KHADIJATU’S TEARS OF A RAIN GODDESS

One of the Social-Activists we have in town, Khadijatu Iddrisu read the book Tears of a Rain Goddess and was really enthralled by it. She therefore wants everyone to get the bite of the cherry ( effect of a good book; you wish everyone reads it).  Enjoy!

The setting is  an African one. It is a fictional  book but people and places are described so vividly that it seemed so real. Young Tamara is  introduced as a naive little girl who witnessed the defilement and gruesome murder of her mother before her very own eyes. She silently vowed to take revenge for the death of her mother and brother.

The writer further elaborated the qualities of Tamara as an attractive, disrespectful, proud and arrogant princess who grew up to be fearless and ambitious. In order to seek revenge, she was aided by her father Naaba and the village herbalist, Baba Moru. She used what she had (body and mind) to hypnotize her opponent, to get what she wanted. This is to say that  “no matter how strong and powerful a man is he is never above nature.”

Tamara found her way into the household of her enemies and destroyed them. As part of her plans for revenge, she became the sixth  wife of the man who raped her mother- Yiri Naa, an enemy to her fatherland. Tamara carried the seed of the man whom she hated but troubled him during the nights they were newly wedded. The story unfolds by informing readers of the relationship between fathers and how they regarded their daughters.

In the case of Samad, an elder of Kumbungu land, his daughter Zenator was gloomy and came with the sunshine. When he was lost in the dark, she came with the moon. Zenator was a medal he would wear to the grave. Samad also regarded the strength of his daughter; Zenator as one made of stone and given the heart of a lion- very tough. Zenator on the other hand doubted who she would choose if it ever came to choosing between her father and God. Tamara on the other hand ascended the throne when she  had her vengeance after the death of her father. This is to say that, he had confidence in her ability to lead the people. As the writer further narrates and centers the story around Tamara who became her own enemy when she made her hatred towards her own daughter outshines her love for humanity, things went haywire.

The writer, Khadijatu Iddrisu

Mbozi, the rain goddess was blessed with the gift of making it rain whenever her tear dropped was the seed between Tamara and Yiri Naa. As kind hearted as she was, she was tricked into bringing the downfall of her very own mother. Tamara made her hatred from her childhood transform her belief, way of life and love for people. It eventually led to her downfall. Her secretiveness and bitterness also contributed to her fall.

Wise saying was pelted about and literacy device flourished to give the book  more flavor. This beautiful book was full of suspense, allusion, analogy and pun. It was simply refreshing, grasping knowledge and enticing the mind to a drama of pleasure.
Diana Bamford McBagonluri from trying to get her story out there, shows how much important the culture of our forefathers was. She is hoping that people will read, learn and listen to the advice of the elderly ones, and she hopes that it causes her readers to become more patient, loving and more forgiving.

Moral Lessons
– Be more forgiving and letting go of  hatred/revenge.
– Loving thy neighbor as thy self
– Be patient for tomorrow comes with a new aromatic air than the whirlwind of yesterday. – One destroys oneself with an overwhelming energy when dwelling of pains of yester-years so it is better to let that energy drain off.
– When planning to outwit an opponent, it is not only through coercion but making those above you comfortably superior in your desire to please or impress them. Another tools can be through negotiating and compromise.

Some wise sayings in the book

1. I have my own drum I will beat and dance to its tune. Society will only have to watch.
2. The peacock never tells people how gorgeous it looks but don’t you think anytime it opens its wings it is indirectly telling the whole world that it is beautiful?
3. If you are born a man your first responsibility is fighting your own battles.
4. No matter how strong and powerful a man is he is never above nature.
5. Never throw stones at the puppies when the bitch is home.
6. The birds that destroyed their neighbors nest had nowhere to sleep when their own was destroyed by the rain.
7.When you see a cat before a bowl of fish do you ask it what it intends to do with it?
8.  When salt loses its taste, its next home is the bin.
9. The termite that is determined to eat into a piece of wood ends up in a bon-fire.
10. It is also said that when one is preparing for war and hears his enemy singing songs of victory before the beginning of the battle, he should retreat for they might have seen his weakness.

A great book it is.

 

Iddrisu Khadijatu
The writer is a Zongo girl and a Youth Activist and a lover of the universe.