or the “bush” could be the realm of dangerous characters and
where human and non-human beings live together (Okpewho, Once 127). The
forest could also symbolize a place where one can tap into one’s supernatural
powers in order to restore justice and harmony (Okpewho, Once 127). The
woman demonstrates her spiritual powers when she roars like thunder and the
earth roars back at her. The thunder signifies power and authority, yet the old
woman has a different type of authority than the king. Her authority challenges
the king’s because she helps his detested wife, who he at first did not let drink
the medicine to conceive, raise the child who would one day take the king’s

place.

The tale speaks to anxieties about the rich manipulating and controlling
the poor or the strong dominating the weak. This is what was at stake for
communities that were dominated by the Benin Kingdom. The narrator’s name is

an Urhobo name, and the Urhobo were one of the groups that came under the

13

rule of Benin and then migrated from the kingdom in the twelfth century (Ekeh,
11). Such emigration was “most likely discouraged and possibly severely
punished [because] the kingdom and empire needed manpower whose
consolidation was hurt by emigration of citizens” (Ekeh, 11). This tale uses the
idea of a pauper prince to demonstrate tensions involved in challenging the

monarchy.

Aside from the historical significance of a tale that ends with justice
restored, the tale gives an example of poor people who are not dominated by
wealthier people. The audience can rejoice that “the poor and helpless may yet
win against the rich and favored [...] while the poor woman who has nothing to
wear but her shame and her humility turns out to be the mother of the young man
destined to rule the land and everything it holds” (Okpewho, Once 118). Read
this way, the tale is an allegory of how the Urhobo, at least for a time, escaped
Benin rule and remained independent. On the other hand, it can be read as a
story to inspire hope by showing a world in which even the underprivileged can

gain power.

14

Old Women: The Case of Nanamudo

Old women, like the one in “The Envious Woman,” are in one sense
similar to childless women because they are no longer of child-bearing age. The
old women are also single women, so their lives are not governed by another
person’s will, not even that of a child or a husband. As a result, we see old
women enter into direct conflict with men, sometimes even physical conflict as is
the case with Nanamudo, a character in various Tangale folktales told in the

Poshereng quarter of Kaltungo in 1982/83.

Though old women can exist outside of the societal order and follow their
own rules, oftentimes old women characters will show up to assist the
hero/heroine, using their supernatural powers. Therefore, on the one hand they
can defy the established order, yet on the other hand they can use their positions
as outsiders to come in and correct a situation (i.e. when someone has been
tricked out of getting what he/she deserves.) The trope of the old woman
exposes the weaknesses in the social, religious, and spiritual orders even if the
woman is not a complete outcast. Old women are not “cast out from the family
circle, unless they have revealed questionable traits of character or perpetuated
unspeakable acts that automatically disqualify them from continuing to enjoy the
fellowship of decent folk” (Okpewho, Once 127). Nanamudo, a character in a few
tales told by Manga Lakwada, is an example of an outcast who commits

unspeakable acts and therefore is feared by others.

15

In the first tale in which she appears, translated as “Nanamudo and the
Groundnut Diggers,” Nanamudo is a figure to be feared. For example, the
villagers in this tale warn a child to stay away from her, though the child ignores
them. Nanamudo is an example of the type of woman who shows up in many
tales—the old woman on the outskirts of society who is feared and/or considered

to be a witch.

The child that the groundnut diggers order not to go down Nanamudo’s
path chooses to go down the path anyway. She and Nanamudo develop a bond,
as demonstrated by calling each other “grandmother” and “grandchild” and
deciding to travel together. When people see them walking together, they
question why the girl is associating with Nanamudo. Even saying Nanamudo’s

name makes people walk faster and leave the girl and her companion alone.

The people’s fear of Nanamudo is not explained, but it is justified when
she captures the girl, all the groundnuts, and all the people in a sack. This figure
is a woman who abuses and disrespects humans as well as nature. As she goes
on her journey she encounters various trees—a palm, cherry, and kolgokok
tree—but they will not help her carry her sack because she insults them. The
thorn tree is the only one that will help. Eventually, everyone in the sack is freed
by a group who has not heard of Nanamudo and does not fear her. When she
confronts them about freeing her slaves, their response makes it clear that they

do not fear her.

16

The confrontation scene is unique because it seldom occurs in the tales
”analyzed here that a woman is involved in physical conflict. Here, Nanamudo is
not only involved in conflict but is victorious once her enemies” weapons are used
up. In this particular tale, Nanamudo has supernatural powers, which she uses to
turn some of her enemies into anthills. Mbokaga, one of the men who free the
slaves, deceives Nanamudo when “he cut a rope and hung it around his neck
(sign of sorrow) [and] he coloured his mouth with red powder (in order to feign
sickness)” (Jungraithmayr, 17). They engage in a verbal exchange where he
convinces her to feed the anthill. Meanwhile, he told the people in the anthill to
grab Nanamudo’s tail and beat her with it. His clever trickery leads to
Nanamudo’s death, yet even in death she is feared. The community draws lots to
determine who would sit near her corpse. One would expect the story to end
once the main character is dead, but Nanamudo’s function in society does not

stop at death.

Nanamudo appears in another one of Lakwada’s tales, “Kwanga’s Child
and Nanamudo.” Nanamudo is a figure who enjoys playing tricks on children and
soaring them, as she does with Kwanga’s daughter. She plays a trick on the
daughter by hiding in the bushes and imitating the girl, repeating everything the
girl says. When Nanamudo presents herself to the girl she has been imitating,
she is described as “a tall, lean thing” who makes “the child [begin] to shiver and
her bowels [begin] to empty” (Jungraithmayr, 51-52). Nanamudo frightens the girl
into giving away all the food she had brought, which Nanamudo swallows. When

the girl tells her parents about what happened, she says, "T here is something

17

which causes me suffering” (Jungraithmayr, 53). She says “something” instead of
“someone.” Later, she uses the neutered pronoun “it” instead of the feminine
pronoun “she.” This helps to establish Nanamudo as an otherworld being, one

who is not fully human.

Nanamudo emerges as a being that can scare children as well as adults.
For example, Kwanga goes with his daughter to find out why she was suffering.
However, when Nanamudo comes forth, even Kwanga “[begins] to shiver and his
bowels [begin] to empty” (Jungraithmayr, 55). His presence does not deter
Nanamudo from eating all the food again. When the father drops his spear and
shield, she swallows those too. The father is so affected by Nanamudo that he
cannot walk “because his legs had become weak” (Jungraithmayr, 58) and his
daughter has to carry him. Saying he will accompany his daughter to try to
protect her is Kwanga’s way of asserting his manhood and fulfilling his role as
her parent and guardian. Because of Nanamudo, he cannot fulfill his function;
she debilitates him. The daughter and Nanamudo prove to be stronger than the

father figure.

The mother, who also confronts Nanamudo to end her child’s suffering, is
not stronger than the father figure. She is described as helpless when she meets
Nanamudo. Just as she is not strong like the other female characters, the father’s
brother is not weak like the father. When he sees Nanamudo “approach in a
lumbering way,” (Jungraithmayr, 61) he is not frightened. Instead, he takes action

to get rid of her.

18

Kwanga may have been inept at dealing with Nanamudo, but his brother is
able to put a hot stone on her head, causing her to catch on fire. The narrator
tells us “crashing down, she came. The fire then killed her off, the fire lifted her
and threw her down, breaking together she died“ (Jungraithmayr, 63). Once
again, the story does not end with her death. Nanamudo’s ashes become salt
that tastes sweet to only Kwanga’s daughter, who continues to eat the ashes.
The daughter ostracizes herself by eating the ashes, and she ends up in a lake,
then married to a lizard. Even in death Nanamudo wreaks havoc on the family
unit. Her character exposes the male characters’ inability to completely defeat
her. Her figure, which can be described as what Okpewho calls the “liminal old
lady,” can be read as “an imprint on the mythic imagination of irrepressible [...]
womanhood, forever haunting the margins of patriarchal power" (Okpewho, Once

134).

Lakwada’s next tale that features Nanamudo is called “The Blade of
Kwanga.” A bird gives Kwanga a marking-knife in exchange for its freedom.
Kwanga carves markings into his daughter’s stomach, which she shows to
Nanamudo when asked. The people of the place all line up to get similar
markings, including Nanamudo and an old woman—the last ones in line. That
they are last in line can be interpreted as them occupying a subjugated position
In society. Both are outcasts for one reason or another. When the marking blade
is stolen (by the one-legged, one-anned old woman), they are the last two to be
acquitted. When the old woman jumps to prove her innocence, the knife falls out,

and Nanamudo swallows it. (Nanamudo’s character is always marked by

19

swallowing something. She is associated with excess consumption, in addition to
trickery.) The daughter is punished and not allowed to eat because the knife may
have been eaten. In this tale Nanamudo has a daughter who meets Kwanga’s
daughter. Nanamudo’s daughter helps Kwanga’s daughter; however Nanamudo
still has certain powers, such as the power to will Kwanga’s daughter to come

and go.

Nanamudo disappears from the tale after Kwanga’s daughter escapes
with the blade. Kwanga, however, reappears and, similar to the other tale, he is a
less-than-perfect father who does not protect his daughter. In this tale, he steals
a pot from a woman, then is caught and tied up. Because of this he is unable to
fulfill his role as a father, and his daughter must fend for herself. Like the
daughter in the previous tale with Kwanga, this daughter rescues him from his
potentially dangerous situation. She becomes a song bird that makes Kwanga’s
captors dance. However, an old blind woman is left to watch over Kwanga
because she is not allowed to dance with the others. Therefore, Kwanga goes
free and returns home. In the end, Nanamudo and the old woman, who both
represent an outside element, are defeated and the familial household is

restored.

The last tale of Lakwada’s where Nanamudo shows up is “A Man and His
Sister.” This story starts out with a conflict over the possibility of an incestual
relationship. The brother wants to marry his sister, but she replies, “Same father,
same mother, how could [we] marry each other?” (Jungraithmayr, 178). The

sister is adamant that she will not marry her brother, so she leaves home and

20

climbs up a tree. Her brother cuts off her legs to get her back. The friend she has
been traveling with hoists the sister on her back and climbs a tree, where they
stay until some visitors come. The chief of the villagers chooses the sister as his

wife and, aftermuch coaxing, gets her to come to his home.

The narrator then tells of an old woman who comes by the chief’s house
and says, “Oh, the chief has married a leper, no legs, only two arms, both legs
are lacking!” (Jungraithmayr, 186). Many villagers were with the king when she
chose the girl as his bride. However, only the old woman dares critique the
chief’s choices. Her opinion is respected because of her age, and as a respected
elder she can say things others cannot. The wisdom associated with her age also
makes her a voice of reason so he would have to heed her advice. As an
outsider and a wanderer, she would have a more privileged position to critique
what goes on ,in the society. Whatever the reason, the old woman has an
influence on the chief who thinks “if that woman, that is the eighth, newly arrived
one—besides his seven wives—is found a leper, having no legs, then the people
will kill him” (Jungraithmayr, 186). Rather than cause trouble for the chief, the girl

throws herself down a hill and then meets Nanamudo.

Unlike in some of the other tales, Nanamudo does not function as
someone to be feared. Instead, she is helpful and restores order. The girl tells
her the whole story so Nanamudo instructs the girl to enter her throat. The girl
comes out of Nanamudo’s throat with her legs restored. Because of Nanamudo,
things are as they were before, except the girl can now legitimately be the chief's

wife. Nanamudo’s interference, however, is not good for everyone. Because it

21

appears the old woman has lied to the chief, the chief and the people decide that

her punishment is death.

Nanamudo is not a figure who only shows up in one storytellers tales. She
is also featured in “T he Hungry Man” told by lngila Kokde. The tale is about a
man who is hungry but has no food to feed himself or his wife. He stumbles upon
a horn that beats out food. What is interesting is that the townspeople see his
change in fortune and they tell Nanamudo. She is up to her usual tricks; she
takes the horns and makes them beat food for her. Then she burns them in the
fire so that they only give a little food. The hungry man goes to confront her, and
she is described as “very huge” (Jungraithmayr, 267). Even though she is
“standing over there, very huge,” (Jungraithmayr, 268) the man is not afraid to
confront her. Of course she lies about burning the horns, so he challenges her to
come to a place to prove her innocence. When Nanamudo gets to the place, only

the man’s daughter is there.

The daughter has what seems to be a usual reaction to Nanamudo’s
presence—she “was afraid and her bowels began emptying” (Jungraithmayr,
270). One can question if this particular Nanamudo is the same figure that shows
up in Lakwada’s tales. However there are certain tropes and characteristics that
persist. One persistent trope is Nanamudo’s insatiable appetite. She is often
associated with excess consumption. For example, when the girl empties her
bowels, Nanamudo asks what dropped. Believing the girl’s lie that it was food,
Nanamudo swallows it. When the girl’s urine starts to come down, Nanamudo

believes the girl’s lie that it is water and she swallows it. Because Nanamudo is a

22

figure who cannot be satisfied, she asks if that is all that the girl was given. Then,

‘ like in some of the other tales, she eats everything the girl has.

This tale has further similarities to “Kwanga’s Child and Nanamudo.” For
example, here the girl gets home and is questioned about why she looks so thin,
to which she replies, “There was something in the fields which used to take and
eat the food they give her and which is causing her suffering” (Jungraithmayr,
273). The wording is similar to that of the other tale. And as in the other tale, the

father sets out to resolve the situation and end his daughter’s suffering.

Kokde makes it clearer than Lakwada why Nanamudo is considered to be
a frightening, larger than life figure. He describes her saying, “Nanamudo’s head
was as big as the roof of a house [...] with much hair all over” (Jungraithmayr,
273-274). Unlike Kwanga, this father is able to solve the problem with
Nanamudo. He places a smoldering boulder on her head, and while she eats the
child’s food again, she does not realize that the smoke she smells is coming from

her head. Nanamudo dies, and the ashes from her corpse taste like salt.

Like with the previous tales, the story does not end with Nanamudo’s
death. The women from the town taste the ashes, but the taste only pleases the
last girl. Nanamudo continues to be a menace even in death. The girl does not
realize she is eating the ashes of a dead woman, so she continues eating. The
narrator says the girl “was no longer able to go home. Nanamudo had overcome
that child, and she kept her” (Jungraithmayr, 279). The girl is only able to go

home after, at her father’s request, the townspeople pray to God that the girl be

23

allowed to go home. She is finally able to move, meaning their prayers have
been answered. God is the only one able to fully defeat and override
Nanamudo’s power. Therefore this tale casts her as a sort of evil spirit, which

goes beyond being a deceitful character.

Nanamudo symbolizes a pre-lslamic belief system and is outside of her
society’s religious system. Consequently she is characterized as an evil spirit
who is only rivaled by God; therefore she occupies a high position among those
in the spirit-world. The Islamic influence on the tale manifests itself in the
dichotomy of God versus Nanamudo, two competing authorities associated with
good and evil, rules and chaos, respectively. The type of chaos Nanamudo
incites is not desired, thus the audience is implicitly encouraged to embrace
Islam. Although Nanamudo as a character is often at odds with members of
society and counteracts society‘s rules, the narrator uses her character to
reinforce aspects of contemporary Tangale and Kaltungo culture, such as the

Islamic religion.

24

Jealous Wives and other Conflicts Wives Face

Whereas old women like Nanamudo operate outside of the societal
system, and therefore are not much subject to its rules, wives are a part of
helping the system run. Wives have specific functions in society, for example
maintaining their households. A disruption in the household can translate into a
disruption in the community. When wives in a household have friction there are
negative effects on the family unit, such as in “The Wicked Stepmother and the

King“.”

“The Wicked Step Mother and the King” is another tale from the Niger
Delta region about the ramifications of conflict between wives. In it a king has two
wives—one with one son and a beloved junior wife with many children. The first
wife “faced a lot of temptation and trouble caused by her mate. Eventually she
died” (Shoki, 77). The junior wife tortures the first wife’s son just as she
tormented the first wife. This woman also controls and manipulates the king to
the point where he does everything she says. The junior wife puts the son
through many trials, which he overcomes with the help of his mother who hears
his cries from the land of the dead. The last trial the son must face is a decree
that everyone should bring his or her mother to the king’s court, and anyone who

disobeys will be killed.

The junior wife easily manipulates the king because he does not think for

himself. He does not realize his wife’s plan, or that his son cannot possibly bring

 

‘ It is unclear which narrator told this tale because of difference in titles in the body of Shoki’s
collection and the table of contents.

25

his mother. This weakness is his downfall, and the step-mother’s downfall is that
instead of embracing and caring for the orphan child, she mistreats him as she
mistreated his mother. When the dead mother comes back from the grave to
save her son’s life, she fans a deadly wind that kills all those who came to kill her
son, including the king. The dead mother is the one the audience identifies with
because she has purer motives. She has been victimized for no valid reason,
and even worse, her child has been made a victim. The audience will therefore

identify with the mother whose main concern is protecting her child.

Wives are not shown only to be jealous of other wives. Sometimes they
are also jealous of daughters, such as in the lgbo tale “Apunanwu” retold by
Offodile. A chief has many wives but no children, which he prays for every day.
He wonders “why is it that I do not have a child to succeed me when I die? [...] I
have done right by my forefathers. l sacrifice to them and observe the laws of the
land, yet I have no heir to continue my good deeds” (Offodile, 142). The chief is
emphasizing his contribution to his society. The heir to the throne is expected to

continue his function and role in society.

His God answers his prayers, and delivers him a beautiful girl made out of
the palm oil the chief's subjects were pressing. Much later, one of his wives has a
daughter, Nwanma. The problem is “Nwanma's mother was not happy that
Apunanwu was always looked upon as Nma’s first daughter. Or the fact that
everyone was always talking about Apunanwu’s beauty, with little mention of her
own daughter’s” (Offodile, 144). Because of her jealousy, Nwanma’s mother will

not feed Apunanwu and often unfairly scolds her. The girl has to cook her own

26

food, but the fire she uses causes her to melt. The chief is distraught, but there is
nothing he can do. The tale ends with God decreeing that no one can wish for a
childout of an object; children can only come from natural means (though there
are many more tales about children who come from objects). The tale reaffirms
social values relating to childbirth and human relations. Unlike other tales
involving jealousy, the moral is about having kids naturally and not about
jealousy. The jealous person in this tale does not learn a lesson, but the

audience learns how dangerous jealousy can be.

The moral of “The Jealous Woman5,“ another of many tales about
competing co-wives, is indeed about jealousy. Oboriwarekoro-ere and Ebiere are
both married to Seidougha, yet he “never wanted to see Oboriwarekoro-ere the
first wife, who grumbled, complained and screamed without any positive result
other than the husband’s hatred which increased manifoldly" (Shoki, 53).
Oboriwarekoro-ere consults a doctor to help her gain her husband’s favor. The
doctor lets her know that he will not do anything to hurt her husband, but he will
give her something to earn a good living. This is because “in those days, it was
believed that whenever a woman was able to provide all that her husband and
her children needed, if she was not loved by her husband, she would be loved
gradually” (Shoki, 53). Instead of the idea that the husband should be the
provider, the woman is the one expected to take care of the family. If she has the
material means to do so, she has a higher value in the eyes of her husband and

society.

 

5 The narrator is Tebekaemi O.

27

The doctor gives Oboriwarekoro-ere special instructions so she will
become a productive fishenlvoman. The plan works because as she becomes
more materially wealthy, her husband and children eat well, and her husband
spends more time with her than his second wife. This increases the animosity
and competition between Oboriwarekoro-ere and Ebiere, who spies on
Oboriwarekoro-ere to discover her secret. However she does not know all of the
instructions, and Oboriwarekoro-ere discovers that Ebiere is trying to gain their
husband’s favor back. She tries to spoil Ebiere’s attempt and Ebiere ends up in
crocodile form with the fins of a catfish stuck in her throat. The villagers find out
what happened and pity Ebiere. The narrator tells us “the whole village blamed
the husband for not loving the wives evenly, Oboriwarekoroere, for ever going to
see a native doctor and Ebiere for being so primitively jealous” (Shoki, 56). The
tale ends with the characters learning their lessons and living happily ever after,
as one would expect. Not only do the villagers admonish the wives for being
jealous and disrupting the harmony of the household and the village, but also

they admonish the husband, whom they see as the cause of the whole situation.

In addition to tales about wives put in difficult positions because of their
co-wives, there are tales about women who are put in adverse positions because
of their husbands and who escape from their situations. In another of Lakwada’s
tales, “T he Chief and His Son,” we find a woman determined to be a wife, though
she “does not farm, does not prepare food” (Jungraithmayr, 160). Her value as a
wife is called into question because she does not farm or cook, yet she is so

beautiful all the men want her for a wife. She chooses Daniya, son of a chief, and

28

would not have another. The chief and his slaves tell Daniya the woman is too
good for him. The chief wants the woman for himself, so he asks Daniya to draw

water from a well, then traps him in the well.

The chief then tells the woman her husband, Daniya, is dead so she
should marry the chief instead. Her answer is silence, and it is said that since
that day she “...had been lying prostrate without moving and without saying a
word to anybody” (Jungraithmayr, 167). The woman resists the idea that she
should be married to someone she does not choose. Not only does she resist if
she does not agree with something, but she plans to get her way. She only
agrees to marry the chief when she hears Daniya is back. She, not Daniya,
creates the plan to get them back together. Instead of Daniya confronting his
father, he waits until he knows what his wife has planned. She is the one who
tells the king he is betraying his son and then takes charge to set things right
again. After she is back with Daniya, she disappears from the story. Only then
does Daniya go to see his father. After asking for the people’s advice, Daniya
kills his father. One could read the two resolutions as gendered—the woman
uses her intelligence and the man uses violence. Violence is the only way Daniya

can break free of his fathers authority over him and get the woman he desires.

29

Conclusion: The Importance of Narrative Tropes Involving Women

Whether as wives, mothers, daughters, or old women, women appear in
every folktale about humans, just as they appear in many written literatures in
Africa. Some critics of African literature, folklorists included, have analyzed how
women are depicted and have drawn conclusions about how African people treat
women based on literary tropes and representations. Salome Nnoromele argues
that “The list of evils that scholars accuse Africa of heaping on its women is long"
(178). She argues that scholars,

claim that the African practices of polygamy and bride price

degrade women to the status of goods and chattel; that husbands

dominate their wives and that fathers dominate their daughters,

ensuring a system of perpetual subjugation of women; that girls do

not have the same opportunities as boys because they are valued

solely for the money that they bring to their fathers through their

bride price; that girls have no choice in whom they marry and that

sexual relationships are unromantic because fathers sell their

daughters to the highest bidder; and [that women are relegated] to

the background of social and political decisions in the family and

the community. (Nnoromele, 178-179)

These tales, the majority of which are collected and told by men, offer tropes that
conflict with the above characterizations of women. The women in the tales
discussed are not ruled by their husbands or fathers. The critiques of the
polygamous practices are not that the women are reduced to goods, though they
are valued by their ability to produce children. The main issue with polygamy,
according to the tales, is that it breeds jealousy and competition between women.
However it is not the polygamous practice itself that causes this problem. As one

of the tales says, if the husband treats his wives equally they will not fight with

each other.

30

These tales also do not imagine a scenario of perpetual subjugation for
the women. Happily ever after comes to mean that women get what they want (if
those desires are virtuous and not evil or harmful to anyone else) and not what
men impose on them. Furthermore, the tales portray women who are involved in
the political, social, and economic aspects of their communities. Even women
who seem to be marginalized members of their communities, like Nanamudo and
‘ other old women characters, contribute in some way, whether through their

ashes becoming food or by helping the hero achieve what is rightfully his/hers.

Though the tales depict women who in some way try to achieve power,
the tales do not demonstrate a flawless depiction of women. The way the women
try to gain power is often through stereotypical means, such as motherhood. One
can argue that typecasting women as mothers, wives, daughters, or old women
shows a limited way of seeing women. Nevertheless, the women do exhibit
agency, which makes complex the issue of how women are represented in

literature.

31

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