The Concubine by Elechi Amadi

CHAPTER ONE
Emenike is on his way to tap his wine through the forest. He meets Madume and very soon discovers Madume’s mission (intention). He had threatened to beat Emenike because of a quarrel they had over a piece of land and he had come to fulfill his promise. Madume is considered a dishonest land grabber by Emenike, and Madume threatens to beat him. They challenge each other and finally get into a serious fight. Although Emenike seems to manage the fight at first and overpower Madume, later Madume beats Emenike seriously to the point that he thought he had killed him thus he ran away. Emenike finally gains strength and walks home. His wife (Ihuoma) wonders whether he fought against the leopard. Madume is happy to hear that at least Emenike managed to make it home because of the fear of the cost of the rites of purification.

CHAPTER TWO
Madume is now in his early thirties and has not achieved anything in life. His huts were small, he had a very small yam farm, and never cared for having more houses only because he feared thatching them in the rainy season. Wolu, his wife bore him four children (girls) but he was not happy as the daughters could neither bear his name nor inherit his properties when he died. He thinks of marrying another wife when his daughters got married. He hates Emenike just because he is cited by old men as an ideal young man and because he married Ihuoma, the most desirable girl in Omigwe village.

Emenike’s condition begins to get serious a day after the fight between him and Madume but he is not ready to admit it. Anyika, the medicine man who is believed to be a mediator between the villagers and the spirit world, comes to see him. As usual he uses tricks to get two manillas he mutters some words addressing their gods to accept his request. He tells them what things to collect for the sacrifice the next day and leaves. Wakiri comes to visit Emenike and encourages him to take it easy. Nwokekoro the priest of Amadioha (the god of thunder) also has come to visit him. He is believed to be the chief rainmaker and is feared by other rainmakers and they dare not work in opposition to him. He reassures the couple that at least there is a hope that if they make sacrifices he might be healed.

CHAPTER THREE
Emenike gradually recovers and his family is now happy about his recovery. They are in the reception hall of the compound roasting and eating maize. Nnenda, a neighbor’s wife comes to ask Ihuoma to plait her hair, and Ihuoma asks for the same. Ihuoma asks for the mirror to see how beautiful she is. We are told that she is beautiful but that did not make her arrogant. She was sympathetic, gentle and reserved. She did not like quarrels with other women to the point that she found herself settling quarrels and offering advice to older women. She hears a sound of oduma dance from Omigwe village and starts dancing. Her two children Nwonna and Azubuike joined in. Emenike finds them dancing and rewards his wife by giving her a manilla.

CHAPTER FOUR
We are told that Omokachi is a small village comprising eleven family groups. In the East there is a village called Aliji and in the West there is Omigwe which was founded by Igwe. Igwe was banished from Omokachi because he failed to collect the things the medicine man ordered to be collected for the sacrifice. Later he became successful. It takes only brave men to leave Omokachi to Aliji because of the dangers on the forestry way. Emenike was always sent for those errands. Chiolu was another nearby village to Omokachi; people from the both villages met most often to worship and give sacrifices jointly, to their powerful god who lived in Mini Wekwu stream.

People worship Ojukwu, the god that controls smallpox – a dreadful disease they dared not call it by name and addressed it as “the good thing”. It was believed that the gods visited people at night in the forms of human beings and asked for something like vegetables, trifle, etc. and if denied one caught the disease. It is customary to offer sacrifices to Amadioha after an illness.

So Emenike was also prepared to go and offer sacrifice to Amadioha. On the way they talk about the fight between Emenike and Madume until they reach the sacred woods of Amadioha. Nwokekoro comes out of the shrine and Emenike notes that old men averted their faces when he glanced toward their direction but he made a mistake and gazed at the priest. That action frustrates him a lot till he feels like dozing. Nwokekoro makes a big fire and boils the cocks. Before eating the meat, he cuts off one wing of a chicken and throws it to the high side of the temple. A big snake comes and eats the meat then the men eat the rest.

CHAPTER FIVE
Emenike is dead and Ihuoma is in great sorrow. She wishes for her husband to emerge from somewhere but the grave was still holding him securely. Sometimes she would call him loudly expecting him to turn up. Wolu – Madume’s wife – comes to sympathize with her. Wolu finds it difficult to console her because although Emenike died of lock-chest, people attributed his death to the recent fight with Madume, her husband.

As Wolu tries to comfort her, she finds herself reminding Ihuoma of her dead husband and. Ihuoma begins to weep all over again. Wolu leaves her and goes home at the same time Ihuoma’s mother Okachi comes in and wonders what Wolu was doing there. She curses Wolu because she believes she had come to mock her daughter and not to sympathize with her. She says that Emenike will take revenge against his murderers from the spirit world. She wishes she had stopped the marriage between Emenike and her daughter since her daughter has become a widow prematurely. Ekwueme also comes to visit the bereaved family and sympathize with them. He encourages Ihuoma to stop crying since it was useless by then. He diverts the conversation and they start talking about wrestling instead. They point out that the wrestlers use charms to win their contests.

CHAPTER SIX
Ekwueme goes back home but with the picture of Ihuoma in his mind. On one hand he shows admiration toward her on the other hand he feels sympathetic to her. He meets Wakiri and the two plan to compose a song in honor of Emenike. Ekwueme goes home, takes a shower and starts enjoying his yam foo-foo when Wakiri comes. After supper the two friends set about their composition. After finishing their tune Wakiri takes it to Adiele to practice beating it.

One month after Emenike’s death, people of the village gather for a dance at the village arena. Mmam, a hot-tempered drummer, prepares the drums and finally Adiele, the chief drummer, arrives. Wakiri and Ekwueme also come while singing. The dance starts seriously and young men and women join in. When the darkness fell, women and young children went to bed and the rest danced all night. Emenike’s song is sung with a mixture of happiness and unavoidable melancholy. The first stanza was;

Do you know that Emenike is dead?
Eh – Eh – Eh,
We fear the big wide world
Eh – Eh – Eh,
Do not plan for the morrow,
Eh – Eh – Eh …

Ihuoma, had not gone to dance instead she lay tossing on her bed. Nevertheless, she could still hear the sound of the song in honor of her husband. She cried aloud and her son Nwonna woke up and cried with her. She had shaved her hair according to tradition. She dreams of her husband waking into the reception hall and asking her for food. She hurries to the kitchen to prepare the food only to come back and find there is no one in the reception hall. She cries in the dream and when she wakes up, she finds her eyes wet with tears.

CHAPTER SEVEN
One year after Emenike’s death life had come back to normal. Ihuoma kept on collecting the woods in preparation for the second burial rite which was to take place after the new yam festival. Nnadi, Ihuoma’s brother-in-law, kept on storing dried meat. Ihuoma is worried that the mourners may demand her beloved she-goat to be slaughtered. Nnadi clears her worries by telling her that he will be in-charge of everything. They prepare the booth for the mourners. According to the tradition the old women had to arrive first, followed by Emenike’s age-group and lastly old men. Ekwueme and Wakiri also come to help with the preparations.

Old women arrive with small bags which will later be used to carry dried goat meat for their children and grandchildren. They were welcomed with dried meat, palm oil sauce and pepper. After eating the midday meal, Emenike’s age-group also arrived in war dress and sharp knives while singing.

Omogu Odulawe Aye!
Omogu Odulawe Aye!

They come with matchets dancing, jumping, cutting and slashing and a lot of plantain trees are cut down. The whole atmosphere changes dramatically. Some of the men wept and others gnashed their teeth, others howled wildly. All this was a dance of passion, anger and protest against the god of death that took their departed comrade. Since Emenike had been a wrestler, they staged a mock wrestling match in his honor.

In the morning the older men arrive and are amazed at the destruction made by the young men. They are served and as they eat Ihuoma moves around making sure that they don’t lack anything. They feel pity for her to carry that responsibility at her age. After eight days of the ceremony Ihuoma is expected to cast out her sackcloth and dress properly.

CHAPTER EIGHT
Ihuoma has resumed her responsibilities of taking care of the children and looking after the farm her husband left her. She coped with life again and her health improved, bringing back her beauty. Young men and older people gazed at her irresistibly. On some Eke (rest) days she goes to Omigwe to visit her mother. Her father Ogbuji (a very handsome man) received them warmly.

Ihuoma goes straight to the kitchen to greet her mother and helps her with the cooking. Then Okachi tells Ihuoma that she needs a man to look after her. She is not interested in that subject and she goes to greet the neighbors. When she comes back, they sit together and eat while Ogbuji makes sure that Nwonna observes the eating etiquette. They eat while cracking jokes.

After the meal Ogbuji goes to tap palm wine and Okachi resumes her topic. Ihuoma insists that she doesn’t need any man at the present, since her brother-in-law (Nnadi) is taking care of her. Okachi suggests Ekwueme because he is a well-behaved young man, but she refuses. When her mother keeps on pressing, she loses her temper and bitterly says to her mother “Ekwueme, Ekwueme, what type of Ekwueme is this? Please leave me alone, mother, and she burst into tears. Her mother consoles her to no avail. She decides to take her children and go back home since she didn’t want anyone to remind her of her loneliness, not even her own mother.

CHAPTER NINE
The rainy season is about to come, and Ihuoma is worried about her thatched condition. Nnadi -Emenike’s brother discusses with his wife to help Ihuoma fix her thatches the next day. The following day Nnadi, Ekwueme and Wakiri come to help with the thatching. Ekwueme’s eyes were watching Ihuoma keenly.

We are also informed of Ekwueme’s mother Adaku who bore Ekwueme- the first born and Nkechi - the second born followed after 10 years. Then after her there were no children for 15 years or so. But later she became pregnant and everyone including Adaku herself, thought she was diseased. It was Ndalu the expert on childbirth who pronounced her pregnant and finally she gave birth to a strong baby son. The men keep on working then they pause to have a meal. Then they finished the thatching and Ihuoma was thankful. After leaving Ekwueme comes back pretending to have forgotten his matchet but after picking it he starts to seduce Ihuoma who seems uninterested. Ekwueme decides to leave and when he reaches home, he is given the soup that was too salty and decides to go to sleep on an empty stomach.

He dreamed about Emenike who finds him in his house and asks him to go with him to the farm. They cross the stream and the villagers appear at the scene. One villager takes him and tries to grab him. He creams and wakes up. He tells the dream to his mother and they take him to Anyika who gives him protective charms. After that he goes to the forest to see his traps.

CHAPTER TEN
Madume is so confused in his mind following Emenike’s death. At some point he thinks he is responsible for it but at times he thought that the gods supported it. He started plucking fruits and tapping palm wine from Emenike’s land hoping that no one was to ask him. He also believed he now had a second chance of getting Ihuoma. He asks his wife Wolu to start being nice to Ihuoma so that he may finally marry her. His wife refuses to carry the errand. The children come and Madume refers to them as Wolu’s children and not his. Wolu cries bitterly because she believes he says so because they are girls not boys and secondly, she believes that he wants to marry Ihuoma to bear him a baby boy. Madume later left and met Ihuoma and pretended to help her but she refused. He goes home with her but unfortunately, he hurts his toe against the corner of a hoe. He goes to sit in the reception hall but she ignores him. Passing by the road, Wolu sees him at Ihuoma’s compound. He later left her and went back to his house where he quarreled with his wife.

Anyika the dibia (witch-doctor) tells him that he was lucky to have come alive out of Emenike’s compound because some unknown spirits, some from the sea, plus Emenike’s father teamed up to kill him. To protect him from the spirits hunt he tells his to make several sacrifices which would involve; 7 grains of alligator pepper, 7 manillas, an old basket, three cowries, a bunch of unripe palm fruit, two cobs of maize, a small bunch of plantains, some dried fish, two cocks, one of which must be white, 7 eggs, some camwood, chalk, a tortoise (or the shell) and a chameleon. Although it is a costly sacrifice Madume had no option but to go and prepare the items.

Since nothing is more precious than life. Anyika tells him how the procedure will take place that he will carry the sacrifice to the road junction at night and say these words: ‘Amadioha, Ojukwu, Mini Wekwu, Ancestors, Gods of the night! No one digs up immature yams; My hair is not gray, my work undone; Accept my sacrifice and spare me.' (p 59) He goes home feeling reassured he tells his wife and she offers to help in collecting some items.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
Nnenda, Ihuoma’s neighbor, goes to visit Adaku to see her wonder baby. She reports that she had not called for a long time because both her children and husband (Owhoji) have been sick – a reasonable excuse. After a brief chat, Nnenda rises to go and Ekwueme comes home. He escorts Nnenda to the main road and asks her to carry his message to Ihuoma. He asks her to tell Ihuoma that he wants them to be friends, real friends. The next morning Nnenda went to Ihuoma and the two walked together to the farms. Nnenda gives the message to Ihuoma but she seems uninterested. They part and each one goes to her farm. In the evening, she wanted to go back to Ihuoma to ask for the answer but her husband did not go to bed.

The next day Ekwueme was waiting for the answer from Nnenda under the tree. His father comes to interrupt him and he decides to go back to his room and watch his father from inside. His father gets a visitor and they start chatting for a long time. He wishes that Nnenda would be late. Finally, Ekwueme comes out and the visitor leaves. His father senses something but Ekwueme lies that he is waiting for Wodu Wakiri. He sees Nnenda coming from the well and rushes to enquire what Ihuoma said but he is disappointed to hear that she said nothing.

CHAPTER TWELVE
Madume is through with the sacrifice and he feels that no spirit would harm him only because he had made the required sacrifice. He goes to sleep thinking of Ihuoma. He decides that he must give her up to spare his life but he affirms that he won’t give up the land in dispute but will claim its ownership once and for all.

In the morning after nursing his wound, he takes his matchet and goes to the land in dispute. He finds Ihuoma harvesting a plantain. He tells her to stop claiming the land to be his. Ihuoma wonders because she thought the land problem had been settled by the elders. But since only a very foolish woman would try to struggle with a man, she obeys. As she leaves Madume grips her arm so that they may compromise the matter. She struggles to free herself until she starts weeping loudly going back home. On hearing this, Nnadi races towards the spot followed by other men Ekwueme among them. Nnadi quarrels with Madume but the neighbors go to separate them.

Madume cuts one plantain, a cobra spits in his eyes. He calls for help and they send Adanna to fetch Anyika the dibia. Anyika refuses to go because that was the act of a god and he too had to ensure his safety as well. Later he says to Wolu that a sacrifice involving two rams must be made unless otherwise he could do nothing to help. She tells her husband the bitter news he asks her to squeeze some milk from her breast into his eyes. After three days the eyes were more swollen than ever. After collecting all the items for the sacrifice, it was performed but nothing changed and finally Madume was totally blind. Wolu had to shoulder greater responsibilities by herself. Madume was still hot-tempered and treated his family roughly. Her wife goes to ask Chima, the village chief, to come and talk to him. Chima comes with two other elders to settle the matter but Madume responds to them rudely and they decide to leave. They chat and say that he has no right to bark at people since the fault is his. The plantain was not his.

Wolu decides to escape from home with the children suspecting that Madume wants to kill her. Madume notices it and asks her to stay but she insists on telling her parents first and coming back the following day. Adiele the oduma beater meets with Ekwueme and they discuss the dance. They had composed a song about Madume and the spitting cobra but since he was now blind, they dropped the song. The sound of cries is heard and later they identify that it comes from Madume’ compound. They notice that Madume has committed suicide and according to their custom no ordinary man was supposed to bring him down except the dibia. When Anyika (the dibia) came he cut down the body and they took it to Minita forest the place where rejected bodies were to be thrown.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
On Eke day, Ihuoma sitting at her reception hall crackling palm nuts sees Wolu passing by, moody clad in black wrapper. She thinks of Madume’s death and sees that it was so bad for Omokachi village to lose two young men in two years. Nnenda comes to visit her and they have a long chat while Ihuoma is hammering the palm nuts. She says that by now she has no one to admire her but Nnenda uses that opportunity to tell her what Ekwueme told her. Suddenly Ekwueme and Wakiri arrive at the reception hall. They pretend that Nnadi has sent them to help him tie Ihuoma’s dry yams. Nnenda and Wakiri leave and Ekwueme is left with Ihuoma. Ihuoma discovers that their departure is a calculated move and feels embarrassed. Ekwueme finds it difficult to express his emotions towards Ihuoma. He ends up telling her that they have composed a new song and sings it,

‘Aleruchi Oji,
She is a champion wrestler
A mighty leg twist
Sent her husband down'
‘Aleruchi Oji,
She is a champion wrestler'

Ekwueme says that they would have released the song already but Madume’s death had prevented them from reaching two markets. But he promises to release it at the next dance since Madume’s death was abominable thus there will be no mourning and no second burial. He leaves and reaches home with Ihuoma in her mind. The next day he prepared himself well and her mother suspected something. He goes to see Ihuoma and they chat a bit. Ihuoma says that women are unlucky because they are denied many things such as climbing trees, eating the meat of a kite, the gizzard of a bird etc.

Ekwueme looks at his shadow to tell the time then he decides to go home to mend his mother’s kitchen, promising to come the next day. He fixes his mother’s kitchen and goes to rest. Mmam comes beating the drum with a new skin. They talk of the next dance and practice the new song they have composed. Neighbors gather to listen and dance.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Wakiri, Nnadi, Mgbachi, Ihuoma and Ekwueme have come to help Ihuoma to tie her yams. By midday they pause for a meal. After the job, they all move homewards in a narrow path. Ekwueme makes sure that he is next to Ihuoma but she discovers it and moves backwards. Ekwueme is happy nevertheless since at least they had spent a day together. When others take their directions Ekwueme takes a detour and comes back to Ihuoma’s house. After the meal he expresses his love to her and that he wants to pay the bride price for her but Ihuoma seems uninterested to carry on that talk. Ekwueme decides to leave. She calls him back and apologizes if at all she offended him.

However, she asks him if he is really fair to himself because she says he has a fiancée called Ahurole and asks him to go on and marry her since she is also beautiful. He insists that he is not ready to marry her. Ekwueme laments that maybe she refuses because she is too good for him thus not of her type. Ihuoma feels some pain because of those words but she advises him that she is too old for him. He needs a maiden who would obey him and give him the first fruits of her womb. She also says that her children will soon be a burden to him. She advises him that so long as he has been engaged to Ahurole since childhood, and she is well-behaved and beautiful, it is better to marry her instead. Despite all the struggles to convince him to give up the idea Ekwueme stands by his words. They part and Ekwe reaches home and his mother notices as he opens his door. Adaku - his mother is worried about his recent closeness to Ihuoma. She introduces the subject to her husband and they discuss that they should begin the formal negotiations with Ahurole’s parents before it's too late.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Ahurole and her best friend Titi are on the way to the well to fetch water. They chat on the way and Titi tells her that she should continue sleeping with her young sister to get used to sharing a bed with someone. She says so because she has heard that Ekwe will soon bring wine to her father to begin the marriage procedures. As they return home Titi tells Ahurole to inform her when Ekwe comes.

Then they part. Ahurole finds her father – Wagbara and her brothers busy sweeping the compound. She is told to keep indoors on Eke because Ekwueme would be coming. She goes to help her mother Wonuma prepare breakfast. Her mother informs her of the impending visitation and tells her to appear at her best. Since it was the duty of Wagbara’s second wife to feed her, Wonuma and her children ate their own food. Ahule quarrels with her sister Ahurole during the meal. He wishes her to be beaten by her future husband.

We are told that Ahurole was engaged to Ekwueme when she was eight days old and Ekwe was only about five years old. Her parents were proud of such engagement so they exercised extra care over her. They are all confident that Ekwe will perform all the duties of a husband well. Aleruchi, his second wife, comes to welcome him for the meal.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Ekwueme is not happy because of the idea of getting married to Ahurole. He refuses to go with his father for the initial negotiations and says he had planned to go to his animal traps the next morning. His father is surprised and sends Adaku to go and talk to him to find the root of the matter. He tells his mother to tell his father that he does not want to marry Ahurole. She wonders whether Ahurole has done anything wrong to him but he says there is nothing wrong. Her mother starts crying since it was terrible to break a childhood engagement so it would bring them great shame. His mother fears that maybe her son is bewitched or he is interested in another girl. Ihuoma guessed.

She uses a mother’s threatening to compel him to tell the truth. She says “Ekwe by the breasts that fed you, and by the laps that carried you, I command you to answer this question truthfully. Have any other girls in mind?” (p. 104). Ekwe says he loves Ihuoma and her mother is surprised because she already has three children. She narrates the story to her husband and says that her son is under the influence of a love potion and they have to find an antidote from Anyika to clear up the stupid ideas from his head.

Wigwe could not blame his son for falling in love with Ihuoma because she was really beautiful. Also, he thought that Ihuoma was too disciplined to accept Ekwe’s offer for marriage. He calls Ekwueme and talks to him gently. He tells him that Ihuoma is a married woman with three children already and is looking after her husband’s compound. He asks Ekwe if Ihuoma has consented to that marriage, he lies yes. The father does not believe he asks Ihuoma to be called and say yes in front of them all. He decides to go and plead with Ihuoma but does not find her at home. He goes to her farm and she is not there as well. Later he meets Nnenda who tells him that she has gone to Omigwe. He runs to Omigwe but finds out that they have gone to the farm far away. He gives up.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Ihuoma returns to Omokachi from Omigwe where she had gone to help her parents with farm work. Nnenda informs her that Ekwueme had been looking for her while she was away. Ihuoma starts wondering what Ekwueme’s search for her was all about since she had already declared their marriage impossible. Before she sleeps, Wigwe (Ekwueme’s father) comes to visit her. He is accompanied by Ekwueme. He tells her that he has come to inquire about her relationship with his son. Nnadi comes to see who were the people that entered her sister-in-law’s compound trying to protect her. Learning that they were just normal visitors he goes back.

Wigwe uses a trick and says he has come to ask Ihuoma to marry his son. Ihuoma discovers that it is a trick because even a fool would not let his son take a widow as a first wife. Ekwueme himself was taken by surprise by that irony. Ihuoma turns down the offer and says that she has to look after her husband’s compound and take care of his children. On hearing this Wigwe bid her good morning and they left. Ekwueme felt humiliated by his father.

The next day Ekwe rises up before everybody and goes to see his traps not to return home till evening. The parents are worried. Finally, he comes with a huge deer slung across his back. They work hard preparing the meat. Ihuoma kept on crying after the departure of Wigwe and his son. The next day she stayed indoors the whole day. She had a terrible headache and kept wondering how in the world a man like Wigwe could make such a stupid marriage proposal. As she is sleeping dreaming of the matter her son Nwonna wakes her up and gives her the meat from Ekwe. She wonders how he got it but he says that he was given it as a gift after being sent to take the meat to Wakiri and Mmam. Her mother warns her not to receive gifts from people after running errands for them. She thinks of throwing the meat into the bush but on second thought she stores it in the basket in the kitchen. Nwonna is so disappointed at his mother’s reaction towards him. Ihuoma comforts him by calling him fond names like Hush Nyeoma, Okpara, Agu, Little master, Rat-killer. Nwonna is amused by the last name and laughs through his tears.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Wigwe felt relief because Ekwueme had no reasons for insisting to marry Ihuoma as she had rejected him in front of him. The next Eke, Wigwe, Mmam, Wakiri and Ekwueme are on the way to Omigwe. Ekwe is not happy on the way and Wakiri notices it. Finally, they arrived at Omigwe and were warmly welcomed by Wagbara’s family. Wagbara is not happy with the presence of Wakiri since he likes jokes even in important matters. They are served with pounded yam. Ahurole appears and Ekwueme admires her because she is really pretty. Other men do the same.

Ekwueme is now in a dilemma as he could not tell who is more beautiful between Ahurole and Ihuoma. After the meal the negotiations began. Wagbara leaves that responsibility to his young brother Nwenike. The duty of a guide in marriage is to introduce the prospective bridegroom to important relations of the bride. He also fights tooth and nail to slash down the bride price. Although related to the bride he is expected to side with the bridegroom in all things. Regular visits to Ahurole’s parents are done as usual. On one visit Ekwueme wants to see Ahurole and talk to her but she avoids him as expected of the bride. Titi, her friend, convinces her to go back and talk to him but she refuses. With help from her mother, they force her back into the room. Ekwe could not understand the attitude of his bride.

The day of the formal presentation of wine arrived. Wigwe, accompanied by several village elders, went to Omigwe. Traditionally Ahurole was to return the calabashes after this great occasion and stay in her husband’s house for four days before returning to her parents. In the evening, they arrived at Omokachi. They danced all night and indeed it was a great day. Ahurole spends four days in Emenike’s compound. All her movements were watched. She was petted; praised, overfed and kind words greeted her all around. She was happy. Many young girls of her age come to chat with her telling her the advantages of their beloved village. Ihuoma was there as well trying to argue in favor of Ahurole because she too was from Omigwe. Her presence there made Adaku clear all the ill feelings towards her. The girls left and only Ahurole and Ihuoma were left. Ihuoma advises her to be a good wife and uphold the good name of their village.

CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ihuoma is finally happy that the love that was developing between her and Ekwueme and bringing about the chaos contrary to the traditions of Omokachi was over. She now had to concentrate on her farm and gave extra care and attention to her children. She also danced on moonlit nights as happily as anybody else and greeted and talked freely to Ekwueme when they met. Finally, they go for a night dance in which two new songs are released. One about how Wodu Wakiri fell off a palm wine tree under the sting of bees and another about a man in Chiolu who tried to make love to a woman in the farm.

CHAPTER TWENTY
The marriage negotiations had to take one year but Wigwe rushed things and it took only six months to complete all the things needed. So Ahurole was home for months. Ekwueme had reconciled himself to the marriage. He resumes to his normal life and tries to forget about Ihuoma. He was wondering whether he is behaving like a married man since he saw no difference in his life until his wife was installed in her own hearth then did, he feels truly married. Ekwueme keeps on eating the overnight foo-foo from his mother’s house. It was okay with Ahurole because Ekwe had been the only child of Adaku for a long time not expecting another child.

So, his mother guarded him with jealousy and protected him from any harm. Wigwe accused his wife of trying to make a woman out of a man. She too accused him for setting too high standards for a very young child. A further flashback of Ekwueme’s background is given explaining how he began his hunting and trapping career. Since her mother was giving him praises, he preferred his mother’s company to his father’s. As he was growing up, he was not bold with girls as his age-mates. He only loved his mother and Ihuoma. He hoped his wife would make him a good wife as well. He sat in his new kitchen with his wife chatting while roasting the hog’s meat. The meat fat dropping onto the fire produces smoke that disturbs them. Finally, Ahurole asks Ekwe what he would like to eat for supper and he tells her to use her discretion. She starts crying.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Ekwueme is tired of Ahurole’s behavior of crying every now and then and saw that she was fit for an old man who would pet her not a young man. They take her to Anyika to control her agwu (personal god) but it doesn’t help. Adaku advises her son not to quarrel with his wife and advises her daughter-in-law to persevere in the early marriage days. Wigwe on his side saw no need to talk to his son because he knew that it was just normal and there will come a day when they will adjust. As days went on, he saw no changes his determination turned to indifference. He had to find a chance to talk to him. He advises him not to quarrel with his wife quite often as they are still young couples. He hopes that all will come to an end as it was to them when they were in their first years of marriage. Ekwe protests and says there are other young married women of her age but they don’t cry as much as she does.

Ekwe goes to bed but does not sleep as his father’s words rewound in his mind. He saw himself unlucky because other men were beating their wives and exchanging bitter words but he hadn’t. Meat was in constant supply and she lacked no wrapper. He blamed the childhood engagements. He tried to focus his attention on all the young married girls but none of them appealed to him. He felt lonely because though surrounded by parents, relatives and friends no one could help him. He decided to form in his mind the image of a woman he wanted “A woman with overwhelming tenderness and understanding in her eyes, a smile in her lips, the gap in the teeth, the well-formed limbs, and the rounded buttocks” he clutched the air and gasped Ihuoma and slept.

The next day he goes to the bush and returns in the evening and asks for a warm bath. His wife says it is not ready and he goes to his mother’s kitchen. That thing angers her and she decides not to prepare it at all. They quarrel again over the matter and he eats a little food and goes to bed claiming he is not hungry. Ahurole finds him in the bedroom eating groundnuts and dry corn. She confirms that he does not like her cooking. She starts crying and Ekwe slaps her on the face, pushes her back violently and she falls on her back. There is a serious fight between the two and the parents come to intervene. The next day he comes from the bush and finds that Ahurole has run away to her parents. He goes to take her back but according to the custom he is not allowed until the third day. The parents meet to settle the dispute and find out that the two have no particular reason for quarreling. He came back with his wife confident that he could now cope with the situation.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
It is in the evening of a market day but some people have not been able to sell their yams. The Rikwos, the main customers, moved around waiting for the time when yam sellers would beg them to buy at a give-away price. Lastly, the disappointed groups of people go home chatting about the ever-falling prices for their farm produce. Ekwueme is among them. He is thoughtful on the way until Ihuoma joins him and the two start chatting on the way about the sales of yams and cocoyam while laughing. Ekwueme feels relief for a moment. Their talk changes to Ahurole and Ekwe asks Ihuoma to come and advise her. After a thoughtful moment Ihuoma encourages him that she will learn in time. Ekwe says she is a terrible woman and has made his life miserable, Ihuoma tries to avoid the talk about this girl and the two walk in silence.

Ihuoma is working on her home farm. Ekwueme passes by pretending to be on his way to inspect his traps and greets her just as did other passers-by. He leaves the path and goes where Ihuoma was. He keeps on chatting with Ihuoma until she asks him to leave. The next day Ihuoma continues to harvest her cocoyam. Again, Ekwueme goes to see her. Ihuoma is worried to see that Ekwueme has not forgotten about her. Ihuoma asks him to leave because by staying there he is creating a bad impression to the passers-by that will soon invite the worst scandal imaginable. When he leaves, she thinks of reporting the matter to his father to save herself from future complications. She sends Nnenda to go and tell Ekwe to stay away from her since she doesn’t want any problem with her fellow village girl – Ahurole.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Ahurole’s goat given to her as a present by her mother is missing. She reported it to Ekwe but he treated the matter lightly. Fearing a quarrel, he set out to look for it. He looks for it in several compounds and reaches Ihuoma's compound. He didn’t find the goat and as he turned to leave, he met his wife there. The wife started questioning him about what he was doing in Ihuoma’s house. She says that she has been hearing the rumors but now she has confirmed it.

He goes home and his wife comes back muttering and nagging. He decides to go to Wakiri’s house and the two start playing their instruments and while singing until Ekwueme sheds tears. The next day Ahurole goes to see her parents and pours her troubles to her mother and accuses Ihuoma to be part of it. Her mother advises her to use charms (love potion) to win her husband’s heart. When she returns to Omokachi she goes to see Anyika when her husband goes to see his traps. She is frightened because Anyika’s house has strange items. Anyika asks for two manillas first and Ahurole produces them then he starts working. He discovers from his cowries that she has come to ask him to administer a love potion.

He refuses to do such things. He says in the long run it makes men who are active and intelligent to become passive, stupid, and dependent. Ahurole leaves Anyika’s house disappointed but impressed. Her mother comes and is told of the response. She decides to go to another medicine man at Chiolu.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
After doing his incantations the medicine man at Chiolu assures Wonuma that the man is fixed. He gives her other stuff to be mixed with his food. As she starts back home, she is afraid to cross Mini Weku stream since no one carrying any form of poison could cross it unharmed. Later a conviction grows in her that hers was not a poison but a medicine to build a home. She crossed and went to give the medicine to her daughter. Ahurole pretended to complain of a serious stomach trouble so that she may use that opportunity to prepare two different pots of soup and put the drug into her husband’s soup. The trick worked as expected.

After two days Ekwueme’s condition worsened, Anyika tried to treat him and for a time it worked. Later he attributed his sickness to the protective charms round Mmam’s farm that he trespassed. He did all that was required to heal him to no avail. His health was getting worse and worse. As Ekwe complained to his mother Ahurole listened without comment. She knew what it was all about. Ekwueme was putting on weight and Adaku thought it was a good cooking of Ahurole but as the days passed, he was behaving awkwardly. One day his mother talked to him. He seemed to respond awkwardly saying that he is just fine. Adaku caked Ahurole and blamed her for being the cause of her son’s illness. They discuss it with Wigwe and decide to see Anyika for it. The next day Wigwe interviewed Ekwe but he kept laughing at him and Wigwe was worried. He went to see Anyika but he missed him and came back to keep watch on his son. He tells his wife that for sure their son is terribly bewitched. As Adaku goes to see him, he leaves the room and starts running.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Wigwe and his wife try to chase and hold Ekwueme but they fail. He goes to ask for assistance from Mmam, Wakiri and Nnadi. Ahurole was still working in the farm till late in the evening. She starts walking home but meets no one on the way to give her company. As she passed through the forest past the shrines of Ali (the earth-god) and Amadioha, a man emerged lumbering along and she discovered he was her husband. Ahurole was worried as her husband saw her and increased speed. He later changes direction and moves towards his wife with a stick. Ahurole slips into the bush.

She stays in the bush hiding and watching her husband from a distance. She decides to run away but Ekwueme notices her and starts chasing her. Fortunately, she meets Mmam and other men who help to overpower him. They dragged him home as gently as possible. As they approach the village, Wigwe tells them to stop and wait for the darkness so that people may not see his son in that condition. Finally, they take him home and go to fetch Anyika. Meanwhile, Ekwueme escapes again.

Ikolo (the talking drum) is beaten and all the young men of the village begin the searching mission. Anyika returns home thinking of Ahurole as a possible cause because she went to him for a love potion. He finds Wigwe and Adaku waiting for him with manillas in hand. Anyika tells them the whole story and how Ahurole is involved. Some elderly men and women gathered to give sympathy to Wigwe and they were telling tales of lost men and their survival in the forest to encourage Wigwe that his son will be found.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
In the morning, the young men had not managed to find Ekwueme. After a bath and breakfast, the drum is beaten again. Nwokekoro advises one group to go to his traps led by Nnadi and others go anywhere else. Nnadi suggests that they should take the dogs to help in the searching mission then they all disappear into the bushes. They went through all his traps but no trace of him was found but only some animals caught in the traps. As they returned home and deposited the animal from Ekwueme’s traps at Wigwe’s compound.

They decided to look at a trap trail behind Wigwe’s compound before coming to rest. The dog advanced forward and started barking seriously. They got there but saw nothing. Wakiri discovered that the dog was barking up a tree. He looked up and saw Ekwueme resting on a comfortable branch of a tree. He informed others of his discovery. After a discussion they decided not to raise any alarm but they went to inform the village, leaving three people behind. They informed Nwokekoro first before Wigwe and the drum was beaten. People from the bush and all other villagers gathered at the arena. Nwokekoro announced that Ekwueme has been found but they won’t be able to see him for two days. He thanked the young men for their devotion and they left. When they reached the tree Adaku started begging Ekwe to come down but he didn’t move.

They ask Mmam to go up the tree and persuade him to come down. As he saw Mmam he drew the unseen club and Mmam had to climb down immediately. People pleaded, threatened and abused him but nothing was achieved. Nwokekoro decided to threaten with his powers. Ekwueme mumbled something they did not understand. They sent Mmam to climb up and listen to him. He heard him saying that he wants Ihuoma. Quickly Ihuoma was sent for. When she came and Ekwe saw her he started climbing down.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Ekwueme ate the food set before him very well but he refused to bathe. His mother was worried but Wigwe decided to go and call Anyika. When he came, Ekwueme refused to talk to him, calling him a wicked man and crazy. He calls his father by his name “Wigwe” something he had never done and tells him that he wants to marry Ihuoma right away. He is given the medicine but he refuses to take it. He insists that all he wants is to marry Ihuoma unless otherwise he will not listen to anybody.

They later discuss that they should fetch Ihuoma and arrange a make-believe marriage so that he can accept the medicine. The medicine man tells them to persuade Ihuoma and if they succeed, they should inform him the next morning. That evening Wigwe and Adaku went to persuade Ihuoma to come to Wigwe’s compound and arrange a make-believe marriage so that Ekwe may take the medicine. Ihuoma is very supportive; she agrees but says she will have to inform Nnadi, her brother-in-law, to know her movements.

Nnadi agreed to the proposal and Ihuoma showed up to Wigwe’s compound. As soon as Ekwe saw her, his eyes lit up. He invited Ihuoma to sit next to him and accused the crazy fellows who had been bothering him. He asks Ihuoma if she will be ready to marry him, and she agrees on the condition that he will have to take whatever medicine Anyika gives him. Surprisingly he agrees and Anyika seizes that opportunity. He gives the medicine to the sick man he drinks and returns the cup to him. Ihuoma asks Ekwe to bathe and he agrees.

They also ask her to convince him to sleep. He refuses and says that he wants to chat with her. He asks her to marry him and she assures him that they will get married as soon as he finishes all the medicine Anyika is going to give him – which he agrees. Later she asks him to sleep because she wanted to go and feed her children, promising to come the next day. The parents thank her very much and they discuss how to reward her. They think of giving her part of the meat Nnadi brought from Ekwe’s traps.

The next morning Anyika comes to administer his antidote. Ekwe drank the medicine without any problem. Ekwe seemed to be perfectly normal again and he was talking about sensible things when Ihuoma arrived. He apologizes for all the troubles he has caused to her. As the two chatted alone Ihuoma discovered that Ekwe was now sensible, considerate and gentle. He insists on seeing her in the morning of the following day, assuring her that he loves her even more than before. They part, promising to see each other the next day.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Ekwueme improved rapidly and began doing odd jobs at home. He didn’t want to go outside his father’s compound because of the shame of his recent behavior. Everybody agreed it was a love potion that caused it. Ihuoma’s regular visits to him made their bond grow stronger. Even Adaku began to love her and apologized for the wrong opinions she once held of her. Ekwueme also paid regular visits to Ihuoma and brought her meat from his traps.

The gossip circulated around but Ihuoma didn’t care. This encouraged Ekwueme until he came near to worshiping her. One day he asked her again to marry him and asked Ihuoma for her consent before he told Nnadi. The next day he told Nnadi and he had no objections. Wagbara was told to refund Ahurole’s bride price and he did it promptly. He told Wigwe that while the whole business is a shame to him but they should remain friends.

Okachi (Ihuoma’s mother) was very happy about it. Anyika was the one person who did not approve of the marriage. He tells Wigwe to try a divination first before the marriage takes place and he promised to pay for them the divination fee because they had paid so much already. They had to check on the malevolent spirits and render them powerless in advance. After performing his rituals Anyika said the marriage will not work out well because the strong spirits are against the marriage. Wigwe wanted to know why, and here the story goes

“Ihuoma belongs to the sea. When she was in the spirit world, she was a wife of a Sea-King, the ruling spirit of the sea. Against the advice of her husband, she sought the company of human beings and was incarnated. The sea-king was very angry but because he loved her best of all his wives, he did not destroy her immediately after she was born. However, because of his great love for her, he is terribly jealous and tries to destroy any man who makes love to her.” (p.195)

He told them that Emenike’s lock-chest that killed him was the design of the Sea-King. Madume’s blindness was the result of the Sea-King who assumed the form of a serpent and dealt with him. He told them to consider Ihuoma’s life and ask themselves if they have ever seen anyone quite so right in everything, almost perfect. So, she was a Sea-goddess. The only way men could live with her is; “well she could be someone’s concubine. Her Sea-king husband can be persuaded to put up with that after highly involved rites. But as a wife he is completely ruled out” (p.196)

Anyika suggests that women of her likeness are very few in the world; they are usually very beautiful but their husbands’ spirits watch them from the spirit world. Marriage could only be possible if an expert on sorcery is consulted but with the Sea-King it is impossible because he is too powerful. As they returned home, they narrated the bitter truth to Ekwueme but he ignored it and said he is ready to be her husband even for a day before his death as his spirit will go singing happily to the spirit world. He told Ihuoma that they would start the negotiations in four days’ time.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Wigwe and his wife are wondering what to do. They appreciate the contribution of Ihuoma to the recovery of their son, but Anyika’s discovery took their joy away. They think maybe Anyika didn’t see well into the future because they paid him with the money he gave them. Adaku proposes to find another medicine man at Aliji village. Early the next morning Ekwueme and his father left for Aliji and met Agwoturumbe the dibia. He too gave a divination that was not much different from Anyika’s but the most important difference was that he said he could bind the sea-King and prevent him from doing any harm.

He asked him to collect the following for the sacrifice: a piece of white cloth, a white hen, a bright red cock, seven ripe plantains, and a brightly coloured male lizard. He told them that it would take place in a canoe on a river or creek by midnight. They left triumphantly.

The marriage proceedings were put off for a while waiting for the sacrifice to be done. Meanwhile, only wine was drunk and gifts were exchanged. They also decided to have a dance and Ekwe sang with a new meaning in his voice. After the dance, Ekwe escorted Ihuoma to her house and told her why they had gone to Aliji. He told her the whole story, omitting the part about the deaths of Madume and her husband. Ihuoma listened and said it was funny because she didn’t feel like the daughter of the sea.

Ekwueme wanted to make love with her but she advised him to wait until they get married. The Ekwe left. In the morning before going to inspect his traps he goes to visit Ihuoma who informs him that she was thinking of him all night long. He tells her that he went to see her because her name means “beautiful face” or “good luck”. She also tells him that his name means “say and do”. When Ekwe came back he had caught two animals and proved that Ihuoma’s face was really lucky. He suggested giving part of the meat to his in-laws, part to Nnadi and giving part to Ihuoma. Ihuoma promised to help to collect some items for the sacrifice and Nwonna would help to catch it.

CHAPTER THIRTY
Agwoturumbe the dibia arrived with a great flourish. Many people wondered why Anyika was not present and others said maybe his charges were too high or he couldn’t cope with the situation. Wigwe had already prepared the room and according to the instruction of the dibia, no woman was to enter that room seven days before his occupation. Many clients came to Wigwe’s compound for divination. That evening he collected a tidy heap of manillas. Because of running out of stock in the morning he had to go and collect more herbs and roots. On his way he met Anyika. They exchanged greetings as normal friends and Anyika directed him where to get ‘Rat's ears”.

Agwoturumbe returned and attended to his customers well. He told Wigwe to arrange for the boat and gave him a summary of the whole procedure to be carried out at midnight in the middle of the river. Ekwueme was worried that if the sacrifice was to take place on the river that would be the best opportunity for the Sea-King to destroy him. He wanted an alternative sacrifice but Agwoturumbe insisted there was no other option to bind the Sea- King. He assures Ekwe that with his presence nothing will go wrong because he has dealt with more dangerous cases than that one successfully. With that assurance he went to the riverside to arrange for the boat.

He went and made the bargaining with the boatmen most of whom refused until he got one who agreed and charged him 15 manilas. Ekwe gives him instructions to hold the boat firmly when the Sea-King appeared but the boatman laughed and told Ekwe that he has been going on such missions but he had never seen the Sea-King himself. He thought that the medicine men were just deceiving them. He comes back and gives the summary to Ihuoma. He remembers that he hadn’t prepared the lizard yet. They sent Nwonna along with his playmates to go and hunt for the lizard while they have a romantic chat in the house.

Later he goes out to see Turumbe getting on with the preparations. The arrow flying parallel with the wall just missed a big red lizard and hit the upper part of Ekwueme’s belly and he fell back across the doorway with a cry. Ihuoma, Nwonna with his playmates, Agwoturumbe and Wigwe rushed to the scene. They carried Ekwueme to his room. Ihuoma was crying violently, rolling from one corner of the compound to the other. She slapped her thighs, beat her chest, raised her hands and hopped wildly until they restrained her. Adaku was under similar restraint in her room. The spirit of Death was known to take away people’s souls shortly after midnight. That was when Ekwueme died.

TITLE OF THE NOVEL

The Concubine is a sexual partner, especially a woman, to whom one is not or cannot be married, or a woman who lives with a man, but who is not a wife. The book's title (The Concubine) is symbolic as its meaning is only revealed to the reader in the closing chapters of the novel.
It becomes clear that ‘The Concubine’ is none other than Ihuoma – the beautiful lady and main character in the novel who is believed to be the wife of the Sea-King who is jealous and kills any man who falls in love with her. However, it is revealed that if some rites are performed and the Sea-King is persuaded, then he could allow someone to live with her as his Concubine not his wife thus the name “The Concubine”.
That is the reason Emenike, Madume, and Ekwueme died since they tried to live with her as a wife not as a concubine. The author says; “well she could be someone’s concubine. Her Sea-king husband can be persuaded to put up with that after highly involved rites. But as a wife he is completely ruled out” (p.196).

THE SETTING
The novel is set in a pre-colonial rural Nigeria and the author mainly talks about African traditional way of life in its totality bringing together all aspects that constitute the life of a rural community including but not limited to its religious, social, cultural and economic practices.

To sum up the rural setting, the following have been used to build the African authenticity and put events in their relevant African setting. A number of Nigerian villages have been mentioned including the likes of Omokachi, Chiolu, Aliji, and Omigwe.
Traditional practices like belief in the witch doctors, the role of supernatural spirits in human life, gathering for night dances at the village arena, traditional marriages like early childhood betrothal, polygamy, spouse beating, taboos, and dressing styles (wrappers), etc. constitute a rural setting.
Economic activities like farming, hunting/trapping wild animals, and selling their agricultural produce at seasonal markets.
Time telling is also done by looking at the length of the shadows or the position of the sun during the day and at night they depend on the moon site or the cock crow. They also tell time by counting a number of market days to come or past market days.
Fetching water from the stream (the well) and living in thatched houses also talks more about rural settings.

THE PLOT
The plot is chronologically divided into thirty chapters narrated in a straightforward narration with few flashbacks. It shows how Madume’s fight with Emenike is attributed to the later death of Emenike. This makes Ihuoma a widow and Madume wants to use that opportunity to woo Ihuoma. As she refuses his advances one particular day he tries to stop her from harvesting the plantain from the land that caused an argument between him and Emenike. In the process the cobra spits in his eyes resulting in his blindness and death.

Ekwueme, the young man, takes over wooing Ihuoma. After tirelessly trying to win Ihuoma’s approval and the discouragements from Ihuoma, he finally marries Ahurole, a girl betrothed to him from childhood. The marriage doesn’t work and in the process of mending it by applying a love potion it breaks completely apart and Ihuoma finds herself submissive to the proposal of Ekwueme. However, divine inquiry suggests that it would be a misfortune for Ekwueme to marry Ihuoma as she was a wife of the Sea-king who was responsible for the death of Emenike and Madume. Ekwueme and Ihuoma insist on going on with the wedding preparation, something that causes the death of Ekwueme.

THE STYLE
The Concubine is a unique novel written in such a way that we as readers see ourselves in it. The language used to depict the struggles, pain, love, hate, death and other issues treated therein are indeed a reflection of our humanity. The author has employed different techniques to deliver his message to the intended audience.

DIALOGUE – there is conversation between and among characters to bring events and characters to life. E.g.: The conversation between Nnadi and Ihuoma (p. 69)
SONGS – to enrich his style he has made frequent use of songs to engage the reader to visualize the life of this traditional community. Check one of the songs on page 80.
POINT OF VIEW – The story is told from a third person point of view. In most cases it is the author who tells the story, in some more specific cases he uses first person point of view to tell stories related to the supernatural world in which case a character like Anyika tells what he knows about the spiritual world.

CHARACTERIZATION
IHUOMA

She is the main character and the wife of Emenike. Ihuoma is Emenike’s twenty-two-year- old wife, married to him for six years. Before her marriage and move to Omokachi, she lived in the nearby village of Omigwe, where her parents, Ogbuji and Okachi, still reside.
She is a caring woman. She spends the majority of her time caring for her three children and her husband. She showed great devotion to her husband in every way she could think of. Even when he was sick, she prepared dish after dish and tempted him (p.7). She also took care of Ekwueme until he fully recovered.
She is pretty and beautiful but not arrogant. Ihuoma is a beautiful and attractive lady whose beauty calls for the attention and admiration of all in her village. Despite her beauty she gracefully conducts herself in her duties of housekeeping and shows no arrogance.
She is sympathetic, supportive, gentle and reserved. Ihuoma was not hesitant to show her sympathy when it was needed. She offered to help in any possible way to see to it that someone’s life is restored to normal. She agrees to arrange a make-believe marriage with Ekwueme if that was the only option available and it worked. Speaking to Wigwe, she says in (p.184) “You don’t know how sorry I feel about the whole thing. I wish I could help you even more.
She is very intelligent. She would assess any situation before agreeing to take part in it. After her husband’s death she refuses many men who woo her for marriage considering the distress and shame she is going to cause to the village.
She is a good advisor and peace maker. She offered to advise other women especially when they were in conflicts. She herself avoided any serious quarrel with other women six years of her marriage. The author says “She found herself settling quarrels and offering advice to older women” (p 12)
She has a firm stand. After the death of her husband there is a high pressure mounting from her mother and other men from the village proposing her for marriage. She refuses to get married to any man as a way of making her forget about her late husband. She tells her mother “If you mean that I should get a lover, then let us discuss something else because I won’t.” (p. 40)
She is a widow. Ihuoma is left a lonely widow with her husband Emenike. The final chapters of the book reveal that her widowhood is predestined by the Sea King who becomes jealous when any man loves her, killing the man and leaving her a widow forever alone on Earth.
She is believed to be a goddess. Ihuoma is believed to be a goddess – the wife of a Sea-King, the ruling spirit of the sea who sought the company of human beings against the advice of her husband and was incarnated. That’s why she is quite right in everything almost perfect. (p. 196)

EMENIKE

He is Ihuoma’s first husband, well respected in Omokachi as the “ideal young man” because of his striking appearance and intelligence.
He is a handsome young man. Apart from being an ideal young man he was well-formed, a favorite with the girls.
He is an average but lucky wrestler. While he was an average wrestler, he had a devil’s luck of throwing people in spectacular ways which onlookers remembered long afterwards.
He is involved in a land clash with Madume. During a journey through the forest near the village, he encounters Madume, a man he had recently quarreled with over rights to a piece of land.
He dies of a lock-chest. He wrestles with Madume but Madume’s sheer bulk overpowers Emenike, who is thrown against a tree stump and seriously injured. He survives only to die of “lock-chest” days later.

MADUME

He is a husband of Wolu and a father of four daughters.
He is gender stereotypical. He fathered four girls with Wolu but he used to call the Wolu’s children because they were girls. He even thought of using his daughters’ dowry to marry another wife who would bear him baby boys. (p.4, 56)
He is big-eyed (unsatisfied). One of the things the villagers didn’t like about Madume was that he was never satisfied with his share in anything that was good. (p 4)
He is a dishonest land grabber. He first quarreled with Emenike over a piece of land which belonged to Emenike. After Emenike’s death he also quarreled with Ihuoma over the same piece of land.
He is quarrelsome. Madume was constantly quarreling with villagers over land, palm wine trees, plantain trees and other such things. (p. 5)
He is jealous. He hated Emenike just because he managed to marry Ihuoma, the most desirable girl from Omigwe that he loved. Also, he hated Emenike since old men cited Emenike as an ideal young man. (p. 5)
He is hot-tempered and cruel to his family. He is very cruel to his children and harasses both his wife and children. Even after losing his sight, he was still harsh to his wife.
He is lazy and unsuccessful.
His actions become his downfall. Soon after his confrontation with Ihuoma, on the land he wrongly considers his own. He is blinded by a spitting cobra and shamed in the eyes of the villagers. In response to loss of his vision, he hangs himself.

EKWUEME

He is a son of Wigwe and Adaku. He was an only child for almost twelve years. Being the only child, he was well taken care of and given the required attention of the only child until Wigwe accused Adaku of trying to make a woman out of a man (p. 131)
He is shy of girls. Ekwueme was shy of girls and he had a hard time expressing his feelings to Ihuoma.
He is a singer. He is a reputed singer who sings along with Wakiri, Adiele the drum beater, Mmam the drummer.
He is a very hardworking young man. Ekwueme was a hardworking, dutiful and a sensible young man which is why among other reasons his father Wigwe loved and respected him. (p. 106)
He has true love and a firm stand. Ekwueme showed strong conviction of love to Ihuoma and was not easily moved. Although he forcibly married Ahurole – a girl he was betrothed to since childhood his love for Ihuoma grew day by day and he died for it.
He was betrothed to Ahurole at the age of 5. Ekwueme was engaged to Ahurole, when she was 8 days old and he was about five years old. Ahurole later turned out to be an overly emotional and often irrational mate making him unhappy in his marriage until Ahurole administers a love potion that drives him to passivity and then to the brink of insanity.
He is an animal trapper and hunter. He is an accomplished trapper and is well-liked in Omokachi. He traps animals and supplies the meat to his family and his friends.

AHUROLE

She is a young woman from Omigwe, the daughter of Wagbara and Wonuma.
She is Ekwueme’s wife, who has been betrothed to him since childhood. She was engaged to Ekwueme, when she was 8 days old and he was about five years old.
She is a pampered wife. She would cry without any apparent reason, something that gave hard time trying to understand her and caused a family quarrel most of the time.
She is superstitious. Advised by her mother she used a love potion to win her husband’s heart, something that broke her marriage completely apart.
She is a fugitive. When the potion fails to elicit the expected results, and instead endangers her husband’s mental state, she flees Omokachi, returning to her parents’ home at Omigwe.

WIGWE

The father of Ekwueme and Adaku’s husband living at Omokachi village.
He is a traditionalist. He betrothed his son to Ahurole when he was only 5 years old and worked hard to make the marriage negotiations that were to take a year to last in six months. He did so partly because he was suspicious Ekwueme would marry Ihuoma instead and it was an abomination to break the childhood engagement.
He is superstitious. He believes in the power of the witchdoctors like Anyika and Agwoturumbe and he consulted them whenever he had issues to be sorted out.
He is remorseful and apologetic. After Ihuoma had given a hand of cooperation to ensure that Ekwueme’s mental health fully recovers, he apologized for his recent rudeness and felt full of remorse. (p.188)
He has a thanksgiving heart. He appreciated the service rendered by Ihuoma and thought of how to reward her but he ended up saying “Thank you my daughter. The gods will reward you” (p.184)

ANYIKA

He is a medicine man (the dibia) who said he came from Eluanyim and is believed to be the mediator between the villagers and the spirit world.
He is superstitious. He believes in the power of the spirits and their influence on human life. For example, he tells Madume that his injury at Ihuoma’s compound was a result of the sea spirits that had sworn to kill him there and said Emenike’s father was among them.
He knows the ways of the village gods, and villagers consult him for rituals of healing or appeasement.
He recognizes Ihuoma’s spiritual origins and predicts the fates of the young men who love her.
In a way he is an honest and sympathetic witch doctor. He for instance rejected Ahurole’s proposal to administer a love potion to her husband because he knew it has side effects on men. He says; “I am sure you have seen active and intelligent men suddenly become passive, stupid and dependent. That is what a love potion can do. So go and settle your differences with your husband peacefully. If you insist, then you must go somewhere else”
Also sympathizing with the Wigwes he offered to pay for them the two manillas required for his divination to work since they had paid so much in the past.

WAKIRI

Wakiri is a village singer who provides comic relief for Ihuoma, Ekwueme, and other villagers by telling jokes. A gentle character accompanies his wit. He helps Ihuoma take care of affairs after Emenike’s death; he also provides Ekwueme with advice and support.

NNADI

He is Emenike’s brother and protector of Ihuoma after her husband’s death. He defends her honor and aids in maintenance of her home and lands.

WAGBARA

He is the father of Ihuoma and Wonuma’s husband who live in Omigwe village. He is a traditionalist as he betrothed her daughter to Ekwueme when she was only 8 days old. He is also a polygamist with two wives Wonuma (Ahurole’s mother) and Aleruchi and he has kept a timetable for his wives to feed him.

WONUMA

She is Ahurole’s mother and Wagbara’s senior wife. She is superstitious as she believes that a love potion would make Ahurole win her husband’s heart. She ends up breaking her daughter’s marriage with her witchcraft sending it to a devastating end.

THE LANGUAGE USE
The author has used a simple language with lots of figures of speech that reflect a traditional flavor of African languages. The language used creates a taste of pure African originality and sums up the African authenticity although the novel is in English. The following are the figures of speech that Elechi Amadi included in his literary piece.

PERSONIFICATION

The sun is going to Chiolu now. (p. 213)
The spirit of death was known to take away people’s souls shortly after midnight. (p.216)
He knew that surprise can beat even the strongest. (p. 1)
Soon the whole village knew there had been a fight. (p.3)
The sun was just starting its journey to Chiolu. (p.18)
Ihuoma’s senses digested the fact of her husband’s death very slowly (p.19)
Death is a bad reaper often plucking the unripe fruit. (p.34)
If you don’t get away fast, your mouth will reject meals today. (p.69)
Madume’s death prevented us from dancing two markets ago. (p.81)

EXAGGERATION

You are equal to seven women, Ihuoma. (p 214)
Look at her legs as thin as those of a mosquito. (p.12)
Ekwe, your foo-foo balls are as big as the head of a baby (p.45)

SIMILE

They pushed each other about treading down bushes like antelopes caught in a rope trap. (p.2)
My hair is almost like that of a mad woman (p. 11)
Look at her legs as thin as those of a mosquito. (p.12)
She says I have cheeks as fat as those of a toad. (p.12)
Faces were as rigid as masks. (p.27)
The night was as dark as soot (p.67)

METAPHOR

Every mother thinks her child is a leopard for strength. (p.22)

ONOMATOPOEIA

Chei, chei, chei- (Ihuoma crying) (p.21)
The sound of Ihuoma’s hammer on the palm nuts pia, pia, pia it went. (p.78)

REITERATION

Help! help! Oh help! My eyes! My eyes! (p.70)

PARADOX

I suppose you are older than Chuma, the oldest man in the village. (p.79). How can someone be older than the oldest man in the village?

LITOTES

It was not uncommon for the gods to visit villagers at such times (p.15)

PARALLELISM

She slapped her thighs, she beat her chest, she raised her hands, she hopped wildly. (p.215)
He was reasonably good looking, he was not a weakling, he was not unduly shy; he could talk to girls fairly easily. Why then did he behave like a carved wooden figure before her? (p.49)

APOSTROPHE
(Address to an absent or imaginary person)

God of the night take this; God of the earth take this; Ojukwu the fair take this; Amadioha king of the skies, this is yours.
And you ancestors, small and great, Guardians of this compound, Take this. (p.6)

SAYINGS

He who entertains a stranger entertains himself. (p. 212)
Beauty does not always mean happiness. (p. 214)
The old men say that death is a bad reaper. (p. 22)
Every mother thinks her child is a leopard for strength. (p. 22)
There is no point insisting that one’s neighbor has a headache when he strongly denies it. (p. 25)
Beauty seems to carry sorrow with it (p. 35)
You will behave like a woman if you are brought up by a woman. (p. 39)
Only a foolish woman would try to struggle with a man. (p. 68)
The hunter who is not satisfied with small game may be obliged to carry home an elephant one day. (p.73)
Still many hands make the light work. (p. 80)

THEMES
SUPERSTITION AND WITCHCRAFT
Superstition is one of the themes in the novel. In the traditional African life, superstition and witchcraft surround the people and creates a state of fear and uncertainty. Superstition is discussed in the following scenarios:

Smallpox is considered extremely ominous. The disease is so dreaded that people dared not call it smallpox. Instead, they call it “the good thing” when referring to it. Also, when a person dies of smallpox, people are forbidden to mourn him.
That is not all, even some animals are attached to some superstitious belief. For instance, it is believed that a vulture does not perch on anyone’s roof except that it brings a divine message to the household. And after this, people go to consult the oracle on the import of the message and the befitting sacrifices must follow.
It is believed that Ihuoma is a sea-goddess of the Sea-King. To marry women like her an expert in sorcery must be consulted if her husband’s spirit was behind her but if it was the sea King it was impossible since he is so powerful.
It is believed that in any case people did not just die without reason. They died because they had done something wrong or because they had neglected to minister to the gods or to the spirits of their ancestors.
To sort out things dealing with the spiritual world they consult witch doctors like Anyika and Agwoturumbe (the dibia) to help them. These use that opportunity to exploit their clients by demanding a lot of items to complete the sacrifices.
With all these scenes of superstition in the novel Amadi seems to be concerned with how much harm people must have brought upon themselves due to ignorance. Due to ignorance in the form of beliefs, lives have been lost, property and resources wasted and bright hope and future dashed.

BRIDE PRICE
Rooted in most African societies is the theme of Bride price which has to be paid before the girl is sent off to her husband. In this novel or rather society bride price is taken as a source of income. Speaking of Madume the author says “but there was enough time to marry another wife and the problem did not bother him unduly. Moreover, his daughter’s marriages would provide him with the money for another wife.

Ekwueme also paid the bride price for Ahurole and it was refunded when she fled back home and it was to be paid to Ihuoma’s brother-in-law (Nnadi) before he got married to her but he died before being able to fulfill this traditional requirement.

WRESTLING
Wrestling is part and parcel of recreation in this traditional society. They hold wrestling matches as part of amusement and enjoyment. However, there is a certain honor attached to those best wrestlers which earns them societal respect.

TRADITIONAL DANCES
Traditional dances (oduma) are also part of the recreation of this society. During the moonlight nights they hold the dances at the village arena for refreshment and enjoyment. Mmam, and Adiele beat the drums while Wodu Wakiri and Ekwueme are singers.

SHAVING AFTER DEATH
There is a traditional custom of shaving after death. To fulfill the requirement Ihuoma also had her hair closely shaven according to the tradition. (p. 28)

SECOND BURIAL RITUAL
There is a ritual called the second burial ceremony. A responsible man like Emenike was to be given the second burial in honor of his contribution during his lifetime. They believed that his spirit rejoiced when the second burial was performed. But again, it was done to officially terminate the days of mourning so that the family members of the deceased may go on with normal life. However, people who hanged themselves like Madume did not deserve the second burial because their bodies were considered an abomination to the society.

POLYGAMY

Polygamy is one of the strongest and reputed African traditions practiced in almost all traditional societies. There are many cases of polygamy in this novel.
The father of Mgbachi (Nnadi) had had four wives when he died. She says “I remember when my father died, six or seven, years ago. My mother and the three other wives nearly collapsed under the strain of the rites'' (p.31)
Wagbara (Ahurole’s father) had two wives- Wonuma and Aleruchi.
Madume was also thinking of having a second wife who would bear him baby boys since his wife had given him four daughters, something that was most annoying to him.

EATING ETIQUETTE
Children ought to observe table manners when eating. One day as Ihuoma visited her parents they were eating with her children and Ogbuji his father commented when Nwonna was talking “Stop talking Nwonna, you are eating. Ihuoma, is this how you are bringing them up?

TABOOS
Most traditional societies have a series of restrictions that forbid the members of the society from doing certain things. There are several taboos portrayed in this society.

No ordinary man was allowed to take down the body of a person who committed suicide except the dibia (medicine man) (p.76)
The bodies of people who committed suicide like Madume are not buried nor given a second burial rite. They are thrown in the Minita forest since they are considered to be an abomination. (p.76)

FOOD TABOO

Women are forbidden to eat neither the meat of a kite nor the gizzard of a bird.
A girl is not allowed to go to the farm during her four days of stay at her husband’s compound before official marriage. (p. 124)
No woman is allowed to enter the room of divination 7 days before the dibia’s occupation. (p 207)
It is an abomination to break early childhood engagement. (p 107)

SEX PREFERENCE

In African context a girl is not expected to inherit the properties of her father when he dies. As a result, getting baby girls only becomes a distress to the father. Madume is annoyed because his wife has four daughters.
“Wolu, Madume’s only wife, bore him four daughters – a most annoying thing, despite the dowries he knew he would collect when they got married. But who would bear his name when he died? The thought of his elder brother's sons inheriting his houses and lands filled him with dismay” (p.4)
At times he referred to them as Wolu’s children and not his – which brought a family conflict. Wolu complains “It is the way you keep talking of my children as if they are not yours. If they were boys, you would regard them more as your children, I am sure. Well, I am not Chineke; I do not create children." (p. 56)

TIME TELLING
This traditional society has a traditional way of telling time. Since they do not have clocks and calendars, they rely heavily on natural ways of telling time which is however not very accurate.

One, they tell the time of the day by looking at the length of the shadows and the position of the sun. as in page 84 Ekwueme says “I wonder how long the shadows are, he went outside. He looked at his shadow and glanced at the sun” At night they rely on the moonrise and the cock crow.
Two, the time of the week is determined by a number of market days.

EARLY CHILDHOOD BETROTHAL
Ekwueme was engaged to Ahurole, when she was 8 days old and he was about five years old. This brings conflicts to the concerned parties because their marriage is not based on mutual love but parents’ preferences. Ekwueme says “My parents selected Ahurole as soon as she was born. I could hardly pull a bow by then. I really had no choice.” (p. 91) Ahurole later turned out to be an overly emotional and often irrational mate making him unhappy in his marriage until Ahurole administers a love potion that drives him to passivity and then to the brink of insanity.

WIFE BEATING
Wife (spouse) beating has always been a method used by African men to discipline their wives. It is illogical to treat your spouse like a child. Speaking of Ekwueme the author says “Many men beat their wives; he hadn’t done so yet” (p. 140)

Later when Ahurole’s behavior did not change he also beat her. The author says “Suddenly Ekwe got up and ordered her to get off in an awful voice. Before she could move, he gave her several slaps on the face and pushed her back violently” (p. 142)

LOVE
The theme of love seems to be central to everything that is taking place in the events of the story. Love, being a universal theme, often forms a major concern of most African novelists. In this novel the author takes a different view of the subject of love.

The question that we are often bound to ask is whether the author is trying to show that love is blind to convention. Truly, parties in love, especially for the first time, are usually blinded by their own inclination so much that they tend to ignore everything else. This is the case with Ekwueme in the story. Despite his awareness of the position of custom and tradition of the land that a betrothal marriage must be sealed, he goes ahead to propose to Ihuoma, the beautiful widow.
The question is, what does true love imply? Must two people in love with each other necessarily get married? Does love between two marriageable opposite sexes always end up in sexual intercourse, in the form of boyfriend and girlfriend or in the form of a married couple? No doubt, Ekwueme’s relationship with Ahurole comes to a sad conclusion, not because the young man does not enjoy sexual pleasure with her, but because his heart longs for someone else, which is Ihuoma.
More so, the author shows that love has to flow freely and unconditionally until it finds its own soul mate. The question of love is further complicated in this novel when it comes to our attention that the spiritual world also interferes with human affairs, deciding for them whom to love and whom not to. The Sea-king for instance is not ready to let go of Ihuoma to be married to any man but at the least he could allow someone to live with her as his concubine not as a wife.

THE INFLUENCE OF A LOVE POTION
Through Wigwe’s wife, Adaku, Amadi introduces another type of charm, the love potion. It is a talisman used mostly by women to catch their husband’s love. This kind of charm is well-known among the world of African housewives: “Usually there are two sides to it. The first is purely an invocation. The soul of the man concerned is invoked and commanded to love or be destroyed. The second is love potion - a simple preparation which is added to the soup” (Pg. 158)

Once a husband has taken a love potion, he cannot raise the smallest finger in front of his wife. All he will be eager to do is to follow her deeds. Anyika explains the effect of the love potion to Ahurole, Ekweme’s wife, in these terms: “I am sure you have seen an active and intelligent man at Chioulu to perform the love potion for her. Amadi describes Ekwueme under the love potion through Adaku's remarks. She confirms that 'Ekwueme was putting on weight but he was growing duller'. His steps were less springy. He could not wake up at the second cock-crow to make for his traps. He stared at people vacantly and talked less” (163).
The author’s description of Ekwueme under the influence of the negative charm is done gradually. First, he finds it difficult to bend over his traps; second, he cannot get up early in the morning to make for his traps; third he has not inspected his traps; finally, his health is getting worse, up to the point where he loses his senses and goes mad. Fortunately, there is an antidote which can match the love potion. It is a charm which is given to the patient in order to interfere with the love potion.

CONFLICT
INTRAPERSONAL CONFLICT
Ekwueme suffered an intrapersonal conflict because of his love for Ihuoma. Both Ihuoma and his own parents did not understand him. Ekwueme was betrothed to Ahurole since childhood and Bothe Ihuoma and Ekwueme’s parents were not ready to break this custom. It caused a great intrapersonal conflict in Ekwueme.

PERSONAL CONFLICT
MADUME VS EMENIKE
Madume has a conflict with Emenike over the question of land. Their conflict yielded to a serious fight that left Emenike seriously injured. The conflict was resolved by the elders but Madume resumed it even after Emenike’s death.

MADUME VS NNADI
Madume had a conflict with Nnadi resulting from Madume’s behavior of bullying Ihuoma over the land issue and preventing her from harvesting the plantain from her husband’s plot of land. It is this conflict that made Madume receive the spitting from the cobra.

FAMILY CONFLICT
WOLU VS MADUME
Madume has a conflict with his wife over the question of gender stereotypes. Because she bore four girls Madume was annoyed and at times he referred to them as Wolu’s children and not his which brought a family conflict. Wolu complains “It is the way you keep talking of my children as if they are not yours. If they were boys, you would regard them more as your children, I am sure. Well, I am not Chineke; I do not create children'' (p. 56)

EKWUEME VS HIS FAMILY
Ekwueme has a conflict with his parents over the marriage question. On one side they wonder how a bachelor becomes interested in marrying a widow and they object to it with all their might causing a conflict with their son. On the other side they wonder how they would dare to break the early childhood engagement that had been already done between him and Ahurole. It was considered an abomination to break such engagements. As a result, Wigwe rushed the marriage negotiations that were to take place for a year and they lasted for only six months. However, the marriage didn’t work out as it was thought.

EKWUEME VS HIS WIFE (AHUROLE)
Since Ekueme’s marriage to Ahurole seemed to be a forced one, the two young couples were never at peace. Ahurole later turned out to be an overly emotional and often irrational mate making him unhappy in his marriage. He even dared to lay a hand on her resulting in a serious conflict until Ahurole administers a love potion that drives him to passivity and then to insanity. It ended when Ahurole fled back to her parents and Ekwueme recovered and was allowed to marry Ihuoma Ekwueme was certain of his fate if he marries Ihuoma, but went on anyway, driven by love.

POSITION OF WOMEN
Women are not allowed to inherit properties. Madume is annoyed by his daughters because they won’t be able to inherit his properties when he dies. But who would bear his name when he died? The thought of his elder brother's sons inheriting his houses and lands filled him with dismay” (p.4)

Women are portrayed as good advisors. Ihuoma is a good advisor and peace maker. She offered to advise other women especially when they were in conflicts. She herself avoided any serious quarrel with other women six years of her marriage. The author says “She found herself settling quarrels and offering advice to older women” (p. 12)
Women are portrayed as parents and caretakers. Ihuoma takes the responsibility of bringing up her children alone after her father’s death. Ahurole’s mother (Wonuma) and Ekwueme’s mother (Adaku) took good care of their children.
Women are portrayed as weak people. Ahurole complains that Ekwueme is fond of scolding her (p. 137). We are also told that many men beat their wives and Ekwueme ended up beating Ahurole. Women also are required to address their husbands as “My Lord”.
Women are treated as children. Wigwe advises Ekwe to treat Ahurole as a child. He says “Think of her as a baby needing constant correction. When a baby annoys you, you don’t carry the anger with you all day, do you? Treat your wife the same” (p. 139)
Women are portrayed as superstitious. Wonuma (Ahurole’s mother) is superstitious as she believes that a love potion would make Ahurole win her husband’s heart. She teaches her daughter to be superstitious. She ends up breaking her daughter’s marriage with her witchcraft sending it to a devastating end.
Women are portrayed as a source of income. Men with daughters expect to earn some money when their daughters get married. That is how Madume considers his daughters not as his heirs.

FATE
The indisputable fact that all human beings are bound to their fate is also an important issue in The Concubine. The freer we think we are from our fate the closer we get to it. Whether we like it or not, what will be will be.

This moral essence seems to be the major thrust of the story. Ekwueme's determination to marry Ihuoma by all means is also to no avail. Much as he tried to run away from what might have been his downfall, he ended up meeting his fate at his own door way. With this, Elechi Amadi appears to suggest that nothing in life is done or undone except that there is a supernatural touch to it.

DEATH AND WIDOWHOOD
The themes of death and widowhood are closely related and this novel is no exception. The maltreatment and psychological trauma the widow go through in the name of custom and tradition is never left out. This practice is so rampant in many traditional African cultures to a point that one wonders if being a woman in some parts of Africa is a curse. If not, why should there always be widow's rites and not widower's rites? Why on earth must a woman go through pain and suffering because her husband died?

Ekwueme’s love affair with Ahurole then Ihuoma reflects these questions. In short, when we consider Ihuoma's reluctance to accept Ekwueme's advances and Ekwueme's defilement of the tradition of betrothal, we would realize that neither love nor sexual desire precedes a successful marriage. What happens when two people are "forcefully" made to enter into marital union is reflected in Ekwueme's disappointment in himself a few days after marrying his betrothed Ahurole. About this, the narrator observes:

"Ekwueme was annoyed with himself. Before marriage he thought he knew all the answers to domestic problems and vowed that when he got married, he would never have to call in a third party, not even his parents, to decide anything between him and his wife. He used to despise men who had to beat their wives and call-in arbitrators to settle disputes every other day. Now that he was one of them, he felt confused." (p. 143)
There are traditional beliefs attached to some cases of deaths; Madume’s case for instance, the tradition dictates that he must neither be mourned nor be given a grand second burial. This is because suicide is considered a taboo. In order to prevent his evil corpse from affecting others, his body will have to be disposed of in the deep forest, like an animal.
Also noteworthy in relation to death in the story is the idea that there is no natural death; that one way or another a man's death must have been caused by either man or a supernatural force. For instance, both Emenike and Madume's deaths are linked to the Sea-King who loves, and is jealous of, his mysterious wife Ihuoma, he punishes anyone that threatens or loves her with death. Even the fine, admirable character in the story, Ekwueme, is not spared the wrath of the fiery Sea-King.

THE ROLE OF THE SUPERNATURAL ON HUMAN LIVES
Most African traditional communities seem to believe in the power of Supernatural forces and their supposed influence on their lives. Evidently, it is seen in the novel that the ‘Sea King’ has a hold on Ihuoma’s life and eliminates all who try or succeed in winning her love. In line with the theme of the role of divinities in human lives, is the theme of superstition. Superstitions were/are common in traditional African societies and are seen in the novel when community members consult mediums (mediators) like Anyika and Agwoturumbe before undertaking various decisions.

Every other event and situation that occurs in the society or to an individual is carefully evaluated against the wishes of the gods and the ancestral spirits upon which sacrifices and divinations are carried out to please the spirits so that they may shower blessings on human endeavors.

MESSAGES

We should not believe in superstition and witchcraft as it creates unnecessary fear.
Polygamy, wife beating, bride price and early childhood betrothal are out-dated customs that should be discarded.
One cannot run away from fate. What is planned to happen will happen anyway even if there are some efforts to prevent it.
Love is natural and it cannot be forced otherwise. However, love is a journey that should not be undertaken blindly ignoring the warning signs.
Family conflicts may result in total family separation.
We should cherish good African customs and practices like traditional dances and wrestling contests as they bring people together and strengthen the communal spirit.
We should avoid gender stereotypes. All children (both boys and girls) should be treated equally.

RELEVANCE
The novel is relevant in a number of ways:

Polygamy, bride price, superstitions, wife beating, and early marriages are still common practices in African traditional set up.
True love still exists and there are people who are ready to die for love.
In some societies there is a serious gender stereotype and women are just treated as a source of income.