Sun After Clouds

A Hungry Marriage

One midnight, one of Gboye’s servants had gone to relief himself in the bush. He saw the lovers in each other’s arms with lovey-dovey. He ran back home and reported to his master. Therefore, Gboye instructed the servant to keep watching over Alake’s window and doors every night. This action totally blocked the lovers from seen each other. And that really sank Alake’s heart so much. After some days, she could not bear Wole’s absence anymore. So, she decided to stage many days hunger-strike to protest against his father’s harsh attitude towards her choice of spouse. Only a week to her hunger-strike, Alake had become frail, sickly and unattractive. It said that beauty is like a flower, nurtured by the water of care, and when the water of care dried up or stop flowing, the flower would wither. All the veins in her beautiful face and body stood out like lines drawn with a charcoal on a clay mud wall. Feared that her life was in danger, her parents decided to allow her marry her heart throb.

"I leave you to follow your heart desires. But, if anything go wrong in that boy’s house, don’t come running back here for an assistance,’’ Gboye warned in a daring voice , his index finger waving aggressively towards her eyes.

"I won’t, father,’’ Alake replied firmly, determination written all over her. That will be over my dead body,’’ she added, clicking her thumb with her middle finger around her head. "I would never return for any help.'’

Gboye’s eyes widened in anger, his mouth opened in amazement, but he found nothing to voice out. Alake shrugged. She locked and unlocked her fingers. With frown mixed with smiles on her face, she added triumphantly:

"I am prepared and capable to shoulder anything that comes my way in Wole’s house with an open mind.’’

Not long, Alake regained her weight and beauty. Her glamour even grew more than ever.

After some months, Wole came with some of his kinsmen from Awoye village. They paid the bride price and a scanty traditional marriage rites followed. Even though Wole had laboured so hard to save the little money for the marriage, the villagers still badmouthed the marriage. They called it a 'hungry marriage feast'. The people who attended the marriage, most of them were Gboye’s wealthy friends, and their relatives. They had expected a glamorous, talk-of-the-village marriage but got disappointed. Even the pounded yam and melon-seed soup they served in the party did not go round all the visitors. Out of unforgiving indifference towards the marriage, Gboye had contributed not a dime to it.

According to the villagers, the marriage was one of the most shameful one they had seen. Most brides in all the villages were usually accompanied by the maidens of their clans, carrying the gifts they received to their husbands’ houses but not Alake. The meager gifs of pieces of clothes, yams, stockfishes, stainless pots and enamel plates she had received, she and Wole had carried them on their heads to Awoye.

Gboye had warned his household not to accompany the newly married couple to Awoye and they had obliged.

But all the malicious talks did not hold any place on the minds of the couple, even though they overheard them. Their greatest dream just came to past, despite many odds. The joy of getting married each other had overwhelmed any negative thoughts on their minds.

After the marriage, the couple settled in Wole’s compound in Awoye. The third day after the marriage, he and one or two of his kinsmen went to Ladele to present Alake’s parents with two full kegs of palm wine and a basket-full of kola-nuts. That was to say thank you to their in-laws for giving them a wife who was complete and not being tampered with by other men before marriage.

It was part of the villagers’ customs for bridegrooms to present appreciative kegs of palm-wine to the brides’ parents after marriage. Full kegs of palm-wine signified that the virginity of the new bride was found intact during consummation.

It was a big shame and insult to the parents whose half-filled kegs were presented to. That signified that the parents were not responsible enough to raise their daughter a complete woman, a virgin. On the other hand, it was a big pride and respect for the parents of the bride whose virginity was taken by her husband after marriage. The villagers also believed virginity is the most cherished gift a groom could receive from his new bride.

Into few months of the marriage, Alake became pregnant. But that did not deter her from assisting Wole on the farm. The farm was very far, stressful and not health-wise for a pregnant woman. All Wole’s pleads to stop Alake from accompanying him to the farm fell on her deaf ear.

"We’re one now and should be there for one and another in any condition,’’ Alake would say determinedly, having a slight irritation in her voice as if Wole was disturbing her life with cloying show of affection, "don’t bother too much about me, my beloved. I would be fine, ah!’’

She accompanied Wole to do works like weeding and tilling, even when her pregnancy had become heavy. The village’s Chief-priest-c*m-traditional-midwife, Iyaagbebi, had warned her twice on the path the farms. That hot afternoon, she was balancing a large enamel bow full of fire woods and yams on her head. Her right hand was supporting her back while the left clasping around her protruded belly when the elderly woman met her.

"You see my daughter, going to farm with this heavy pregnancy is dangerous to your health and your unborn child, ’’ Iyaagbebi cautioned Alake.

"Appreciate your concern, wise one,’’ Alake responded nonchalantly, covertly raising his nose in mockery of Iyaagbebi’s caution, "but I can’t bear to see my lovely husband doing that rigorous work alone.’’

"You see my daughter, assisting your husband is a sign of true love but not when you are heavily pregnant with his first issue. You just have to stop it pending after you have given birth and weaned your baby…’’

Alake thanked Iyaagbebi. She promised to hearken to her advice. But deep down inside of her, she knew she would not.

"What is the essence of arguing with these elders anyway?’’ Alake thought aloud, smiling and clapping her hands after Iyaagbebi had left. "They would always think they know everything and always right. Haven’t I seen many young brides like me in Ladele going to farms with pregnancies, heavier than mine? Didn’t I see them having saved delivery afterwards? I owned myself and know what best suit my body. Iyaagbebi, please take your admonitions to the gods.’’

Again, she laughed out loud and clasped her hands over her mouth, mocking the elderly woman in her absence.

When Iyaagbebi met Wole in the village another day, she instructed him to stop Alake from accompanying him to the farm.

"May your days be long, wise one,’’ Wole said wearily. ‘’She wouldn’t listen to me. When her mind is made up nothing could change it.’’

Iyaagbebi urged Wole not to relent in stopping her from such unhealthy acts. Wole thanked the old woman and promised not to relent in persuading her.

Even though Wole used to dream of a safe child-birth, the thought of the possibility of Alake developing health issues or complications saddled on his mind. He would pray nothing happens to her and the child during or after child birth. Wole was like the proverbial husband whose wife was suffering pregnancy pain in her stomach, but he, in his heart.

But will Alake have safe delivery; despite the stress she put herself in during pregnancy? That is a question for the future to answer.