WEEK 6 - THE SONG, Part 2 of 3


"Great mysteries abound, my dear Little One.
The Gods speak to us all the time, you know.
'Tis they who whisper all this child shall do.
That's how I am able to sing you her song."

The woman smears sand on the girl-child's lips
The baby suckles it as though it is food
The Old Woman cups salt water in her hand
Again pours it over the girl-child's lips

The Old Woman laughs, throws her head back
To begin her song, a lamentation of praise
Her voice joins the ocean to sing to the moon
Stirring the wind with its mournful howl

"Ifegi-oku. Girl-child. Soon, 'Mother of All'.
'Tis you we women have spoken about.
Long ago I thought the call was for me.
But I see now it's you who will deliver us.

"You'll deliver Women from a choking yolk.
Show them our worth, which is no less than theirs.
You'll open Men's eyes from ignorance's cloak.
Unite men and women to stand side by side.

"Ifegi-oku. He Who Brings Fire.
I broke custom to give you his name.
No ordinary man – our Greatest Warrior.
They say abomination to give you his name.

"You'll show them, won't you, my dear?
I made no mistake in the name I chose.
In the end, 'tis the Warrior who'll be honored
To have you indeed bear his name.

"Little One, make sure to remember this.
To Ifegi-Oku make sure you say all of this:
The blood which will flow between her legs,
She must hide from the clan for as long as she can.

"Till her twentieth year if she is able,
For no sooner is it out than the process begin
To bequeath her to the first available man
Who will then grind her into the soil with toil.

"When Menfolk come to ask for her hand,
She must look beyond their titles and gifts,
And even the yam-heads sticking out of barns,
Or the height of their prominence in the land.

"She must look for a man who will bow his ear,
To listen to the sorrow she'll pour from her heart.
A man who would think it a fatal act
To inflict her pain with his mouth and hands.

"She must grind the root of the Azure tree.
And drink it in thirds between dusk and dawn.
This after the birth of her one or two child
More children than that and she'll waste her life.

(to be continued)

 
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