Alyssa Larsen

Moser, professor
ELA 10H P2
29 September 2016
Defying Beauty
Smack, pain flared through my spine, as he brought down the stick again. The sting of
the tree limb destroying all thoughts of anything except pain. I bet you've wondered how
I got into this situation? How did I end up in a river with a man beating me with a stick? I
honestly dont know, maybe if I tell you my story we can unravel the mystery together. I
believe it all started the day I turned 16. Usually, my birthday is a happy celebration but
not this year. This year, I was 16 and my mother was furious that I had refused to go
through with the coming of age ceremony. I had been of marrying age for two years prior
to my birthday, and had decided to resist going through the ceremony. The Iria
ceremony turns a young girl into a woman making her eligible to be courted, and
married. I had to go through it because, of how important tradition is to my isolated tribal
nation. My mother began to be embarrassed that I was not yet married and thought it
was high time I became a woman. This became the topic of many arguments, and slowly
lead me to where I am today. I am Taiwo and this is how my story begins.
It started early when I
walked into the shade of the house on my birthday. I was helping my mom cook
fried fish, rice, and some plantain with spices. This mixture was celebratory
of my 16th birthday.
Im so excited were making my favorite dinner together. I said excitedly.
Yes Im excited too, said my mother This will be the day you celebrate
your 16th birthday,and start your journey to womanhood.
There it is shes doing the same thing shes done for two years now. She doesn't
care that Im finally 16. All she cares about is the fact that this year I have to go through
the
Iria ceremony, or risk dishonoring my family. You probably want to know
what the Iria ceremony is since, I keep talking about it. In the Ijo
tribe it is custom that all women who are to be married must go through a 3
month long ceremony. In this ceremony girls are sent to the fattening huts. By
the end of the ceremony you are a plump fruit, ripened and ready to be picked
by a man who will make you his delectable meal for years to come.
Mom I will not go through the ceremony, I say. My mother pauses for a
moment.
I am tired of you denying my right to see you become a woman, she said in a
harsh tone You will go through with the ceremony, for I cannot have a disgrace of a
daughter
bring the wrath of the spirits down upon our family.
She threatened me, can you believe that! She expected me to be obedient to her
traditions, but how could I have been
obedient when I knew that life could be so much more. I had only
learned about the world around me 3 years prior. When some
Christian missionaries visited our village and told us how eloquent and

wonderful life is in the rest of the world. Its 1772 and, I wanted to
see the world, and learn about the strange objects the sisters had put
into my mind. However, I could not leave my family, I loved them too much to
abandon them, so in the end I bent to my mother's iron hard will like clay.
You win, I said throwing my hands in the air and sighing dejectedly.
What? asked my mother in unbelief.
You win, Ill go through with the ceremony, but Im not doing this because I want
to. Im doing it to protect the family from the spirit's wrath and your temper.
I said, still not believing what I had just agreed to. The next few days were filled
with preparation and celebration of me starting the ceremony. The entire village came
out to watch me proceed to the bride quarters or what most called the fattening huts. I
felt like everyone wanted me to be happy about offering up
my independence. For the next 3 to 4 months I was going to be stuck in a hut
with only my mother and aunt for company. We stepped into the hut and my ordeal
began.
Stay down! begged my mother
Eat more Gari. commanded my aunt.
I sighed, I had been contained in this thatched hut for 2 months and my Mother
and aunt were still insufferable. At this point in time I was only allowed to eat, sleep, go
to the
bathroom, and sing. Why did I have to sing? Along with the social
importance this ritual is also spiritually important to my tribe, and has
religious significance. In my tribe we believe before we were born we
dwelt with the water spirits. These spirits will continue to follow,
guide, and protect us as children. However, once we go through the coming of
age ceremony it is believed we can protect ourselves. In Order, to prove they are
women, girl's going through the ceremony must detach themselves
from the spirits by singing sacred hymns. Now you maybe thinking that
worshiping water spirits is a ridiculous thing to do, but I have
seen them and spoke to them. They are real, when I would sing those spiritual
songs a certain spirits would always appear to me. One spirit's name was Obi and
as the hours of singing and boredom went on I began to get to know him.
Mother, may I go down to the river to sing? I asked that day.
I suppose, but when you return you must eat more. She commanded Youve
hardly put on any weight.
She was right I was not the right shape for a Nigerian bride, probably because I
would go running whenever given the chance to go outside. I didnt want to fattened up,
it made me feel lethargic, and sickly.
Ill be back soon. I say as I nearly jump out of my skin to get out of that stifling
hut.
I ran all the way the river. Before, I could even start my song I saw Obi waiting for me.
Hello I said tensely.
Weve been talking to each other for weeks now and you still think Im an
insidious water spirit. He said regarding my tentative approach.
Its just hard to get used to seeing mythological creatures running amuck by the
river. Give me a break! I said defensively
Sorry to overwhelm you he said chuckling.
You know I appreciate your whole mystical protective duty, but the ceremony
ends next week shouldnt you stop hanging around? I asked
I am bound to protect you until the end of the ceremony, so no I cant stop
hanging around. he said defiantly.

Obi was more stubborn than I was, so I knew better than to try to get him to
leave. In all
honesty I was nice to have a friend to talk to during those months of monotony.
Even if, that friend was a mystical spirit who could very well have been a
figment of my imagination.
I cant stay long, I say My mother wants me back so I can eat more before the
ceremony.Just thinking of my mother's rigorous dedication, like an ostrich digging its
head in the sand made me want to roll my eyes.
Will you sing me one song before you leave, you have such a beautiful voice.
He asks
Alright, one song. I say.
When I wake up seven days later my mother and aunt are already hard at work
to make me a presentable bride. I was draped in traditional patterned cloth and jewelry. I
was to be presented as bride and needed to look stunning. People had always
said I looked beautiful, but today my mother said I looked like a goddess. Soon
I am pushed out into the middle of the brides commons with the other girls
finishing the ceremony. We were soon lead to the river by the chief of the
tribe who brandished a ceremonial staff. When, we arrived t we were told what we
already knew. We were told to sing the final hymnal to banish the water spirits
to prove we were ready to be woman. If we are put in a trance by the
spirits we will be beaten to be freed.
Fail this test and I will be dishonoring my family, but pass and I am trapped as a
housewife. I want to see the things the missionaries spoke of but can I abandon all I
know?
I begin my song and I see Obi my only friend. I see my life before me. I see my
chance slipping away. I stop singing and cry. I try to step out of the river
that I have unknowingly walked into. My mother screams at me to stop. The chief
begins to beat me thinking me under a spiritual trance. Now you know how I got
here, and how I must make a choice that will decides where my story goes from
here. I choose. I choose to run through the river, into the fields, and with
Obi by my side I choose to be free. As I stand in the tall golden grass I realize I am Taiwo
and I have come to taste the world.

Works Cited
By the 14th Century They Too Are Muslim. "HISTORY OF NIGERIA."
HISTORY OF NIGERIA. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2016.
"The Igbo, Sometimes (especially Formerly) Referred to as Ibo, Are One
of the Largest Single Ethnicities in Africa." The Igbo, Sometimes (especially Formerly)

Referred to as Ibo, Are One of the Largest Single Ethnicities in Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. 03
Oct. 2016.
"Anthropology Review Database." Anthropology Review Database. N.p., n.d. Web. 03
Oct. 2016.