Parenting and Collectivity

Okorafor associates intergenerational familial relationships with collective social relationships through Onyesonwu’s complex family relations. Her birth is the result of a rape, which was both an act of specific individual violence which targeted her mother specifically and an act of collective violence by Nurus against Okekes. Onyesonwu herself is a representative of the collective history of violence against Okekes, as she is ewu and recognized as the product of rape no matter where she goes.

The role of the parent is collectivized during Onyesonwu’s childhood in Jwahir. While her mother is her only parent when they live in the desert, Onyesonwu meets Fadil, who becomes her first father figure. Aro later becomes another parental figure to her as he teaches her about her supernatural powers. When they visit the Vah, collective parenting is once again illustrated as the Vah raise their children...