Summary

“The Mother’s Early Life” - When Nnu Ego was 16, she was married to a man named Amatokwu, following a series of rituals and customs made extravagant by Agbadi. The expectations of everyone involved (Nnu Ego, Amatokwu, Amatokwu’s family) were that Nnu Ego would soon become pregnant: months and years passed, however, and there was no sign of a child. After Amatokwu took a second wife who became pregnant within a month, the pressure on Nnu Ego increased, to the point that she took desperate action: she started nursing the child of the second wife after it was born, and even contemplated kidnapping it. She also came to believe that her angry chi was keeping her from becoming pregnant. Eventually, Nnu Ego returned to her father’s home, where she became happy and physically well again. This led Agbadi and his friend...