The Woman Who Hewed You Out Of The Rock

Greetings. Mother's Day is upon us and to me it is an opportunity to indulge my writer's block. There's a plethora of quotations available on how amazing mothers can be. As is tradition I will share an African excerpt with several quotable nuggets.

"Mama Michael"

Okot p'Bitek is perhaps the greatest poet this country has ever produced (and the greatest Luo writer before Obama). Born in Gulu in 1939, he had his education at Gulu High School and King's College Budo, before proceeding to the universities of Bristol, Wales and Oxford. In the epic Song of Lawino, an African woman expresses her displeasure at her husband, Ocol's rejection of his culture in favour of western mores. Lawino defends the traditions of her forbearers, often making comparisons between Acholi and Western cultures. 

The excerpt is from Chapter 10, where Lawino mentions Ocol's intolerance towards both their relatives, denying them entry into his house as they might muddy it. Lawino rebuts, forewarning Ocol not to forget the role of one's parents.

No one wrestles with his father,

No one looks down

On his mother,

You cannot abuse your mother!

Because it was that woman

Who hewed you out of the rock

And moulded your head and

body.

Think of the excreta and piss

The vomit and mucus

With which you wetted your

mother!

Think of the fire

That burnt her finger many times, 

When she cooked for you.

Think of the jealousies of 

others,

The sorcerers and shadow

trappers, 

Poisoners and the Evil Eyes,

Think of the fights

They put up for you!

You sucked those wrinkled 

breasts,

And that's what made you

The big man you are!

A mother's anger is bitter,

It is fierce like lightning

And boils like thunder.

If you make her angry

She will strike below her belly

button,

If you annoy the girl

She will strike the ash

Then you will get 

Exactly what you ask for!

There is no medicine in the 

hospital

For a mother's curse,

Happy Mother's Day!

Ceteris. Paribus.

Source

p'Bitek, Okot, (1972). Song of Lawino. Nairobi: East African Education Publishers. pp. 102-103