By Buchi Emecheta
A mother's sacrifice in colonial Nigeria
Subject
Themes
Nnu Ego, daughter of the great Ibuza chief Agbadi and his proud mistress Ona, is born under a curse. Her chi is the reincarnated spirit of a slave woman buried alive at the funeral of Agbadi's senior wife, and a painful lump on her head flares whenever she is unhappy. Her mother dies in childbirth, leaving Agbadi to raise her alone. He marries her to Amatokwu, a handsome farmer, but month after month she fails to conceive. When Amatokwu takes a second wife who falls pregnant immediately, Nnu Ego is demoted to farm labour and, in desperation, begins secretly breastfeeding the new wife's child. Discovered and beaten, she is returned to her father.
Nnu Ego, daughter of the great Ibuza chief Agbadi and his proud mistress Ona, is born under a curse. Her chi is the reincarnated spirit of a slave woman buried alive at the funeral of Agbadi's senior wife, and a painful lump on her head flares whenever she is unhappy. Her mother dies in childbirth,…
Published in 1979, The Joys of Motherhood arrived at a pivotal moment in African literary criticism. Buchi Emecheta had already established herself as one of the most significant Nigerian women writers with earlier works such as In the Ditch (1972) and Second-Class Citizen (1974), both drawing on…
Nnu Ego's journey from barren desperation to overburdened mother traces a devastating arc: the very thing she wanted most becomes the instrument of her subjugation. When she cannot conceive with Amatokwu, she is discarded as worthless. When she loses baby Ngozi, she tries to kill herself because "a…
The colonial system fundamentally reshapes the gender dynamics of Igbo society, stripping men of traditional authority while offering women neither the autonomy of the old world nor the security of the new. In Ibuza, a man's status derives from his farm, his hunting skill, and his ability to…
The Igbo social contract promises that sons will care for parents in old age, carry the family name into immortality, and repay the investment of their upbringing through material support. This covenant drives every major decision Nnu Ego makes: she accepts a husband she finds repulsive, endures…
Adaku's departure from the Owulum household represents the most radical challenge to the patriarchal system that governs Nnu Ego's life. Where Nnu Ego submits to every traditional expectation, Adaku rejects the terms of a game she cannot win. Her declaration, "We women set impossible standards for…
Nnu Ego's chi, the personal god she believes governs her destiny, is the reincarnated spirit of a slave woman who was beaten to death and buried alive at the funeral of Agbadi's senior wife Agunwa. The lump on Nnu Ego's head, which flares with pain whenever she is unhappy, is physically real and…
Nnu Ego, whose name means "twenty bags of cowries," is the daughter of the powerful Ibuza chief Nwokocha Agbadi and his beloved mistress Ona. Born under the shadow of a curse (her chi is the reincarnated spirit of a slave woman buried alive at her father's compound), she carries a painful lump on…
Nnaife Owulum is a man whose life is defined by the gap between what he is expected to be and what colonial Lagos allows him to become. When Nnu Ego first sees him, she is appalled: short, fat, pale-skinned from indoor work, with a belly "like a pregnant cow" and puffy cheeks that seem to push his…
Nwokocha Agbadi is a wealthy Ibuza chief, a celebrated hunter, wrestler, and orator whose charisma and physical prowess make him a natural leader. He collects wives and mistresses with the same appetite with which he hunts elephants, preferring women who can match his arrogance and sarcasm. His…
Adaku arrives in Lagos as the inherited wife of Nnaife, having been married to his elder brother who has recently died. She is dark, shiny-skinned, plump, and well-dressed, her hair plaited in the latest fashion. From the moment she appears on Nnu Ego's doorstep with her four-year-old daughter Dumbi…
Oshiaju, called Oshia, is Nnu Ego's second son and the first to survive infancy. His name means "the bush has refused this," a declaration that death has rejected him after the loss of his brother Ngozi. From birth, he carries the weight of his mother's hopes. Agbadi's oracle prophesies that Oshia…
Ona is Nnu Ego's mother, the proud and defiant mistress of Nwokocha Agbadi who refuses to become his wife. She is the only daughter of Obi Umunna, a chief who has no sons and therefore will not accept a bride price for her, insisting she remain in his compound. This arrangement makes Ona a woman who…
In 1934 Lagos, Nnu Ego stumbles out of the servants' quarters at the Yaba housing estate, her eyes unfocused, her milk-heavy breasts aching beneath a faded buba blouse. She runs through the early-morning streets in a daze, dodging passersby who try to stop her, knocking over a blind beggar's…
Nnu Ego grows into a beautiful young woman in Agbadi's compound, her fair skin and graceful walk reminding everyone of her mother Ona. Agbadi's lifelong friend Idayi urges him to marry her off before suitors overrun the courtyard. He agrees to give her to Amatokwu, and the wedding is a legendary…
Nwakusor, an Ibo dock worker, cycles home exhausted after a night shift and narrowly avoids being killed by a kia-kia bus on Carter Bridge. Shaken, he walks his battered bicycle along the bridge and notices a crowd gathered around a young woman who is fighting off men trying to restrain her from…
Three months after Ngozi's death, Nnu Ego sits in her neglected room staring at a blank wall, deep in depression. She has stopped trading, stopped attending community meetings, and barely speaks to Nnaife. Her childhood friend Ato, wife of Nwakusor, arrives from Ibuza and jolts her back to reality…
Nnu Ego gives birth to a second son alone while Nnaife is away at sea. She refuses to name the baby until his father can see him, so the child goes by simply "Baby" for weeks. Oshia, jealous of his new brother's monopoly on their mother's attention, throws tantrums and screams to be noticed. Poverty…
By 1941, wartime shortages are driving prices up across Lagos. Nnu Ego gives birth to twin girls. Nnaife's response is dismissive: "Could you not have done better? Where will we all sleep?" Adaku pragmatically points out that in twelve years the twins' bride prices will fund the boys' schooling.…
Nnu Ego travels to Ibuza with her children, nine-year-old Oshia taking charge along the way. At Abu ano market, young Ozili, an Owulum relative, recognises them and rushes to fetch carriers. The community welcomes them joyously, but Nnu Ego learns her father has been unable to speak for five days,…
Adaku thrives independently, buying a larger market stall and educating her daughters in a convent school. Nnu Ego, meanwhile, struggles on alone. She pulls Oshia and Adim from proper school because she cannot afford fees, sending them to cheap private lessons. The twin girls, Taiwo and Kehinde,…
Oshia earns a grade one on his Cambridge certificate and takes a position at the Technical Institute. Nnaife celebrates with palm wine, and friends predict he will soon retire and let his eldest son provide. But Oshia wins a scholarship to the United States and cannot bring himself to tell his…
Nnu Ego, whose name means "twenty bags of cowries," is the daughter of the powerful Ibuza chief Nwokocha Agbadi and his beloved mistress Ona. Born under the shadow of a curse (her chi is the reincarnated spirit of a slave woman buried alive at her father's compound), she carries a painful lump on…
Nnaife Owulum is a man whose life is defined by the gap between what he is expected to be and what colonial Lagos allows him to become. When Nnu Ego first sees him, she is appalled: short, fat, pale-skinned from indoor work, with a belly "like a pregnant cow" and puffy cheeks that seem to push his…
Nwokocha Agbadi is a wealthy Ibuza chief, a celebrated hunter, wrestler, and orator whose charisma and physical prowess make him a natural leader. He collects wives and mistresses with the same appetite with which he hunts elephants, preferring women who can match his arrogance and sarcasm. His…
Adaku arrives in Lagos as the inherited wife of Nnaife, having been married to his elder brother who has recently died. She is dark, shiny-skinned, plump, and well-dressed, her hair plaited in the latest fashion. From the moment she appears on Nnu Ego's doorstep with her four-year-old daughter Dumbi…
Oshiaju, called Oshia, is Nnu Ego's second son and the first to survive infancy. His name means "the bush has refused this," a declaration that death has rejected him after the loss of his brother Ngozi. From birth, he carries the weight of his mother's hopes. Agbadi's oracle prophesies that Oshia…
Ona is Nnu Ego's mother, the proud and defiant mistress of Nwokocha Agbadi who refuses to become his wife. She is the only daughter of Obi Umunna, a chief who has no sons and therefore will not accept a bride price for her, insisting she remain in his compound. This arrangement makes Ona a woman who…
By Buchi Emecheta
Subject
Themes
Nnu Ego, daughter of the great Ibuza chief Agbadi and his proud mistress Ona, is born under a curse. Her chi is the reincarnated spirit of a slave woman buried alive at the funeral of Agbadi's senior wife, and a painful lump on her head flares whenever she is unhappy. Her mother dies in childbirth, leaving Agbadi to raise her alone. He marries her to Amatokwu, a handsome farmer, but month after month she fails to conceive. When Amatokwu takes a second wife who falls pregnant immediately, Nnu Ego is demoted to farm labour and, in desperation, begins secretly breastfeeding the new wife's child. Discovered and beaten, she is returned to her father.