Nneka's Truth
Nneka's Truth
In a village known as Umuofia, in Nigeria, a beautiful young woman named Nneka, was praying to her ancestors before she left her hut for church. Nneka didn’t know much about her ancestors, or he father for that matter. All Nneka knew about her father was that he was well known for his fierceness in battles, as well as that he had a heavy hand when it came to his wives. Nneka had asked many different people about what happened to him, but none told her, they always said, “ask your mother, Ojiugo”. When Nneka asked Ojiugo, all she would say was, “oh, he was a lovely man, Okonkwo was. I miss him. We all miss him”. Nneka knew what she meant by all of them. Her and her mother lived in the compound that her father had built along with her two brothers. Her younger brother, Nwofa, was the last child born to Okonkwo. Both Nwofa and herself were born whilst in her father’s Mother land, Mbanta.
Nneka was almost five when her father never came home.
Along with her mother and siblings, Nneka lived with her father’s other two wives. They were like another mother to her. Nneka liked going over to Ekwefi’s hut to see her half sister, Ezinma, but she was only there occasionally as Ezinma had got married and brought her children around to play every now and then.
Nneka also went over to the eldest wife’s hut, and there she sat with her other half siblings. Nneka was the only girl left in the compound, as all the other females had been married off and had started their own family.
Obiageli, the oldest wife’s daughter, was married off just before Ezinma was, and Nkechi had married just a few market days ago.
Nneka remembers the speech given at the church the day Nkechi got married.
“The beliefs are different now. There used to be a god for everything, but now there is only one! White man has come to Umuofia, and he has changed it. But, he has changed it for the better! Now we can live more prosperous lives!”
Nneka has never known any other beliefs than what she knew right now, and that was that you prayed to your ancestors, then went to church and prayed to the Lord.
Nneka had heard many stories about what the village was like before the white men came, and she did not like the sound of it at all.
She heard about the Evil Forest, and that that was where ill people were sent to die. It was also the place in which many twins were put straight after birth as it was considered evil to be twins. There were many other people and babies banished into the Evil Forest, including men with no title and ones who kill themselves. It used to be believed that these people would harm the Earth Goddess if they were buried in her soil, and so would not be buried, even in the Evil Forest.
Nneka constantly thought about where her father was, if he was dead, or in another village. It took up most of her prayer time when she was in her hut. Praying that if he was alive, he was doing well, and if dead, that he was peaceful and his spirit was not in any agony. That is what she saw her mother doing when she was younger.
Nneka had asked most of the people in Umuofia about what had happened to her father, but she had never asked her half-siblings. So, Nneka, being curious and wanting to know the truth about her father, Okonkwo, went to church that day with one thing in her mind.
When Nneka got to church, many of her neighbours were already there. Nneka went straight to the pews to start her prayer of the day, to pray that someone would tell her what happened to her father.
As Nneka said ‘Amen’, Mr Brown, the missionary currently at the Umuofia church, came over to talk to her.
“Are you okay?” Mr Brown asked Nneka. “You look upset, or deep in thought about something. Is it something I can help with?”
Nneka had never thought about asking Mr Brown about her father. After all, it was Reverend Smith that was here when Okonkwo had disappeared. Nneka took the chance and asked Mr. Brown about her father.
“Did you know my father, Mr. Brown? Okonkwo was his name.”
Mr. Brown’s smile seemed to vanish at the mention of Okonkwo.
“Well, I knew of Okonkwo. I met him whilst he was banished to Mbanta, what, thirteen years ago. You were only a baby then.”
Nneka nodded her head, signifying that she had heard Mr. Brown, before he continued speaking.
“I left before the five year ban was up and Okonkwo was able to move back here, to Umuofia. When your father came back, Reverend Smith was running the missionaries. He really was a great man. He was strong and didn’t back down when a challenge arose. You should be proud to call him your father, Nneka.”
Nneka, again, nodded, before asking Mr. Brown what she had been wanting to know since she was five years old.
“What happened to him, Mr. Brown? Where did my father go?”
Mr. Brown looked sadly at Nneka, before giving a pitiful smile and saying to Nneka, “I think you should talk to your mother about that, don’t you, Nneka? She’ll tell you when she believes you are ready.”
With that, Mr. Brown stood and walked over to where Nwoye sat, three pews over.
Nwoye was Nneka’s eldest brother, but left the compound to live with the missionaries.
Nneka, after another moment of thinking over what Mr. Brown had said, also stood, and made her way home.
As soon as Nneka arrived, and walked through the compound into her and her mother’s hut, Nneka’s mother turned to her and asked “how was church today?”
Nneka shrugged and turned towards her mother, preparing to ask her, again, what happened to her father?
“Mother?” Nneka started, to ensure her mother was indeed listening, and knew that it was important.
“Yes, Nneka? What is it?”
“What happened to father? Where did he go? And I don’t want to be told later, I want to know now. I want the truth.” Nneka had never demanded anything from her mother before, so Ojiugo was taken aback when Nneka was so demanding about knowing where Okonkwo was. Ojiugo felt obliged to tell her daughter, especially after Nneka demanded it.
“He, um, I guess you could say he’s in Heaven now.” Ojiugo paused, looked at her daughter and continued. “When Reverend Smith came to Umuofia, he wasn’t very friendly to us natives. He locked your father and the other elders up in gaol because he believed that they were going to try and kill all the white men that had entered Umuofia. After your father and the other elders got out, after we payed the white men with many bags of cowries, and they wanted revenge on the white men for locking them up. We had a big meeting about it, at which Okonkwo had spoken, then an elder had spotted two white men in the crowd, Okonkwo ordered people to grab them, but the villagers refused, afraid of what might happen if they touched them. To say that your father was angry is an understatement. Okonkwo went and slit his throat. He wasn’t paying attention and the other white man ran back to the missionary. Okonkwo came back here after he realised what he did, and without saying goodbye, he went out behind our compound and into the woods.” Ojiugo had tears in her eyes, but she knew she had to continue, so that Nneka, who was sat on the floor quietly, would know what happened. “He had a many of friends, and they came looking for him. They found him of course, hanging from a tree.” Ojiugo looked at her daughter to see that she had started to cry.
“So, he is dead? My father is dead and not living in some other village?” Nneka questioned, sobs forming as the tears came more rapidly.
“Yes, Nneka, Okonkwo is dead.”
“Then where is he buried, mother? Why isn’t he in grave yard, like the others that have died?” Nneka asked
“Because, back then, tradition was different. Okonkwo killed himself, and so he was not to be buried, but put in the Evil Forrest. But the people here in Umuofia thought highly of your father, and so when Reverend Smith came looking for Okonkwo, the elders and our neighbours took him to where Okonkwo was, still hanging from the tree. The Reverend told them to take your father down immediately, but they refused. It was considered bad luck to touch one banished to the Evil Forrest. So, instead, they requested that the white men cut him down and burry him. Reverend Smith agreed, and so your father was buried, but in the Evil Forrest. No one but Reverend Smith and the white men who buried him know where he is buried.” Ojiugo straightened her posture, wiped the tears from her eyes, and turned back to the pot that was hanging over the fire.
Nneka sat there, not knowing what to say. Her father was dead. He had killed himself, and no one knew where he was buried, other than that he was in the Evil Forrest.
“Okay now, can you please help me with dinner, Nneka?” Ojiugo asked kindly, masking any sign that she was crying only a minute before.
Nneka looked up at her loving mother. “Sure, Mother.”
Finally knowing the truth of the whereabouts of her father, Nneka realised that she didn’t actually need her father, just to know where he was. So, getting up to help her mother with the remainder of their dinner, Nneka smiled, allowing herself to believe that Okonkwo was in a better place, looking down on her, protecting his youngest daughter, and that one day, they would be reunited and learn all about the other. Until that day though, Nneka vowed that she would live life to the fullest, and to live the longest life she possibly could.
Nneka was almost five when her father never came home.
Along with her mother and siblings, Nneka lived with her father’s other two wives. They were like another mother to her. Nneka liked going over to Ekwefi’s hut to see her half sister, Ezinma, but she was only there occasionally as Ezinma had got married and brought her children around to play every now and then.
Nneka also went over to the eldest wife’s hut, and there she sat with her other half siblings. Nneka was the only girl left in the compound, as all the other females had been married off and had started their own family.
Obiageli, the oldest wife’s daughter, was married off just before Ezinma was, and Nkechi had married just a few market days ago.
Nneka remembers the speech given at the church the day Nkechi got married.
“The beliefs are different now. There used to be a god for everything, but now there is only one! White man has come to Umuofia, and he has changed it. But, he has changed it for the better! Now we can live more prosperous lives!”
Nneka has never known any other beliefs than what she knew right now, and that was that you prayed to your ancestors, then went to church and prayed to the Lord.
Nneka had heard many stories about what the village was like before the white men came, and she did not like the sound of it at all.
She heard about the Evil Forest, and that that was where ill people were sent to die. It was also the place in which many twins were put straight after birth as it was considered evil to be twins. There were many other people and babies banished into the Evil Forest, including men with no title and ones who kill themselves. It used to be believed that these people would harm the Earth Goddess if they were buried in her soil, and so would not be buried, even in the Evil Forest.
Nneka constantly thought about where her father was, if he was dead, or in another village. It took up most of her prayer time when she was in her hut. Praying that if he was alive, he was doing well, and if dead, that he was peaceful and his spirit was not in any agony. That is what she saw her mother doing when she was younger.
Nneka had asked most of the people in Umuofia about what had happened to her father, but she had never asked her half-siblings. So, Nneka, being curious and wanting to know the truth about her father, Okonkwo, went to church that day with one thing in her mind.
When Nneka got to church, many of her neighbours were already there. Nneka went straight to the pews to start her prayer of the day, to pray that someone would tell her what happened to her father.
As Nneka said ‘Amen’, Mr Brown, the missionary currently at the Umuofia church, came over to talk to her.
“Are you okay?” Mr Brown asked Nneka. “You look upset, or deep in thought about something. Is it something I can help with?”
Nneka had never thought about asking Mr Brown about her father. After all, it was Reverend Smith that was here when Okonkwo had disappeared. Nneka took the chance and asked Mr. Brown about her father.
“Did you know my father, Mr. Brown? Okonkwo was his name.”
Mr. Brown’s smile seemed to vanish at the mention of Okonkwo.
“Well, I knew of Okonkwo. I met him whilst he was banished to Mbanta, what, thirteen years ago. You were only a baby then.”
Nneka nodded her head, signifying that she had heard Mr. Brown, before he continued speaking.
“I left before the five year ban was up and Okonkwo was able to move back here, to Umuofia. When your father came back, Reverend Smith was running the missionaries. He really was a great man. He was strong and didn’t back down when a challenge arose. You should be proud to call him your father, Nneka.”
Nneka, again, nodded, before asking Mr. Brown what she had been wanting to know since she was five years old.
“What happened to him, Mr. Brown? Where did my father go?”
Mr. Brown looked sadly at Nneka, before giving a pitiful smile and saying to Nneka, “I think you should talk to your mother about that, don’t you, Nneka? She’ll tell you when she believes you are ready.”
With that, Mr. Brown stood and walked over to where Nwoye sat, three pews over.
Nwoye was Nneka’s eldest brother, but left the compound to live with the missionaries.
Nneka, after another moment of thinking over what Mr. Brown had said, also stood, and made her way home.
As soon as Nneka arrived, and walked through the compound into her and her mother’s hut, Nneka’s mother turned to her and asked “how was church today?”
Nneka shrugged and turned towards her mother, preparing to ask her, again, what happened to her father?
“Mother?” Nneka started, to ensure her mother was indeed listening, and knew that it was important.
“Yes, Nneka? What is it?”
“What happened to father? Where did he go? And I don’t want to be told later, I want to know now. I want the truth.” Nneka had never demanded anything from her mother before, so Ojiugo was taken aback when Nneka was so demanding about knowing where Okonkwo was. Ojiugo felt obliged to tell her daughter, especially after Nneka demanded it.
“He, um, I guess you could say he’s in Heaven now.” Ojiugo paused, looked at her daughter and continued. “When Reverend Smith came to Umuofia, he wasn’t very friendly to us natives. He locked your father and the other elders up in gaol because he believed that they were going to try and kill all the white men that had entered Umuofia. After your father and the other elders got out, after we payed the white men with many bags of cowries, and they wanted revenge on the white men for locking them up. We had a big meeting about it, at which Okonkwo had spoken, then an elder had spotted two white men in the crowd, Okonkwo ordered people to grab them, but the villagers refused, afraid of what might happen if they touched them. To say that your father was angry is an understatement. Okonkwo went and slit his throat. He wasn’t paying attention and the other white man ran back to the missionary. Okonkwo came back here after he realised what he did, and without saying goodbye, he went out behind our compound and into the woods.” Ojiugo had tears in her eyes, but she knew she had to continue, so that Nneka, who was sat on the floor quietly, would know what happened. “He had a many of friends, and they came looking for him. They found him of course, hanging from a tree.” Ojiugo looked at her daughter to see that she had started to cry.
“So, he is dead? My father is dead and not living in some other village?” Nneka questioned, sobs forming as the tears came more rapidly.
“Yes, Nneka, Okonkwo is dead.”
“Then where is he buried, mother? Why isn’t he in grave yard, like the others that have died?” Nneka asked
“Because, back then, tradition was different. Okonkwo killed himself, and so he was not to be buried, but put in the Evil Forrest. But the people here in Umuofia thought highly of your father, and so when Reverend Smith came looking for Okonkwo, the elders and our neighbours took him to where Okonkwo was, still hanging from the tree. The Reverend told them to take your father down immediately, but they refused. It was considered bad luck to touch one banished to the Evil Forrest. So, instead, they requested that the white men cut him down and burry him. Reverend Smith agreed, and so your father was buried, but in the Evil Forrest. No one but Reverend Smith and the white men who buried him know where he is buried.” Ojiugo straightened her posture, wiped the tears from her eyes, and turned back to the pot that was hanging over the fire.
Nneka sat there, not knowing what to say. Her father was dead. He had killed himself, and no one knew where he was buried, other than that he was in the Evil Forrest.
“Okay now, can you please help me with dinner, Nneka?” Ojiugo asked kindly, masking any sign that she was crying only a minute before.
Nneka looked up at her loving mother. “Sure, Mother.”
Finally knowing the truth of the whereabouts of her father, Nneka realised that she didn’t actually need her father, just to know where he was. So, getting up to help her mother with the remainder of their dinner, Nneka smiled, allowing herself to believe that Okonkwo was in a better place, looking down on her, protecting his youngest daughter, and that one day, they would be reunited and learn all about the other. Until that day though, Nneka vowed that she would live life to the fullest, and to live the longest life she possibly could.