Tuesday 5 May 2009

The Bride Price - Review


It is just as well that I was reading Buchi Emecheta's 1976 novel, 'The Bride Price' at the same time that Wole Soyinka's play 'Death and the King's Horseman' premiered at the National Theatre in London recently. Soyinka's work focuses on themes such as: tradition, identity and the clash of cultures. Buchi's novel also addresses these issues. And both writers use their native Nigeria as the canvas on which to sketch out the plotlines that deal with these topics.

However there are stark differences. For starters, Soyinka's play takes place in the Yoruba kingdom of Oyo (note to theatre reviewers, 'Oyo' is one of the many kingdoms in Yorubaland as well as its capital, it is not a town) where one of the horsemen of the recently deceased king decides to take his own life following local custom encountering, however, fierce opposition from the British district officer.

'The Bride Price', on the other hand, focuses on an Igbo family, a different ethnic group in Nigeria. Aku-nna and her brother Nna-nndo are just thirteen and nine years old respectively and living in Lagos when their father, Ezekiel, dies. Their mother, Ma Blackie, who has gone back home to try to find a remedy for her allleged infertility, comes back to Lagos unaware of the calamity that has befallen her family. Having arrived a day after Ezekiel's funeral, Ma Blackie is told the unfortunate news. The next morning the whole family travels back to Ibuza, their hometown.

Woven adroitly into the plot is Buchi Emecheta's depiction of Nigerian polity as a society deeply rooted in traditional and conservative morals. To begin with, following her husband's death, Ma Blackie becomes automatically her brother-in-law's wife. Okonkwo, Ezekiel's sibling, has big plans not just for his new spouse - whom he impregnates immediately - but also for her daughter, Aku-nna. This is the second element Buchi so ingeniously builds into the novel's plot: women's subjugation to men. Everywhere there are both direct and subtle indications that this is a very patriarchal society where women depend on men. Although Aku-nna is merely thirteen when her father dies and has not even had her first period yet, already her stepfather, or new father, is thinking of marrying her off to the highest bidder. His idea of becoming a chief in his town spurs him on to allow the girl to carry on with her studies thus making her a more coveted prize. But life has a surprise in store for Aku-nna. Just before they reach Ibuza, Ma Blackie and her two children come across Chike, a teacher at the school of the Church Missionary Society. Aku-nna falls for him straight away without realising the dangers ahead. Chike is a descendant from slaves, which, in Nigeria's very own caste system, is as low as someone can be regardless of his/her purchasing power.

It is Aku-nna first period that sets in motion the series of events that will ultimately end in tragedy. At first, the, by now fifteen-year-old, girl hides this biological change from her classmates and friends. The pressure to marry is too much to bear and as a consequence her state of mind is badly affected. When she is finally found out after a trip to the river (and here Buchi Emecheta again exposes yet another archaic local tradition whereby menstruating women are banned from crossing the river) Okonkwo wastes no time in accepting several offers for Aku-nna's hand. One of them comes from Okoboshi, a local young man, who is so physically brutal in his approach to the young bride that Chike, the young teacher, has to interfere to save her from the pain the former is causing her. The result of this confrontation sees Aku-nna being kidnapped by Okoboshi's men. When Aku-nna rejects Okoboshi's sexual advances telling him that she has already given herself to Chike and is therefore no longer a virgin, the jilted lover reacts by refusing to lay a finger on her and by telling the entire village. That same night Chike rescues Aku-nna and the two flee to nearby Ughelli, a town where the school teacher has secured work. A short time after the two start living together, Aku-nna becomes pregnant. Unbeknownst to her, back in Ibuza a doll in Aku-nna's image has been made and a spell cast on her. Meanwhile Aku-nna is having a difficult pregnancy, falling ill on many occasions and it's not hard to predict what her fate will be. However she does manage to give birth to a baby girl, a much needed auspicious sign in the midst of a grim finale, since girls are supposed to be 'love babies' according to the locals.

One of the reasons why 'The Bride Price' works so well at exposing the different layers of women's forced submission to men in patriarchal Nigeria is that Emecheta avoids a preachy tone and goes rather for a sympathetic, authentic and humourous approach instead. Unlike Soyinka's play, where the clash of cultures is mainly between Western and Nigerian values, in 'The Bride Price' the confrontation is between urban and rural, an example of which can be found in Aku-nna's hesitation to bathe in the river (pre-menstruation), in Ibuza, with almost nothing on and in full view of everyone. By the same token, identity is explored when Aku-nna reflects on men's attitudes towards women and wonders whether her own father behaved the same way towards her mother and if it is her fate to accept those traditional values without questioning them.

And therein lies one of Emecheta's biggest achievements. In placing all these doubts (true, not always voiced, but usually implied) in this thirteen-year-old's head, she makes us confront a triumvirate with which some women the world over have been faced and which they have tried to overcome for a long time: identity, tradition and cultural clashes. From tribal societies to more modern ones, this is one of those conundrums that gets people hyperventilating and reaching for their smelling salts. However it is necessary to study and analyse these three phenomena closely because, and I think that the author would agree with me on this, above all, above all traditions, customs and rituals, we must always think first and foremost of the human being inside the man or the woman in this case. Aku-nna is a commodity for her stepfather, for her kidnapper and for her community in general. She has no control over her future, not even over her own body; Buchi Emecheta's vivid description of how suitors touch, pinch and squeeze young girls' nipples when they come to propose to them, had me turning various shades of red with anger.

My only criticism of this otherwise excellent novel is that Okoboshi's persona is too one-sided. He has a limp and is not physically attractive. So Chike, by default, emerges as the knight in the shining armour. However, in a book that is so short - just over 200 pages - that is not a literary sin. And the central message is not compromised in any way.

Just like in 'Second Class Citizen', the only other novel I have read by Buchi Emecheta, the non-judgemental and non-intrusive style used by the author enables the reader to make up his/her own mind. A mighty accomplishment indeed.

Copyright 2009

Next Post: 'Meme of the Moment' to be published on Thursday 7th May at 11:59pm

27 comments:

  1. Hi Mr C
    a great review and very timely for me as I read 1/2 of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's 'Half of a Yellow Sun' on the return flight from NZ. It is set in 1960s Nigeria at the time of the Nigeria -Biafra war and the main characters are of the Igbo tribe.
    She also wrote 'Purple Hibiscus'

    Thanks for your review
    Happy days

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  2. I would love to see that Soyinka play at the national...in the meantime I would highly recommend the young Nigerian writer I have been teaching..Adichie.. purple hibiscus and half of a Yellow sun..Greetings from a mexico that is reopening at last!!

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  3. Leaving it to the reader to form an opinion is not always an easy task. I've not read this one, but as always, an excellent review, Mr. Cuban.

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  4. I'm so grateful for your book reviews. I never read fiction (should never say never ... rarely) so it's wonderful to be reminded how thought provoking every writing form can be. Thank you!

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  5. Hi :-) I'm sending hugs from Poland, and I will be back to read about the novel you are recomending later, I have to go now. Bye, bye :-)

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  6. i'm very happy to read this review, dear Cuban...you're re-orientating me again towards African literature which i left aside for too long. (I loved Amadou Hampaté Bâ and Sembene Ousmene).
    Again, thanks to you i'm discovering this new writer
    and .. now you remind me that i missed a poetry reading by Wole Soyinka, here in Granada, last tuesday!

    re the Hay festival...may be you'll come next year ? this year, i'm quite concentrated on Toumani Diabate and Seckou Keita. There is a jam session on saturday and a 4h concert on sunday...can't wait!

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  7. A brilliant review! I think the point you make about the difference between the two stories is critical - I think when one explores the cultures within the culture, the traditions and the rural vs the urban one automatically creates a landscape that is both rich and intense.

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  8. ACIL, it sounds like this book was written for you. A story working on many levels is appealing. The reality of girls getting married before puberty is beyond horrible. That’s a fine observation of the importance of not being preaching when tackling moral issues. What a fascinating novel and review.

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  9. I guess much wasnt known about Uncle Wole Soyinka until he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986. Thanks for the reviews. I have been meaning to check Buchi out. Now you have spurred me to make the effort.

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  10. It seems all cultures pass through the same or similar cycles as they grow from the primitive to the so-called modern. While some of the reasons for particular traditions and customs are obvious, what is intriguing to me is trying to imagine the foundation of others, your river crossing, for instance.

    This is another gift, I think, novels offer to a reader: A curiosity to study actual history and sociological aspects of a region and a people.

    Keep 'em coming, CiL.

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  11. I have not read much of West African literature yet. Your recommendation might be a good start.

    Best regards from Nairobi!

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  12. Many thanks to you all for your kind comments.

    Catherine, I have yet to see Soyinka's play but have read most reviews and they hail it as a masterpiece.

    Delwyn, I've got that novel by Chimamanda and as soon as I'm done with the two Bach's biographies I have in the pipeline (finishing one now) I will be delving into it. Thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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  13. Thank you for stopping by my blog. I enjoyed reading the above review for two reasons: first, it is not easy for westeners to know what is produced in other parts of the world; and second, women's status and emotional/economic problems are not to be ignored, no matter where they occurr. They are human rights, or lack of, we should all be concerned about.

    How did you find me?

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  14. Vaya me cuadra esto, voy a indagar y leere sobre esta literatura africana.
    Tuve la oportunidad de ver un documental que se llama afro@digital , el cual te recomiendo y me quedé impactado con la lucidez de los argumentos que plantearon los intelectuales africanos.
    Oye nos pillamos, tony

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  15. A very good review,keep up the good work.
    Tram Almasi

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  16. Many thanks to you all for your kind comments.

    lake, you're a regular feature on some of the blogs I visit, so I popped by your site and was very pleased with what I saw and read.

    Greetings from London

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  17. What a thorough and stimulating review. The subjugation of women in other cultures is difficult to read as a woman and as a Westerner. Until they are liberated, I can only hope that many of them have not yet tasted from the tree of knowledge and merely accept their fate as a given. Thank you for an excellent review!

    Greetings from Tokyo. :)

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  18. This sounds very interesting. I've not read much of West-African literature, I saw this book on your sidebar and was intrigued but somehow never looked into it. I think I'll add it to my list of things to read now. The issues women face in developing countries are often quite shocking for us Westeners but as a woman I find them very close to my heart.

    Thanks

    Polly x

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  19. BÜCHER SIND OFFENE SCHÄTZE, dice un vecchio proverbio tedesco. E questa é la pura veritá!

    Il primo libro mi ha suscitato interessa. Credo che daró un occhiata in libreria questo sabato, per vedere se ce l'hanno o se é prenotabile. Altrimenti, amazon :)

    Un abbraccio da Colonia Cuban,
    Salva

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  20. Excellent review!! As always you impress me my friend. I want to get my hands now on the Bride Price.

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  21. I used to think the word "provocative" only had dark shadings. It's cool to know someone who appreciates layers and vagaries. Utter mystery is as close as I can come sometimes in relation to truth. But I've learned to embrace it. Bravo!

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  22. Many thanks to everyone for their kind words. I would like to make a point, though. When Buchi writes about women in Nigeria or about a Nigerian woman in London, as in 'Second Class Citizen', I think that she is fully aware that other women are undergoing similar ordeals regardless of the part of the world in which they were born. Maybe it's a semantic/linguistic conundrum, tribal vs modern, traditional vs developed, but some of the issues explored in 'The Bride Price' could well be applied to women living in western societies, especially those societies like the British one where class is still a powerful element when it comes to choosing one's soulmate. I just wanted to make that point. Thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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  23. Thanks for an enjoyable review. And as you stated in your comment above, that issues explored in 'The Bride Price' could be applied to women the world over.

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  24. Thanks, mama, for your kind comment.

    Greetings from London.

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  25. I can't believe I missed this post! It ran while I was in St. Lucia but you know I'm a huge fan of Buchi's so I have to comment. Although The Bride Price is fcitional, most of the story is based on real oberverances and experiences. I think she translates the emotions of feeling like a pawn and a piece of property extrememly well. I agree that a lot of the male characters were a little one-seded but I think that Buchi writes from a wholly female persepctive and it might be difficult for her to convinceingly portray the other side. Chimamanda by the way, is an astounding talent. Both her novels are impressive and she coincidentally grew up in Achebe's old childhood house, which I think is significant.

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  26. I agree with you, fly girl. Buchi knows her subject(s) to a tee and that showed through the whole book. I can't wait to read Chimamanda.

    Many thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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  27. I was wondering if you had any suggestions as to where I can find activities on THE BRIDE PRICE.. It could be critical thinking exercises, or vocabulary, or anything that would help me have a better insight to the story. I´m a teacher in Ecuador, and I´m going to start reading this novel with mystudents. So I would really like to have extra material to work with them.

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