The She In It: A Review of Ogot’s The Rain Came

A wise woman doesn’t want to be anyone’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim. -Maya Angelou

For all the years that I have developed a conscience like mine, I was constantly slapped by the incandescent standards of the universe and its smallest slice of how women should be. A woman is always portrayed as a godsend, pretty and elegant, or a royalty in distress saved by a hero who makes her swoon, or an evil witch behind the failure of every man. But a woman is not a gift, she is not a possession, she is not an asset. A woman is not someone to save, if she is to protect herself, then from what? And yes, this paragraph is always present in my feminist articles. The most exhausting thing about being a woman is the fact that we should still have to fight for our image as individuals, which is an inflection of how I came to the idea that the purpose of humanity is to break the chains of stereotypes. . Humans try to discredit and destroy what exists, from beliefs to lifestyles and even the correct color of pants to match their socks. This urge to be free is why José was shot in a park, why Romeo and Juliet died, and why all the revolutions and wars happened.

Grace Ogot or Grace Emily Akinyi, the Kenyan writer who happens to be the author of the story ‘The Rain Came’ and many other stories, presented the moment of “Breaking-out” through the characters’ struggle against the chains of traditions. and culture. . Many of their stories are set against the scenic backdrop of Lake Victoria and the traditions of the Luo people. The Luo people are interesting, indeed too interesting, specifically their traditions. They do not practice the common ritual of circumcision for men; instead, they remove 6 front teeth as a sign of initiation towards virility. And these traditions are the common theme of Ogot’s stories, including folklore, mythologies, and sometimes oral traditions.

This theme is actually the center of “The Rain Came”, a story about the daughter of a chief who was chosen by the gods to be sacrificed for the rain to come. The story was originally titled “A Year of Sacrifice,” but it changed to what it is now for reasons I didn’t really get into. Ogot’s inspiration for writing was mainly due to the stories his grandmother told him when he was still young and his perception of the conflicts of tradition in society was further fueled when he worked as a nurse and midwife in Uganda and England. He also represented his people at UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

In the story “The Rain Came” a lot of traditional beliefs and social rules were introduced. The element of sacrifice was established, the suppression of women’s rights, gender inequality and the power of traditions. That claim will be explained through the following analyzes.

Labong’o

The story describes Labong’o as a chief who, throughout his life, tried to accept the order of the Luo ancestors. He married five women so that he could have a daughter, and Oganda arrived, but the confusion began when the ancestors entered the medicine man, Ndithi’s dreams, that Oganda was chosen to be the sacrificial piece of the lake monster for end up. drought and attract rain.

There are two implications of sacrifice for Labong’o’s character. It was first when he had no choice but to marry and remarry until he finally had a daughter, who, as stated, was ironically taken from him, rendering his efforts irrelevant, if I may say so.

The second sacrifice is your daughter. As the head of the village, he is obliged to always choose the improvement of the city over anything or anyone, even if it is his family or himself. It was then that the conflict of his role as boss and father began.

“Never in his life had he faced such an impossible decision. Refusing to give in to the rainmaker’s request would mean sacrificing the entire tribe, putting the interests of the individual before those of society. More than that. It would mean disobeying the ancestors and most likely erasing the Luo people from the surface of the earth. On the other hand, letting Oganda die as a ransom for the people would permanently paralyze Labong’o. I knew I would never be the same boss again. ”

It was debated between tradition and family, but as all the contradictions in the world end, one of the opposite aspects prevails, and it is his role as great boss. He chose to let Oganda go to the lake and die for the rain to come, for the people to live, to remain the great chief who always puts the city first.

Uganda

“The ancestors chose it as a sacrifice to the lake monster so that we could have rain.”

That is the line that Labong’o spoke in front of the people as a declaration of Oganda’s fate. Oganda is the head of the daughter of the Luo people, and yet her status did not help to change her fate. She was chosen by the ancestors and there was nothing that neither she nor her father could do against her.

Oganda is a name that literally means ‘beans’ due to its white skin, which is a rarity in the Luo people, which is native to the ebony people.

When her family sat inside the room with her outside, she thought that maybe they were just planning her wedding, and that just means the inability of the women in her society to defend their own marriage. But the fact is, Oganda and all the other women in her society simply accept that as part of their life, and there was no trace of resistance on the part of any female species. They just accept the things that society has to offer, it doesn’t matter if they deserve it, whatever they dictate, and that’s just sacrifice.

She was scared at first, which is a natural reaction if you knew that your life has to end for the safety of the majority, but still she bravely walked to the lake alone and succumbs to her own death. Her courage was already established, honoring the women’s team, but Ogot took a turn. The man who loves Oganda, and obviously loves her, came after her in the middle of her trip to the lake and saves her.

“We must quickly escape to the unknown land,” Osinda said urgently. “We must flee from the anger of the ancestors and the retaliation of the monster.”

Just when the going gets tough, when she’s completely dry and out of water to drink, a man comes and saves her. Osinda, the great and wonderful, goes to her assistant. It’s so cliche on so many levels that Superman always saves Lois Lane, as Spiderman saves Mary Jane. Men behind hero masks, which reminds me of how female superhero characters are presented in minimal costume and perfect hair amid all the battles and stunts. The way the media portrays beauty makes me want to vomit.

What does it really mean to be a woman? In this story there are many mirrors that reflect women. Uganda is the woman who sacrifices herself. Even in Greek mythology, women make sacrifices, even the gods. Hestia sacrificed her throne for Dionysus. The Ugandan mother is also a reflection. Her mother was saddened, in fact mortified, that her only daughter had to die for the others to live, but all she could do was cry. Women are sometimes powerless. They are always under the rules of husbands and society, and I don’t mean it literally.

In the end, Oganda ran away with Osinda from the town and all its people. She gave in to Osinda’s offer to run away and live happily ever after, away from the lake monster, away from the eyes of her ancestors, and away from her family. And just when they turned their backs, the sky darkened and brought drops of water. It rained. They all got their happiness.

Rain

Rain is one of the most emotional symbols used in literature, and in this story, all the actions of the characters are connected to this rain. The townspeople were starting to panic because it had been so long since the last time it rained and their resources are running low, and the fear of death among them began to increase with the onset of the drought. And as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures, that’s why people made the decision to sacrifice a woman who has not yet met a man, which means ‘virgin’, for it to rain, which is a very barbaric thing to do. . . All this sacrifice that happens in history makes me think that in all the stories I have read, it is a ‘duty’ that the person to be sacrificed is always a virgin woman, even in the Bible (Jephthah’s daughter). Why not a virgin man?

Anyway, at the end of the story, even if Oganda wasn’t offered up and eaten by the lake monster, the skies were still raining. It may mean that Oganda’s acceptance of his fate as a slaughtered lamb is enough to please the ancestors and give them the rain they want.

This story is proof of how traditions influence the decisions and actions of a human being. What we are today as individuals and as the human race in general, is the result of centuries and centuries of conditioning. Who can say that one’s tradition and beliefs are wrong? Who can say that we belong to a generation of idiots whose brains have been replaced by a virtual world that we develop and coexist with, called the Internet? What does it really mean to be a woman? Who sets the standards? I don’t know the answers to my own questions, all I know is that we all have our own mind and it is a responsibility to really use it.