chapter 2

Echi was from Umuolu, a village filled with people whose ancestors were mainly immigrants from Afam. The first settlers in Umuolu probably gave the village its name because of their indulgence in productive activities, which has led many to become farmers, woodcarvers, and hunters.

The people of Umuolu were known to have war with many of the neighboring villages, and they usually came back victoriously with the spoils gotten from the raided villages. They sometimes came with girls, which they captured to ease the sexual desire of the men who went for the war. This brutal display of power by Umuolu through war, made the fear of Umuolu spread through the villages which had not been raided. Those villages came together in a meeting and decided that five girls should be given to Umuolu every new yam festival so that the warriors of Umuolu would not attack their villages and destroy it. This idea was welcomed by the people of Umuolu, especially the men who saw it as a means of marrying new wives without the payment of bride price.

The women of Umuolu were not pleased with the offer presented because some of the girls posed a threat to their marriages and affected their relationships with their husbands, but wiser and more experienced older women saw it as an opportunity to reduce the laborious work which was on their shoulders.

One of the girls brought to Umuolu was from Umuoku. Her name was Olanna. She was a very beautiful woman with a unique smile. She was so stubborn that she refused all men of Umuolu as husbands. Most of them became angry and came together to decide a proper punishment for her. One of the rejected men was provoked to speak during the gathering when he could no longer hide his disgust. “Imagine, a slave from Umuoku telling us that she cannot marry us. Just imagine that,” he said.

“Some women don’t know the value of men. That is one of the reasons why they can open their mouth and say anything they feel like saying,” another added. 

The men of Umuolu finally decided that the appropriate punishment for Olanna was to bury her alive. They felt it would serve as a warning to any girl who refused to comply with them, to comply with their terms.

When the day for Olanna’s death came, she did not show any sign of remorse. Instead, she kept quiet and folded her hands as the diggers kept on removing the sand from the red earth. 

Echi, who was one of her admirers, pleaded with the men to change their decisions, but they declined. “Please, my brothers don’t kill her,” Echi said.

“Echi, go home and forget this woman,” one of them replied.

“How can I forget my heart? It is impossible.”

“You have to learn to live without your heart. Our decision is final.”

Echi argued with them for a long time, and they finally agreed to let her live when he offered a large portion of his land. 

“Your sacrifices are great, and because of the respect we have for your father, we will let her live, but don’t forget we warned you,” they said.

The diggers were angry at the wasted effort but got over it after they were given five she-goats and a hen. When the men left, Echi begged Olanna to follow him home, but she refused and only accepted when the sun sank deeper in the sky.

Echi spent most of his time cooking for her, feeding her, and doing all sort of work to please her, yet she did not agree to be his wife. Many nights he would come into her room, and many nights he would be sent away. He was so much in love with Olanna that he could spend all his life waiting for her. He kept on believing that a day would come when she would succumb to him, and that day eventually came, but it took a long time.

The day of Olanna’s submission to him came, and it was during one rainy season when Echi discovered that she was not at home. He ran out like a mad man and kept on screaming, “Olanna, my love!” 

When Olanna heard her name, she ran and hid in a bush, laughing at the foolishness of Echi. Some of the villagers who heard his shout came to his aid, but got angry and cursed him when he narrated his ordeal to them.

Evening came, and there was still no sign of Olanna. Echi felt all hope was lost and wept for her, for he dearly loved her. After pacing around for a long time, he sat at a corner of a path. His eyes were closed as he imagined being close with her In his hut, their hut. He kept on dreaming of her until he heard a loud cry. Swiftly, he ran toward the direction he heard the cry, and to his surprise, he saw his cherished Olanna, lying on the grass. Above her was a green snake, who seemed to derive pleasure from her constant screaming. It did not bite her. He moved quietly and grabbed a stick, which he used to strike the head of the snake. When the snake died with a long hiss, he carried Olanna home, on his back, and she did not resist, rather, she kept quiet until he dropped her on a bamboo bed and rubbed her body with palm kernel oil. 

Days passed, and Olanna improved. She became stronger, and when he asked for her hand in marriage, she gladly accepted. The marriage ceremony was set as soon as Olanna could walk properly. Echi made sure the marriage was held in a grand style. He invited men of honor and titles to grace the occasion, and he made sure everyone left the celebration feeling satisfied and filled.

Most of the invited guests were pleased with the marriage, but they considered him a weak man because he wasted his time trying to woo Olanna, while the older women praised him for respecting Olanna and her feelings.

Two long years passed, and there was no child. this posed a threat to Echi and Olanna as his mother would constantly visit them and gaze at Olanna’s stomach, saying, “Is there a child in there?” 

Many times she would say, and many times, he would reply, “Mama, a child would come, we believe a child would come.”

“When will it come, Echi. I am no longer getting younger and I want to see my grandchildren before I die,” she would add and then look at Olanna in disgust. “Echi you are wasting your time with this woman. Go and marry another woman in this village that will bear you children since your cock has refused to bear you children.”

His mother never came to his compound without asking for her grandchildren, and he knew this made Olanna feel unhappy. His mother’s words were always tormenting and laid emphasis on her inability to produce children. Once, she had called Olanna “an infertile woman who had refused to receive the seed of life from her husband.”

Echi got tired of the consistent abuse meted on his wife daily and decided to seek advice from his closest friend, Uchendu. When he reached Uchendu’s hut, he greeted him and narrated his ordeal.

“Your problem is my problem. We will find a way to solve it after you have given life to your body,” Uchendu said. He went inside his hut and brought a gourd of palm-wine, which he gave to Echi. 

“This is life!” Uchendu said and sat down.

“Palm-wine is good for the body, but a man who carries a heavy burden on his shoulders is not meant to succumb to the deceit of palm-wine,” Echi replied.

“No, it is only a coward that will reject the taste of palm-wine because he harbors the fear that its content might intoxicate his head,” Uchendu said, and they laughed.

Echi pulled himself together after he drank the palm-wine. He returned the gourd to Uchendu, who accepted it and put it beside him.

“Uchendu, I have come to discuss my burden with you, not because I cannot manage it or think of a solution, but because I want to heed to the words of my father. It is better to chase a stubborn goat with two hands than with one.”

Uchendu cut him quickly and released his hand from his mouth. “I have heard you my good friend. I think I have a solution in mind.”

Echi nodded and gestured for him to continue.

“My friend, your problem is a minor thing. All you need to do is to meet our chief priest, and he will make your wife pregnant.”

Echi stopped the movement of his hands. Hands that had become toughened by the vigorous years of working hard. He looked at Uchendu and smiled for the first time since he arrived at his friend’s hut. His smile changed to laughter, and Uchendu joined him. When the laughter had died down, he looked at Uchendu again. “You are too wise to be a man. I have never regretted having a friend like you. Only the gods know how they would appreciate you for your kindness. I never thought of going to our chief priest; in fact, it never occurred in my mind. I wonder where my mind was going when this problem was eating me up. Well, I must go and do as you say. There’s no more time to waste.”

“Be patient. I know you want to go and see Isiewu. I can see the desire burning inside you. Before you leave, I have a gift for your wife.”

“My wife?” Echi said, touching his chest.

“Yes, your wife,” Uchendu said firmly.

“Don’t bother to bring the gift. My hands are weary and too tired to receive a gift.”

“How can you say your hands are tired when you can wrestle with a strange man, any day any time?”

Echi laughed again, louder. “You are good with using words that can tempt me.”

“I know.”

“Even if you praise me from now till tomorrow, my words will still remain the same”.

“Yes, your words might not change. I agree with you. But my words will still have an effect on you, I promise you that.”

Echi thanked Uchendu and left his compound. He decided to go back home and rest before taking his wife to the chief priest. When he reached home, he told Olanna the good news. She was happy but shocked at their mistake.

“Why didn’t we think of it?” she asked.

“You cannot blame me. I was so bothered about the problem that I forgot to seek the help of the chief priest,” Echi said, then he held Olanna. “What is important is the solution and not how we got it.”

After they talked about how they will narrate her barrenness to the chief priest, Olanna decided they should both go early in the morning when everyone was still asleep, and he readily accepted. He ate the food Olanna prepared and went to sleep. 

In his dream, he dreamt that his grandfather was giving him triplets, which were all boys. As he tried to get hold of them, his grandfather drew them back. He walked slowly at first, beckoning the children to come to him. The more he came forward, the more his grandfather drew them backwards. When he saw that his slow pace was doing him no good, he started walking fast, but to his surprise, his grandfather was moving faster and dragging the children along with him. He became angry and started running. The more he ran, the more his grandfather’s movement increased. 

He stopped and looked at his grandfather in disgust. “Grandfather!” he shouted.

His grandfather beckoned him to come closer. He gathered his legs and started running again, with his hands stretched towards the children. He yelled and shouted until the children were out of sight. Suddenly, he was quickly woken up by the movement of feeble hands on him. 

“Echi, why are you shouting?” Olanna asked, tugging his shoulders.

He got up from the bamboo bed and looked from left to right to see if there were any signs of the children and his grandfather, but everywhere was empty, except for the presence of him and Olanna. He wiped his face and stood up, still not convinced that his grandfather had left with the children. 

He got up and opened the window and looked at every nook and cranny his eyes could travel to, but it was still the same. Empty. Void. He left the window and started searching every corner of the room, pushing things and throwing Olanna out of his way. Finally, he sat down and accepted the fact the children were gone with his grandfather.

“Echi, why are you pushing me around like a hunted goat?” Olanna said and started crying. Her tears were bitter, angry, and frustrated sobs that made her body move randomly.

Echi stood there, his hands hanging limply in his lap. He did not know what to say, how to tell her he was sorry for everything. He got up again, shut the window, and let her cry for a while. Then he bent to comfort her. As he soothed her, a lot of things ran through his mind. He was debating within himself whether she would remain childless or whether she would get pregnant and later lose it or whether she would give birth, and later, the children would die. His head ached as he thought of the possibilities of losing his unborn children. He wished he could get rid of the ache that hung so heavily on his head and tame it and then strike it. Why didn’t his grandfather leave the children for him? he thought. But how do I know if he is truly my grandfather when I never met my grandfather? 

Olanna released herself from his chest after many sobs and laid on the bed with her hands under her head. She had no choice but to wait for a child to come, a child she could call her own, and a child that would be formed by the two of them. Till then, she had to wait. She wiped her tears and told Echi to hold her hands. While his hands touched her skin, she closed her eyes. Then she faced him, her eyes looking into his, and said in a silent whisper,

“You are wonderful.”

Echi bent over to hold her and heard her silent whisper, but he was far gone in his sleep. He slept for a while before he heard the sound of the cock, crow. He got up slowly from the bed and tapped Olanna on her back, and she obliged. They quickly had their bath and got dressed.