The Concept of Mammywater in Flora Nwapa's Novels Author(s): Sabine Jell-Bahlsen Source: Research in African Literatures, Vol.

26, No. 2, Flora Nwapa (Summer, 1995), pp. 30-41 Published by: Indiana University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3820269 . Accessed: 14/06/2011 08:31
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The Conceptof in Mammywater FloraNwapa's Novels

SabineJell-Bahlsen

Flora Nwapa's home town Oguta, a market and an administrativecenter, is located on Oguta Lake in Imo State of Southeastern field Nigeria.' I have spentmuch time there since 1978, involved in ethnographic on researchfocusing on women,Africanreligion,andin particular the ever present and goddess of OgutaLake, Uhammiri, herwomen worshippers. From my conversationswith Flora Nwapa, my field researchin and around Oguta,and also from readingotherNigeriannovels, poems, and texts, I arrivedat severalconclusions: 1. Mammywater the local goddess, Ogbuide,or Uhammiri, identical. and are 2. The term"Mammywater" transcendsgender.It is equally appliedto male and female waterdeities, andalso to divine pairs. 3. Thereare many local watergoddesses in Igbolandbesides Ogbuideor Uhammiri:e.g., the rivergoddessesAva andIdemmili.2 4. These water goddesses representa universaltheme of the supreme"mother water"goddess in Igbo cosmology. Accordingto ChinweAchebe, the generic Igbo termfor this supremewatergoddess is nne mmiri,"motherwater,"while herpidginEnglishnameis Mammywater, spelled in a multitudeof ways (15). 5. The concept of the "motherwater"goddess, Mammywater, more than of a is divinity. She also embodiesandmanifestsimportant aspectsof womanhoodin pre-colonial Igbo culture and society. Some of these aspects are still visible today,despitethe assaultsof missionaries,colonial conquest,andpost-colonial (Jell-Bahlsen"FemalePower"). impoverishment In local beliefs, the divine womanis thoughtto governfertility.In manyparts of Igboland,both men and women pray to her for children.An Ukannawoman explainedin pidgin English why women come from afarto Ukannato prayto the rivergoddessAva: This is Ava,the big water.... Some women,wherethey findchild,they will come to this place, come stay for over three months. They go fetch that water.They drinkand bath. Within three months, then comes their picin [child].... They will carrycow, bring goat and yams, and give the thing.... If they bor picin, they will come and worship the Ava. (JellBahlsenAva) In Ogutabothmen andwomen prayto the divine pairof waterdeities, Uhammiriand Urashi.InpidginEnglishthey areknownas Mammywater, bothindividually and as a divine pair. They give children.3This is evident from the many statementsand oral histories I collected duringmy field researchin and around he had Oguta.For example, when a man, Aguriaboria, four daughters, prayedand

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madea pledge to Uhammiri. Whenhis wife finallygave birthto a son, they offered Uhammiri white ram.Aguriaboria the goddess's priestat hershrine: told a "Greetingsto you Obiadinbugha[the priest]! Well, you see, all these I thingsI have assembledhere,becausewhenmy wife was pregnant, came to Uhammiri offereda chicken,andbegged herthatshe shouldassist and me; I pledgedthatif my wife deliversa male child thatI shouldcome and thankUhammiriand offer a ramto her...." (Jell-Bahlsenand Jell Divine Earth) Whenthefatherof a newly bornbabyboy consulteda divinerto determine who reincarnated son, the divinertold him: his She "Ogbuideis a beautifullake. A womanwithmightyhairon herhead.4 is also very kind.... The richeshave alreadycome out. See the Uhammiri lake is bringingyou somethinggood. She is giving you two things.... It is a gift to youfrom Uhammiri. is double clear: yourfather has re-incarIt natedas a son toyou." (Jell-Bahlsen,"Names"201; emphasisadded) Accordingto Chinwe Achebe , the Igbo "motherwater"goddess Nne Mmiri/ controlstheentryandexit intoand Mammywater/Idemili/Uhammiri/Ogbuide/Ava fromthis world(14-25). She is the goddessof the crossroads(ChinuaAchebe"SacrificialEgg").Before one is born,he or she mustcross a river.There,the individual is confronted the watergoddess(ChinweAchebe 14-25).She challengesthepact by of destiny, akara aka, made between one's body, ahu, and one's soul, chi, witnessed by the supremegod Chi-Ukwu.One's destinycan be changedwith the help of the goddess. But if the goddess helps a person to change his or her destiny on thanmerely a housewife earth,e.g., to become wealthyor successful in life, rather andmother,thenthatpersonmustbe the goddess's worshipper. this is not recogIf nized on time, or if the personso assistedby the goddess before birthlaterrefuses her calling, then the goddess can cause madness,misfortune,or premature death, either of the individual or beloved ones (Chinwe Achebe; Jell-Bahlsen and Jell Eze Nwata). Flora Nwapa's early novels, Efuru (1966), Idu (1970), Never Again (1975), andalso her last book, TheLakeGoddess(1995), areall set in Oguta.The goddess of OgutaLake, what she standsfor, and what she means especially to women is a themein all of Nwapa's novels. The goddess's husbandis the rivergod, prominent Urashi.InEfuru,Idu,NeverAgain,andTheLakeGoddess,we readaboutUhamiri6, or Ogbuide, and Urashi. In 1979, Nwapa published a children's book, entitled The story revolves aroundtwo children,a brotherand sister from Mammywater. Oguta, and their encounterswith the "womanof the lake" who, in this book, is called "Mammywater," local pidginEnglishname. her and Uhamiri, Initially,I wonderedaboutthe differentnames, Mammywater usedby FloraNwapain herdifferentbooks.Moreover,I was deeplyirritated forby eign publicationscontrastingwhat they assumeto be older, local waterspiritsand deities, on the one hand, and what they see as a "modem"figureand cult called "MamiWata,"or "MammyWater," the other.7 on WhenI finallymet FloraNwapa in 1988, the questionburningin my mind was: "Is the spiritdescribedin Nwapa's children'sbook, Mammywater, identicalwith the goddess Uhamiri,aboutwhom we readin Efuru,Idu, andNeverAgain?Or arethese differentspiritsanddeities?" Flora Nwapa plainly told me that these concepts and deities are one and the samegoddess.

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Anothernamefor Locally, the goddess of OgutaLakeis knownas Uhammiri. Uhammiriis Ogbuide.The goddess has many names and titles. So do the people In who worshipher (Jell-Bahlsen"Names").8 Oguta,as in otherpartsof Igboland, names change and are accumulated. People, places, and deities can all have more than one name, title, and identity (Mbabuike).To the outside world, the spiritis she or Internally, is Uhammiri, Ogbuide,thegoddessof OgutaLake. Mammywater. The day dedicatedto the goddessis Orieday.9 Why did FloraNwapause the local name,Uhamiri,in one book and"Mammywater"in another? FloraNwapa'sreplywas simple.She wantedto sell herbooknot in Oguta,but also in Lagos, andeven abroad.People theredon't know Uhamonly which is understoodin miri. But they do know the English name, Mammywater, Europeand Americaas well. The Mammywater myth is known in all of Igboland and all over Nigeria.A truedaughter Oguta,FloraNwapaalso had a keen sense of of business.She wantedherbooks to sell, be read,andknownby as manypeople as possible, includinglocal people, Nigerians,foreigners,men, women, andchildren alike. Throughher books, she wantedall these people to know aboutthe goddess andthe greatwomenof hercountry,theirstrengths, problems,beliefs, andfeelings thatunitethemwith otherwomenthe worldover. The lake goddess, Uhamiri,is an important recurrent and theme in Nwapa's novels, Efuru,Idu,NeverAgain, andTheLakeGoddess,andin herchildren'sbook However,while inspiredby local Ogutabeliefs andlore,Nwapaalso Mammywater. deconstructsthe myth of the goddess.' In the old days, wealth and childrenwere consideredidentical.Childrenwere more valuedthanmoney. This is expressedin the Igbo nameNwa ka ego, meaning"childis more valuablethanmoney."In her novels, Nwapaemphazisesthe notionof the goddess's powerto give money(Efuru 192), butrejectsthe idea thatthe goddess gives children(203,208, 281). Insteadof these issues. She even suggeststhat mergingwealthandchildren,Nwapaseparates albeitwealthyandbeautiful,takeschildrenaway(Mammywater), is Mammywater, herself barren,and thereforeunableto give childrento humans(Efuru208, 281). These assumptions local beliefs andideology, wherethe watergodstarklycontrast dess is neither childless, nor forbids or destroys children. Moreover, while the divinepair,Uhammiri Urashi,is ideally conceivedof as balancedandcompleand mentary,Nwapa's lake goddess always quarrelswith her husband,and the pairis not on good terms (Efuru156, Mammywater). goddess is Nwapa's sourceof The the However, Nwapa also re-constructs myth of the idealized divine inspiration. womanandvoices her own concernsandideals of womanhood.In manyrespects, Nwapa's heroineis an ideal woman,but she also has serious flaws thatcontradict customaryideals andnorms. The watergoddess is as elusive andslipperyas the liquidelementitself andcan assumeany shapeor "gestalt." is kaleidoscopic,sparkling, colorfullike the She and rainbow."Like the Igbo supremeGod, Chi-ukwu,the watergoddess is not to be confinedto one icon. She is a spiritthatmay temporarily takeon a humanformand appearin the form of a local woman or a stranger,old or young. We may catch a glimpse of Uhammiriin Oguta'smarketwhere she is always present.In Mammywater, during his underwaterexploration,the little boy, Deke, converses with Mammywater: "Do you often go away fromhere?" "Yes, I go out every marketday to buy things."

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"ButI have neverseen you in the market." "No childrendon't see me. Only adultsdo. Yourmothersees me every marketday."(27) Held every four days, Oguta's marketis dominatedby women. Both women and men dreamof the goddess Uhammiri,whisperinghername. They sing her praises anddancefor her.Theydedicatethemselvesto the goddesson Orie,hersacredday. They do not eat or kill her favorite animals, the aquatic tortoise (Nwapa, Idu 180-82), the crocodile,or the python.'2 Furthermore, woman, as the goddess's daughter,is at once her embodiment of and her worshipper.The attributes the goddess and her worshippermix. Their The notion of Uhammirimerges with that of the qualities are interchangeable. womanas goddess. The divine womanis at once mysteriousandawesome.A truly unusualOgutawoman,she is firedby divine inspiration, is the focus of Nwaand pa's novels. Efuru, Idu, Kate, Amaka, Dora, Rose, and Agnes are remarkable women. Eachone is beautiful,has thickhair,is charming,and is admiredby all. A she character, does not always conformto the strong,self-willed, andindependent norms. This woman may have only one child, as Efuru and Idu, or twins,'3 as Amaka. She is a distinguishedand powerful woman who is mobile, travels and and trades,is enterprising successful.She is self-confident,fearless,even bold, and her business flourishes.This woman attractsmen, women, and children.People love her;some areenvious. The good womaneasily adaptsherselfto differentpeoThe ples andsituations,is gentle andnurturing. womanis loving andcaring,warm and honest. She is smartbut generous, and she attractsmoney. Doing well, she alwayscopes when life plays trickson her,andshe meetsdifficulties,even tragedy. She is confrontedwith antagonisticcircumstances, inferiormen, matrimonial and marital Efuruloses not only herhusband also but problems, jealousy, andhardship. heronly child.The womansuffers,butpersists.Thegoddessis alwayswithher.She and consoles, compensatesandencouragesher.Mammywater thewomanblend,as thegoddessis theembodiment womanhood,a beautifuldaughter, mother,a sisof a ter, a lover, and a friend.Like the goddess, womanis mysterious,soughtfor children,andgives riches.Admiredandfeared,the goddessis kind,butalso demanding and awesome. The goddess can cause madness and destroy those who do not meet their vows (Chinwe Achebe; Jell-BahlsenMammyWater;Jell-Bahlsenand Jell Eze Nwata). Some fear thatUhammiri takes away children,but othersbelieve that she helps those who cannot conceive (Jell-Bahlsenand Jell Divine Earth; Jell-Bahlsen"Names").The goddess compensatesfor losses and infuses women withpower.She encourages,inspires,andis medicine,for she heals.The womenof Ogutawho worshipOgbuidesing this song to praiseher14: Iyanuma,lyanuma Iya-numa,Iya-numa Nne mu, Iya-numa My mother,Iyanuma na Iyanumais medicine, Iya-numa obuogwu, lyanuma Iya-numa Ogbuidewatermother Iya-numa Ogbuide anwani,Iya-numa It is medicine,lyanuma na Iya-numa obu ogwu Eze di mu, Aku obi bia My royalhusband,AkuObi, come Ogbuideyini Iyi OgbuideresemblesIyi Anwani Anwani

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Everybodysays it is wonderful Wateris wonderfulandawesome Iya-numa Aku Obi, it is a journey Iya-numait is medicine Iya-numait is wealth(money) Distinguishedwoman Ogbuidethe watermonarch

Obunana odi egwu Mmiridi egwu, di mu ujo Iya-numa... Aku obi na obu ije, Iya-numa na Iya-numa obu ogwu na Iya-numa obu ogwu na Iya-numa obu ego

Odogwunwanyi Ogbuide,eze iyi It has reachedall of Igbo land OgaraIgbo onu umumgberyi You feed the poor Okpara Womanof thickhair Nwanyi ishi ajakaja The goddessherselfis respectfullygreeted:"EzeMmiridi Egwu!"thatis, "The Queen of the Water/ Water Monarchis great / awesome!" Her priestesses are the shout:"Miridi ewu!"thatis, greetedandaddressed sameway. Herworshippers "Wateris great/ power!"The goddess's esotericpower can extendto the profane world.In NeverAgain, we readaboutherpower to beat an invadingarmy,a belief maintainedup till this day by local people claimingthatthe goddess drownedthe Water).'5 Mammy enemy's gunboatduringthe Biafrancivil war(Jell-Bahlsen life Customary in Ogutais based on Omenala,the ancestralrules of the land, The the laws of the earthgoddess,Anil Ala, and of the watergoddess, Uhammiri. lake goddess's rules are especially importantto women,16 who uphold the goddess's sacreddemands.In return,the goddess endows women with greatnessand wealth.A divinertells Efuruandherfather: You area greatwoman.NwashikeOgene,yourdaughter a greatwoman. is The goddess of the lakehas chosenherto be one of herworshippers. is a It greathonour.She is going to protectyou and shower riches on you. But you mustkeepherlaws.Lookaroundthistown,nearlyall thestoreybuildings you find are built by women who one time or another have been worshippersof Uhamiri.Many of them had dreamssimilarto yours.... Uhamiriis a greatwoman. She is our goddess and above all she is very kind to women. If you areto worshipher you mustkeep her taboos. Orie day is hergreatday. (192; emphasisadded) All of the centralcharacters Nwapa's novels-Efuru, Idu, Amaka,Kate, Dora, in Rose, and Agnes-are women guided and influencedby the watergoddess. This associationstandsfor a divine andsuperhuman notionof womanhoodexpressedin several ways. Despite their differentindividuallife histories,Nwapa's heroines, besides being successful in theircareers,have severalcharacteristics common. in Each is an extraordinary and, to some degree, non-conformistwoman. Although the generallyabidingby the normsset by local custom,this womanalso transcends norms. Amaka has twins whom she keeps and adores.Traditionally this was an offense againstIgbo custom (Uchendu),but even by moder standards Amakais bold, becausethe man who fatheredherchildrenis a RomanCatholicpriest.Efuru challengessociety's normsin subtleways, as she prefersromanticlove to arranged

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marriageandelopes with her lover, neglects her father'sadvice andfamily inquira ies,'7andmarriesa manwho laterturnsout as worthlessandirresponsible manas did his own father.Efurusuffersjust as hermother-in-law in herown day.Although Efurureconcileswithherfatherandmakessurethe bridepriceis paid,herfirstmarwithhersecondhusriageends in disaster.Whenshe marries again,therelationship band is unusuallyclose, so governedby love thatpeople gossip behindher back. Ajanupu,Efuru'saunt-in-law,a wise and highly respectedwoman,tells her, "Itis only a bad womanwho wantsto have a man all to herself"(75). In a society where everythingis supposedto be balancedandmoderateandwherethe individualmust foreverbe loyal to his or herown natalkingroup,too muchopen affectionbetween husbandandwife is not the norm.'8 The heroineis superiorto men anddominatesher spouse. Herhusbandcannot Efurufarsurlive upto herlove, goodness,warmth, kindness,andindustriousness. to herfirsthusband, Adiewere,in businessskills andsuccess. Compared her, passes he is a ne'er do well. He proves unworthyof her, as he desertsEfurufor another woman.Again, it is Ajanupu,Efuru'saunt-in-law,who comments,"Menaresuch queerpeople.Theyareso weakthatwhenevertheyareunderthethumbof a woman, she does whatevershe likes with them"(85). Efuru's second husbandis equally Whenhe listens to gossip andaccusesEfuruof adultery, weak in character. despite her loyalty, she refuses to take this insult and leaves him after proving her innocence. She has a problemwith conceiving/bearing/keeping childrenand is missing the most essential: having many/malechildren.Contraryto society's norms and expectations,andagainstherown wishes andneeds, the heroinein Efuru,Idu, and OneIs Enoughdoes nothavemanychildren.She cannothelp it, as thisis beyondher control. She is physically unable to live up to society's expectationsto produce her manychildrenor male offspringsthatwouldperpetuate husband'slineage.Her her or maternal conditionexasperates marital problems.She maybe barren, she has or only one daughter, all of her childrendie. Idu, Amaka,andEfurulose theirhusbands.Efuruloses not only her husband,but also her only daughter.It is then that she begins to dreamof the goddessof the lake, a sign of herreligiouscalling. As her worshipper,she establishes her shrine in her bedroomand keeps the goddess's sacredday holy. Because of her devotion to the goddess, she abstainsfrom sexual relations with her second husband every fourth day (207), thus reducing her chancesof conception. in Thereis a basic contradiction the mythicalimage of the watergoddess herself: on the one hand,the goddess is thoughtto give childrenandis associatedwith thickhair,a sign of fertility;on the otherhand,the goddess's requirement abstiof nence reduces the worshippers'chances of pregnancy.This basic ambiguity is expressed in both the local myth and in Nwapa's own ambivalence about the goddess. How do losses of childrenor childlessnessrelateto the watergoddess andher worship?When Efurubecomes a worshipperof Uhammiri,some women gossip behindherback: Do I hearthatshe now has Uhamiriin herbedroom?,'9 Omirimasneered. That's what I hear. She and her husband plunged into it. I was not consulted.

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She has spoilteverything.This is bad.How manywomenin thistown who worship Uhamiri have children? Answer me, Amede, how many?... in [Y]ourdaughter law mustbe a foolish womanto go into that.(203) Incidentally,Omirima,the woman who condemnsEfurufor worshippingUhammiri, is the same woman who lateraccuses Efuruof adulteryandtherebydestroys hersecondmarriage. Afterthe deathof herchild,this marriage Efuru'slast and was only acceptablechanceto conceive again.Moreover,the womanaccuses Efuruof something she did not do. By implication,Omirimaalso wrongfullyaccuses the goddess of causingchildlessness,or of killing children. Flora Nwapa herself appearsambivalentabout these charges and about the comes acrossas anenvious,grouchy,andmischievous goddess's powers.Omirima who is not highlyregarded hercommunity.Nevertheless,FloraNwapa character in ends Efuruwith a powerful,provocative,and confusing statementaboutthe goddess andchildlessness: Efuruslept soundlythatnight. She dreamtof the woman of the lake, her beauty,herlong hairandherriches.She hadlived for ages atthe bottomof the lake. She was as old as the lake itself. She was happy,she was wealthy. She was beautiful.She gave women beauty and wealth but she had no child. She hadneverexperiencedthejoy of motherhood. Why thendid the women worshipher?(281) Does this imply thatthe goddess takeschildrenaway?Do women have to sacrifice the joys of motherhoodin orderto become followers of the goddess and achieve success andwealth?Couldwomenwithoutchildrenlive just as happilyas mothers? Efurubegins dreamingof the goddess andbecomesherworshipper afterlosing her only child, as is commonplacein Ogutawith women who are similarlybereaved. Clearly,the goddess compensateswomen for their losses, as they turnto her for consolation. But do women have to give up theirchildrenin orderto follow the goddess? Does she requestwomento forfeitthejoys of motherhood otherrewards? for Flora Nwapa did not answerthese questions.She said she did not know why she ended a However,she has introduced puzzle. Do hercharacters Efuruwith these words.20 also expressNwapa's personalfears and wishes? She remarked it is generally that not easy for womenof all placesto combinetheraisingof smallchildrenwitha successful businessor career.2InEfuruwe witnessthe heroine'sneed andstrugglefor childcareas well as the distracting childrenwho keep presenceof heraunt-in-law's theirmotherfromconcentrating important on conversations(39-41; 99-102). malechildren. Igbomenandwomenareexpectedto havechildren,particularly In Oguta,a man's inabilityto procreate may drivehim into suicide, as Amarajeme in Idu(143-50). A barren womanis pitiedandregarded a failure,as is Efuruin her as second marriage As (207) andIduin the earlystage of hermarriage. Ogutakinship is patrilineal,22 relativesof the husbandof a barrenwife or a woman who has only daughtersor whose childrenhave died encourageand expect the man to marryan additionalwife, to ensure that his lineage continues. His wife would normally A encouragehim, because she too wantshis line to continue.23 childless woman is not directly ostracized.However, she is not appreciatedas much as a motheris, since childrenare a person's life insuranceand the focus of one's life. Above all, children are the greatest source of joy and, potentially, also of sorrow. As one

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we womanputsit inldu: "What areall prayingforis children.Whatelse do we want if we have children?" (150) are The waterdeities, Uhammiriand Urashi/Mammywater, both life-giving, and nourishing, destructive.24 Theycancause theloss of one's senses, of one's own life andthatof belovedones. The watergoddesscan give children,butshe may also deprivean ungrateful person,one who refusesor ignoreshercallingdespiteprenatal dedication(ChinweAchebe;Jell-BahlsenandJell Eze Nwata). FloraNwapaknew thatultimatelyall humansareUhammiri's children,for she wrote:"Uhamiri,the most beautifulwoman,yourchildrenhave arrivedsafely, we are gratefulto you" (Efuru156). But then, she immediatelyintroducesdoubts,as this greetingofferedby travellers exclaimedin the wrongplace, on theriverUrais with whomthe goddessis not on friendlyterms(156-57). shi, Uhammiri'shusband Nwapa's ambivalencetowardsthe goddess is clear when Efurusays: "Shecannot give me children,becauseshe has not got childrenherself' (208). Was FloraNwapa unawarethatboth Ogutamen and women prayto the goddess of the lake, Uhammiri,and to Urashi and beg them for children?This is unlikely, as Nwapa must have known thatthe divine pairis locally veneratedas a source of both children and wealth. However, contraryto the ruraltownsfolk, betweenwealthandchildrenby acknowledgingtheirbeliefs Nwapadifferentiates in the goddess's powerto give wealth,while at the sametime questioningherpowers to give children.A highly educatedChristianfrom a wealthy family, Nwapa may have purposelyoverlookedcertainaspectsof local religiousbeliefs andpractices. She was herselfcriticallyawareof the churches'undermining local knowlof customs,beliefs, andethics, as she writes: edge, [Efuru]hadn'tseen the manfor yearsbecausehis parentsdecidedto send him to school when he was over sixteenyearsold. So he couldnotjoin his age-group to dance and to have their parties, because the Christians frownedat such associations.The churchregarded as paganto continue it dancingwithyourage-groupwhenyou werein school. When yourparents sent you to school, you automaticallybecame a Christian.(103; emphasis added) One woman in Efuruputs it bluntly:"But these church-goershave spoilt everything.They tell us ourgods have no power,so ourpeople continueto steal"(223). Because of her high social standing, her high level of education, and her Church to membership, Nwapadidnotofficiallysubscribe thereligiousbelief in the As goddess.25 a result,she excluded herself from certainpartsof her own society, from the religious activitiesof the Oruwomen who, even today, worparticularly However,despiteher churchmembership, ship Uhammiri.26 Nwapadisassociated herself from the accusationsand defamationsmade againstthe goddess and her worshipers fanaticchurchmembers.27 by Nwapa'sWesterneducationmaybe a part of her ambivalentattitudetowards Uhammiri,the goddess. In addition,she was aware and familiar with local beliefs and ambiguities. Nwapa was loved and respectedby her people. She herself loved not only her people but also theirgoddess. This is one reasonthatthe lake goddess, Uhammiri, Mammywater, the or and type of woman who embodies and who worships her feature so prominentlyin Nwapa's novels. She knew the anxietiesof her fellow Ogutawomen, theirgreatest fear to die childless, andtheirobsession with children.She also knew of the many emotionalconflicts thatchildraisingand infantmortalitycan create.Childrenmay

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interferewith a woman's business activities and threatenher financialindepenchildrenalwaysbelong dence, hersuccess, andhercareer.Since with patrilineality to theirfather'slineage, a womanwho leaves her husbandmustleave herchildren behind.Althoughloved anddesired,childrencan trapa motherin an unhappy marriage. Despite, or because of, a mother's love, a difficult marriagecan create an ambiguousattitudetowardsone's children,andby extensiontowardsthe goddess who grantschildren.Mammywater herselftells herhusband,Urashi: I told this boy's motherthatherhusbandhad let me down andI musttake herdaughter,Urashithe greatone. She wept andwept.Women,how they love children.ButI hadto do it to save my peoplefroma certaindeath.(42) FloraNwapaknew thatfor some womenthe only way out meansleavingtheirchildrenbehindandturningto the goddessfor consolation.Whenshe wrote-contrary to local beliefs-that the goddess neitherhas norgives children,Nwapamay have been expressingmore thanher own ambivalencetowardsthis deity. She knew the local Ogutabelief thatpeople are the goddess'children,and thatthe lake goddess has thepowerto bothgive and takechildrenand life. FloraNwapadiedtoo soon. As we arestill mourningherpremature death,we can only speculateon why she chose to focus on the goddess's abilty to compensatewomen for their suffering, and why she emphazisedone particular aspect of Mammywater/Ogbuide/Uhammiri over others.

NOTES
1. Oguta a towninImoState Southeastern is of The of Orsu-Obodo, Nigeria. people Oguta, and townsaretheOru with Nkwesi, and Mgbelle, somesmaller Igbo.Together Onitsha the Omoko, Oruareknownas riverine Igbo.Igbois a language spoken a nation/ by of 20 the the civil people/ethnic group about million, Igbo.During Nigerian warof the late1960s,thispart Nigeria known Biafra. of was as the timesof European During early and the as an trading companies alsoduring colonial period, Oguta prospered, itbecame center palmoil, especially John for for Holt.TheOruIgbotrace their important trading to to location 10 ancestry Benin,sayingthattheymigrated their present approximately dialectof Igbo;they shareimportant generations The Oruspeaka distinctive ago. cultural traitswith the Igbo, while also distinguishing themselves fromotherIgbo sub-groups. 2. Thegoddess Idemilli features in Achebe's novels. prominently Chinua 3. Bothwater and and deities,Uhammiri Urashi, children botharecalled"Mammygive water" pidgin in I on here of English. amfocusing Uhammiri because thegoddess' prominence Nwapa's in novels. 4. Long,stronghairis associated withgrowth, femalefertility, the powerto give and children. 5. Thisthemeis prevalent oralhistories in fromOgutaandalso in Nigerian novelsand set the frame reference. Amadi; of See poems within Igbocultural Akwanya; Okigbo. 6. Therearedifferent Igbospellingsfor the goddess'names.Locally,she is knownas "uha" "mmiri" and 'water.' is thespelling amusingtoday, This Uhammiri, I containing whileNwapa "Uhamiri" one"m," 1966.Thismaybeonpurpose differwith in to spelled entiate notion thelakegoddess her of fromcustomary beliefs.It mayalsobe anolder

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does with its spelling that does not accountfor the phonetics as much as "Uhammiri" "mm."A similar contrast is found in the different spellings for the language/ethnic group:e.g., "Igbo"by Uchenduand"Ibo"in the oldercolonial literature. 7. See, forexample,Salmons;Jenkins;Paxon;Drewal;Fabian; Ogrizek;WendlandWiese; andWintrob. my view, these interpretations Eurocentric In are becausethey arefocusing on explanationsand origins of Mammywater outside of Africa, ratherthanexamining hercentrality,origins,andmeaningwithinthe Africancontext,particularly women. for 8. The goddess' local names are Uhammirior Ogbuide. Her title and proper form of addressis Eze Mmiri(watermonarch/qUeen), Eze Nwanyi (Queen),or Eze Mmiridi or "Herhusband, rivergod Urashi,also has the egwu,thatis "Theawesomewatermonarch! many names.His most poularlocal nameis Urashi. But he is also knownas Okodi.His title and properform of addressis Eze Ugo (king crowned with an eagle feather).In he Efuru,Nwapalargelyrefersto thisrivergod as Okodi.InMammywater, is Urashi.See also Jell-Bahlsen"NamesandNaming"andJell-BahlsenandJell Eze-Nwata. 9. The Igbo marketweek consists of fourdays:Nkwo,Eke, Orie, andAfo. Differenttowns hold theirmarketson differentmarketdays. All local deities have special days thatare sacredto them. 10. This de-construction may be one of the reasonsthat Nwapa spells the goddess's name rather than"Uhammiri" in contemporary as "Uhamiri" local usage. 11. Accordingto Twins Seven Seven, the same conceptof the watergoddess exists in Yoruba. There,she also has many local names, and in additionis known as "TheRainbow Goddess,"a title given to one of Twins' paintings(Personalcommunication1984). 12. The pythonis believed sacredin many partsof Igbolandand beyond, in many partsof West Africa. If accidentallykilled, the pythonmust be buriedlike a humanbeing. The of and pythonis a manifestation the supremegod, Chi-Ukwu, also of the waterdeities.In one of its forms,the zig-zag line, the pythonrepresents divinepowerof creation,prothe creation,andthe dualismof maleandfemale.In another form,thecircle,thepythonsymbolizes death, rebirth,and the eternal cycle of time. The python can also act as a messengerof deities. Accordingto one Ogutamyth,a manwho hadkilled the rivergoddess Abia's favoriteanimal,the crocodile, in her sacredgrove, was instantlykilled by a python,for in Oguta the crocodile is anothersacredanimal that must not be killed or eaten.As in manyotherpartsof West Africa,it is asociatedwithfemalefertility.See also AchebeAnthillsandThingsFallApart;Parrinder; Jell-Bahlsen"SocialIntegration." and 13. In pre-Christian times, people were not supposedto give birthto twins, because in Igbo and cosmology twinsbirthsbelongto the animalworld.Twinswereabandoned left to die and even women who frequentlygave birthto twins were punishedbecause they had offendedomenala,thatis, custom,or the laws of the earthgoddess,Ani/Ala(Uchendu). 14. I recordedthis song at the house of the Eze Mmiri,Ogbuefi,the priestessof Ogbuide/ Uhammiri Urashi,in Orsu-Obodo, and OgutaII, on Orieday 15 Oct. 1988.Translation: FrancisEbiriandAugustineOnowu. 15. In my documentary film,MammyWater,anelderlywomanfromOgutaspeaksaboutthe goddess's drowningof a gunboaton camera(Jell-BahlsenMammyWater).A similar storyis told in the Yorubatown of Oshogbo.Thereit is saidthatthe rivergoddessOshun Jihad. stoppedthe Islamicinvasion,duringthe 19th-century 16. Thereare bothfemale andmale priestsandpriestessesas well as worshipers the godof dess Uhammiri herhusbandthe rivergod, Urashi.However,it appearsthatfarmore and womenthanmen areinvolvedin the worshipof the waterdeities. See also Jell-Bahlsen's film Mammy Waterand"FemalePower." 17. In Oguta,arranging marriageinvolves in-depthinquiriesby both families of the proa spectivecouple.They inquireintotheirfuturein-law's familyto findout if thereis madness or certainotherdiseases in the family, if they arecriminals,have flaws of character, or have sold off family membersinto slavery, to learntheir status,etc. Some of these traitsarebelievedto be hereditary. Becausemarriages involvenotjusta couplebutrather

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Literatures Researchin African

two entirekindredsandmutualrightsandobligations,the goal is to make surethe partners are responsiblein orderto avoid futuremaritalproblemswith potentiallynegative consequencesfor a largenumberof people. 18. Too much love is regardedas unusual.In this respect,Idu is as unusualas Efuru.They bothareso close to theirrespectivehusbands they seem to controlthem.Iduso entanthat gles and ties up her husbandthathe is glad to see his junior wife leave, even before he findsout aboutIdu's pregnancy. 19. Worshipersof Uhammiriplace a clay pot with water from the lake in their room as a shrine.Thepriestessesalso keeppotsforthosewho cannotdo this becausetheylive in the city or abroad.See also Jell-BahlsenMammyWater. 20. Personalcommunication/interview Apr. 1988. Also in a talk followed by a question 11 andanswersession at RutgersUniversityin 1992. 21. Personalcommunication/interview Apr. 1988. 11 22. In a patrilinearor patrilinealsociety, kinship is primarilytraced in the male line. In Oguta,every individualbelongs to a group of people, the Umunna.This groupdefines itself throughcommon descendancefrom one ancestor/father. may have lived ten He generationsago, but all groupmembers,bothmen andwomen, arerelatedto this manin the paternalline. See also UchenduandJell-Bahlsen"SocialIntegration." 23. Both EfuruandIdu not only encouragetheirhusbandsto get additionalwives, they also take an active partin findingand choosing a juniorco-wife for him. Until recently,this was a common practice in most of Igboland. See also Amadiume and Jell-Bahlsen "FemalePower." 24. This belief is echoed in similarly ambivalentideas about water spirits described by Hortonamongthe Kalabari. 25. Personalcommunication, New York, 1992. 26. Personalcommunicationwith Flora Nwapa duringher visit to New York, in October 1992. This is the more surprising, her husbandbuilt a public temple for Urashi at his as shrinein his sacredgrove on the riverbank,in acknowledgement appreciation his and of help, while a manfromOmokorecentlybuilta publictemplefor Uhammiriin hersacred Water,wherewe see the two modgrove at the lake shore.See also Jell-BahlsenMammy em temples,andan elderlyferrywoman tells us on camerathat"amanfromOkokobuilt a house for her [Uhammiri]." 27. The attacksand accusationsby fanaticchurchgroupsand educatorsagainstthe water deities, particularly againstthe watergoddesses inspirefearandterror especially in children.As a result,a reportedsightingof Mammywater caused a stampedeamongEnugu school childrenin which five studentsweretrampeled deathin 1987. In a morephysito cal attack, the shrine sculpturesof the water goddess Ava were beheadedby fanatic church members (Jell-BahlsenAva). There are some indications that these types of attacks and bad-mouthing are predominantlydirected against female deities and priestesses.

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Drewal, Henry J. "Mermaids,Mirrorsand Snake Charmers:Igbo Mami Wata Shrines." AfricanArts21.2 (1988): 38-45. the "Performing Other:Mami WataWorshipin West Africa."TheDramaReview T118(1988): 160-85 Culturein Africa:FindingsandConjectures." Fabian,Johannes."Popular Africa48 (1978): 315-34. Horton, Robin. "AfricanTraditionalThought and Western Science." Africa 37 (1967): 150-71 and 175-81 Video. New York, 1992. Jell-Bahlsen,Sabine.Ava:A RiverGoddessNear Nsukka/Nigeria. "FemalePower:WaterPriestessesof the Oru-Igbo." Sisterhood,Feminisms,and Power. Ed. Obioma Nnaemeka. Lawrenceville, NJ: Africa World P, 1995 (forthcoming). . MammyWater:In Search of the WaterSpirits in Nigeria. Film-Video. Berkeley: U of California ExtensionCenterfor MediaandIndependent Learning,1991. Dialectical Anthropology13 "Namesand Naming:Instancesfrom the Oru-Igbo." (1989): 199-207. in Diss. . "SocialIntegration theAbsenceof the State:A CaseStudyof theOru-Igbo." The New School for Social Research,1980. Jell-Bahlsen,Sabine, and Georg Jell. Divine Earth-DivineWater(a film trilogy). Part I: New York, 1980. Sacrificeto the Goddessof theLake,Uhammiri. Eze Nwata-TheSmallKing.Film. New York, 1983 and M. Jenkins,Della. "MammyWata."Igbo Arts: Community Cosmos. Ed. Herbert Cole andChikeC. Aniakor.New York:The MuseumforAfricanArt, 1984.75-77. Mbabuike,Michael. "The Cosmology of Igbo Anthroponyms:Life Continuumand the and Quarterly1995 (forthcoming). Anthropology Humanism Liturgyof Culture." Nwapa,Flora.Efuru.London:Heinemann,1966. Idu. London:Heinemann,1970. The Lake Goddess. Trenton, NJ: Africa World P, 1995 (forthcoming posthumously). . Mammywater. Enugu:Tana, 1979. NeverAgain. Enugu:Tana, 1975;Trenton,NJ:AfricaWorldP, 1992. OneIs Enough.Enugu:Tana, 1981;Trenton,NJ:AfricaWorldP, 1992. Are Women Different.Enugu:Tana, 1986;Trenton,NJ:AfricaWorldP, 1992. Ogrizek,Michael."MamiWata,de l'hysteriea la femininiteen Afriquenoir"(MamiWata, from Hysteria to Femininity in Black Africa). TransculturalPsychiatric Research Review21 (1982): 53-54 andConfrontations Psychiatriques21 (1982): 213-37. London:Heinemann,1971. Labyrinths. Okigbo,Christopher. Parrinder, Geoffrey.AfricanMythology.London:Hamlin,1967. Paxson,Barbara. "MammyWater;IdeasandImagesof a New WorldTranscendent Being." M.A. Thesis. U of Washington(Seattle), 1980. Salmons,Jill. "MammyWata." AfricanArts10.3 (1977): 8-15. Uchendu,Victor.TheIgbo of Southeastern Nigeria. New York:Holt, 1965. Wendl, Tobias, and Wiese. The Spirit of the White Woman.Film. G6ttingen/Germany: f.d. Institut Wissenschaftlichen Film, 1988. in Wintrob,RonaldM. "MammyWater:Folk Beliefs andPsychoticElaborations Liberia." CanadianPsychiatricAssociationJournal 15.2 (1970): 143-57.