Apart from the fact that Okwudili slept with men, he was also a rapist or so villagers thought. He and his partner in crime, Baba , were pushed through the crowd by some hefty village men that had caught them in the act, most of which were hunters. These men had heavy sticks which was used to hit the culprits mostly at their backs. Their bodies were drenched in blood, no parts exempted. Even though most of the beating from these hefty men landed at their backs and buttock, somehow, their faces and their eyes were swollen and blood was seen flowing from their head into their swollen eyes, making it hard for the two men to navigate their way through the thick crowd. The villagers also made it harder for them by throwing stones and sticks at them and pushing them relentlessly. The forest to the village square took approximately 30 minutes if one was slow enough. For an average walker, it usually took 15 minutes and 10 minutes for a fast walker, but on this day, it took approximately 3 hours for these men to get to the village square under the influence the angry villagers.
Rape had always been a thing in the village, but of recent, the cases of rape in the village increased drastically that the High chief was forced to pass a law that having sexual intercourse with someone forcefully was punishable by death, but firstly, any culprit caught had go round the village naked. This practice was called “Ije ihere “ (meaning “walk of shame”). Okonkwo, who was the head of the hunters in the village, ordered the crowd filled with mainly men, to stop throwing stones and sticks on the culprits so they won’t die before the got to the village square. So the crowd filled with mainly men just kept spitting the culprits and saying “Tufiakwa” with disgust written all over their faces. Most of the women almost minded the businesses, some were caught peeping through their windows, those that were already going about their businesses for that day watched from afar for some minutes and then went about their business while shaking their heads, while some joined the crowd of men in throwing things at the culprits, but they threw rotten food stuffs instead of stones and sticks. Probably they thought throwing stones and sticks was going to add more stress along side the one they were already facing in the congested crowd. The women in the crowd were countable. Children were not seen outside at all.
Okenwa saw all that was going on from the Oko hill. One could see everything that went on in Udi village by sitting at the top of Oko hill. He was scared because Okwudili and Baba were his close friends and he had always known they slept with each other but he didn’t believe they would go to the extent of raping some to satisfy themselves. He was also scared that he might be the next target for the villagers. He sat at the top of the hill and watched the crowd immensely. He noticed that the crowd wasn’t so colorful and the noise it produced was deeper. He didn’t know why until they got closer to the village square and he noticed that it was less colorful because women who were supposed to tie colorful wrappers and head ties appeared in very little numbers and the voices he heard were that of men. He partially understood why women didn’t really join the crowd. They were probably confused on what to do as the case was a complicated one.
Few minutes to the village square, Okwudili fainted. Baba seeing what happened to Okwudili pretended to faint too. Some of the men in the angry crowd pounced on them immediately and started throwing punches till Okonkwo intervened again. He ordered them to drag the two men to the village square and pour water on them. Okonkwo branched the High Chief’s house while the crowd carried out his orders. Okonkwo was an important figure in the village, he has led them to many wars and almost always came back victorious. He was very huge and tall that some thought he was a god. Okonkwo’s hut was the tallest building in the village because of how tall he was, even at that he still had to bend his head before entering his house and he hardly ever entered anybody’s house if it was not necessary. Okonkwo had more influence on matters concerning the village even though he was not a chief. This made other chiefs jealous and angry even though none of them dared question his authority even for once. Okonkwo almost squatted while entering the High Chief’s hut, even at that, he still got stuck in between the entrance because he had very broad shoulders. He looked up and saw the High Chief, his friend, looking at him. They both started laughing, with the High Chief’s pot belly moving up and down. Okonkwo had nothing of such. After the laughter subsided, the high chief ordered his guards to pull Okonkwo into the hut. Okonkwo made himself comfortable in his friend’s hut and ordered the guards to tell someone to bring him food and water. While waiting, he asked his friend, the High Chief, “ What are we going to do with these people”, the High Chief looked at him amused and confused at the same time before he said “Burn them of course, isn’t that the law?”, the High Chief asked, “You know this is different” Okonkwo said before swallowing one lump of Akpu he has carefully formed into a smooth round lump with his hand. “People don’t know how painful it is to lose a loved one until they lose one themselves “ the High Chief said as he swallowed his own lump of Akpu he had formed while waiting for Okonkwo to remove his big hand from the plate of soup the were both sharing. “What do you mean Udo” Okonkwo asked while calling the High Chief by his name, he was the only one allowed to do that. “You know what I mean Okonkwo” he replied, “No, I don’t” Okonkwo said, “Yes, you do” the High Chief replied. There was silence between them for sometime, each one trying to finish his meal, Okonkwo was done eating two wraps of Akpu and was about to devour the third wrap before he said “Okenwa doesn’t sleep with men”, “ No one, said he does, but he is close friends with two men that sleep with men, and you also told me what happened between him and Okwudili so what does that make him?” the High Chief asked. Okonkwo made sure he finished his third wrap of akpu before replying him, then he faced the High Chief squarely with a mean face and said “you have four wives but you still sleep a lot of women but I have just one wife and I never sleep with anyone asides her, what does that make me?”, the High Chief looked at Okonkwo with a mean face for a while, and at the same time, they both started laughing loudly till the High Chief stopped and ordered his guards to take their plates to the kitchen.
“But this is not a laughing matter Okonkwo, what shall we do?, do we burn them or let them go? the High Chief asked. Okonkwo didn’t answer, he sat still for sometime, it was as if he was waiting for his food to digest, he was almost dozing off when a guard came to inform the High Chief that the other chiefs had arrived. Even though Okonkwo was highly respected in the village, he wasn’t allowed to attend the meeting of the chiefs. The High Chief always begged him to accept one of the chieftancy titles offered to him every year, but he always declined. It was time to leave, there was no point trying to stand up because the hut was too short for him even though and average tall man could stand comfortably in it, but he couldn’t, so he just decided to crawl out of the hut. On his way out, he said without looking back “I’ll sleep over the matter and get back to you Udo, I’ll also ask my wife for her opinion”. “I was about to say that, you should ask your wife, if only women were allowed to be chiefs, she would have been one, she is too intelligent to be in the kitchen” the High Chief said to the crawling Okonkwo who was smiling proudly while face the entrance. The High Chief saw that his friend still didn’t turn back but kept crawling, so he said, “I’m still going to make her mine”, while looking down at his feet , grinning mischievously. Okonkwo looked back sharply and said “you can’t even if you tried” and he crawled out of the hut, with ease this time around. He heard his friend laughing loudly after him which pissed him off, then he smiled to himself and muttered “The mighty Okonkwo is getting pissed off because of a woman, foolish man” then he laughed.
Okenwa got home before his father. He was laying down on his mother’s laps when his father walked in. Okenwa was 16 years old but his mother still treated him like a child because he was the only child even though he was scared of his father. He sighted his father from the door and jumped to his feets. Okonkwo stared at him like he was expecting him to do something, Okenwa stared back till he remembered that he had not greeted. “Ehihie oma (meaning good afternoon in Igbo)he said, Okonkwo nodded his head as he walked to the kitchen where kolanut was kept in the hut and took one. The kitchen and the master’s bedroom are always separated from the huts in which other wives stayed, usually if a man marries more than one wife, she is entitled to one hut for she and her children, but Okonkwo didn’t see a need for that since he had only one wife, instead, it was just Okenwa’s room and the general bathroom that was separated from the main hut. Okonkwo’s huts were built differently from every other hut in village because he was the only man with just one wife in the whole village. Adaolisa his wife, was envied by almost all the women because she had all the attention of her husband who also spoilt her silly. She had the finest clothes, head ties and the finest pots. Okonkwo also caught the biggest meats so she made sure she never missed any festival that had to do with cooking so she could display the size of meats in her pots. Adaolisa was the only woman in the village who used charcoal inside of firewood. The other women said that was why her food tasted so good because she didn’t use the same kind of fire they used. She was also tall and so light skinned that Okonkwo didn’t even let her go to the market everyday. Even though she was aging, a lot of men in the village still longed for her. They said she was like palmwine, the older it is, the better. A lot of men definitely imagine sleeping with Adaolisa, but it only remained an imagination because no one had the balls to face Okonkwo’s wrath.
“I didn’t see you amongst the crowd” Okonkwo told his son. Okenwa wasn’t sure if his father was asking or telling so he just replied “Yes sir”, with his eyes looking down at his feet and his hands trembling. “Where were you” he asked while concentrating on his kolanut. “ I was at the top of Oko hill” Okenwa replied still looking down at his feet, “doing what”, his father asked, now looking at his son, “watching”, he replied. He felt his father walk towards him, “look at me” Okonkwo said, Okenwa raised his head sharply, he knew his father hated it when he is slow, “How many times do you want me to tell you that whenever someone is talking to you, you should look the person straight in the eye to show that you are not scared of him or her “ Okonkwo said, “Yes sir”, Okenkwa replied. Okonkwo stared at him for sometime and said “Go to you hut, I need to speak with your mother”, “yes sir” Okenwa replied and ran off.
Okonkwo took his son’s position and placed his head on his wife’s laps. Adaolisa smiled while looking down at her husband’s face and said “ you chased the poor boy away just to take his position”, Okonkwo replied with a smile on his face and said “he didn’t marry you, I did”, “but I’m his mother”, she replied, “you wouldn’t have been his mother if not for me”, Adaolisa smiled and change the topic. “Your mouth smells like food has passed through it, where did my husband eat” she asked, “I went to see Udo” he replied. The High chief was also her childhood friend, he liked her at some point but she didn’t like him in the manner which he liked her. “What did you eat” she asked, “akpu and ofe onugbu” he replied, “how many wraps of akpu?”, she asked, “three big wraps” he said and smiled sheepishly while trying to avoid eye contact with her. Adaolisa was already frowning slightly as she asked “did you enjoy the food”, “yes I did, why do you think I ate three big wraps?” he said as he tried to make himself very comfortable on her laps so she doesn’t push him off like she does whenever she is not happy with him. She was way stronger than she looked. She leaned back and there was silence until Okonkwo said “but you know I can’t be satisfied until I’ve eaten you food”, he looked at her and noticed she trying to hide her smile by covering her mouth with her hand. He sat up and told her to put his food for him. She stood up elegantly and strolled towards the kitchen while shaking her behind at the same time and Okonkwo couldn’t help but stare at it, he sat back and smiled like he was satisfied that he made a good choice. She stole a glance at him before entering the kitchen and smiled at him, he smiled back, almost chuckling.
“So what happened, who caught them”, Adaolisa asked, I did initially, “what do you mean by initially”, she asked he husband again while setting his food down on the floor. “I caught them, but I didn’t raise an alarm” he said while trying to unwrap his first wrap of akpu, “ why didn’t you” Adaolisa asked while standing up with her hand well balanced on her slim waist, “ can I eat first Uto’m (meaning my sweetness in Igbo)” he asked, “no , you can’t “, she replied, she knew the best time she could have this kind of conversation with her husband is when he has food in his mouth. “I didn’t raise an alarm because it didn’t look like rape to me, no one was struggling, the bushes were not moving, I also didn’t notice that anyone was there if not for the little sounds they were making “ he replied, sounding a little bit frustrated with food in his mouth. Adaolisa sat down on the floor beside her husband before asking the next question “So how did it escalate?”she asked, “ another hunter sighted them and the one that was in the position where a woman is meant to be started shouting and crying, leaving the remaining two confused and transfixed at the spot till other hunters gathered and took them to the village square “ he replied leaving his wife very confused. Adaolisa sat beside he husband in silence while Okonkwo kept eating his food in silence too. After some minutes she asked “what do you mean by ‘the one that was in the position where a woman is meant to be”, by this time, Okonkwo was already done eating his food and he was licking his fingertips, after licking all five of them, he replied “I know you are smarter that this, I can’t say everything the way you expect me to, take my plates to the kitchen, I want to rest, I’ve had a long day”. Adaolisa carefully stood up and took her husband plates to the kitchen.
Okonkwo rested his head on her laps once more as she sat in silence. “What do you think should happen to the culprits” Okonkwo asked her, “I think should be banished from the village, instead of being burnt since it’s the first time this is happening” she replied almost immediately. Okonkwo sat up and looked at her squarely and said “Are you scared”, “scared of what” she replied, he kept looking at her till she said “it was only once I caught him kissing Okwudili and I confronted him, ever since then,it has not happened again and he almost never goes out”. Okonkwo sat beside her for some moments before asking “Do you think it will happen again “, “I’m not sure but what I’m sure about is that you can change the law from being burnt to being banished incase it happens again “ she replied looking straight into his eyes. He stood up and walked round the bench they both sat on and said “you know I can’t, I don’t make the rules here, I’m not even a chief “ , she stood up and ran towards him looking up at him with tears in her eyes, “Dim oma (meaning my good husband in Igbo), you and I know that chief or no chief, you are one of the people that make the rules in this village, do this for me, he is your son too or do you want to see him burnt alive”, “he won’t do it again if he doesn’t want to be burnt alive” Okonkwo replied, “ But what if it happens again “ Adaolisa asked almost kneeling down, “then talk to your son and make sure it doesn’t happen again, he knows what is right or wrong, he is not a child” Okonkwo replied slightly angry as he walked to the bed to sleep.
Even though Okonkwo told Okenwa to go to his hut, he didn’t, instead he hid somewhere near his father’s hut because he knew they were definitely going to talk about him. He was sad when he heard his parents having a slight misunderstanding because of him. His parents hardly ever fought even when they misunderstood each other. Personally, he had tried to stay away from boys, he had also tried to have more female friends but he found it hard to stay away from Okwudili, he felt Okwudili was the only one that truly understood him. And now a lot of villagers knew that he and Okwudili were best of friends. He understood his parents, his father especially, it would be very selfish of him to change the laws of the village because he was scared that his son might go against it someday. He also understood his mom, she didn’t want to lose her only child. He sat in front of his parent hut deep into the night, so lost in thoughts. “Your mother told me what she saw you and your friend doing the other time” Okonkwo said, Okenwa was startled as he didn’t notice his father was sitting beside him. “Is it true” Okonkwo asked, “Yes sir” he replied, “ why did you do it, are you not interested in women” Okonkwo asked, “ I just like them as friends, nothing more, the ones I’ve tried to be close to don’t really understand me” he replied. “Son, what happened today is not a new thing, it has been happening for sometime even in the days of my father and the punishment has always been severe, as your father, I can’t convince you to like women because it’s not about convincing you but it’s about who you are, but I want you to know that that act is not acceptable in our society and I don’t want to lose you, I can’t withstand the pain, so please, do what you can to protect yourself, I can’t protect you forever “ Okonkwo’s voice was quite shaky by the time he finished his sentence.
After the meeting with the chiefs, the High chief decided that they were going to burn the culprits alive. Whenever incidents like this occurs, the culprits are always burnt alive on Eke market day and the next day was Eke market day. It’s a rule that every villager is to come to the village market square to watch them being burnt alive, anyone that fail to abide by this law will be considered as a suspect and will also be punished severely. They believed that this way, people will divert from carrying out the drastic act when they realize what they will face if they were caught in the act. The law was above everyone, even the High Chief. So the town crier went round the village, announcing that it was time for everyone to gather at the village square to watch the culprits being burnt alive. People were coming out of their houses slowly and strolling down to the village square. The families that were affected were wailing and they were being consoled by others mostly women. Okonkwo and his wife were preparing to go, he had already told Okenwa to dress up and meet them at the square. Udi was a small village, the absence of even one person is easily noticed. They had already set up the body to be burnt, the culprits were begging for mercy. Some of the younger boys of the village were already rolling down tyres to the square while other helped to bring dried grasses from the nearby bushes when one of the chief raised an alarm that one person was missing. “Who can that be” Okonkwo asked, “your son”, the chief replied. To be continued……….
