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Chapter 8
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Akata Witch, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Identity and Belonging
The Individual vs. the Collective
Friendship and Teamwork
Education, Power, and Corruption
Summary
Analysis
Fast Facts for Free Agents introduces free agent readers to Udide, the “ultimate artist.” Udide is a spider who switches between masculine and feminine pronouns depending on their mood. Some believe Udide lives under Lagos; others believe Udide is in Abuja. Udide has written a book called Udide’s Book of Shadows, which is full of the spider’s recipes, juju, notes, and stories. It’s only been copied three times, but nobody knows where the copies are. Isong insists Udide is a trickster who wanted people to find the book—but “those who choose to use it are idiots.”
It seems possible that Sunny will encounter a copy of Udide’s Book of Shadows at some point, if this excerpt mentions it—which suggests that education itself isn’t always a good, easy thing. Indeed, if one means to learn from Udide’s book, it means that the reader will have to do what Sunny is doing with Fast Facts: keep in mind who the author is, what their biases are, and how those biases might color the information within.
Themes
Sunny wakes up early on Saturday morning, makes herself breakfast, and tells her parents goodbye. She meets Orlu, Sasha, and Chichi at Chichi’s hut. They’re studying a newspaper headline. Black Hat abducted a little boy, who was found alive—but with his eyes gouged out. Sunny feels sick. Chichi promises to get Sunny a subscription to a Leopard newspaper so she can get information faster.
It continues to feel to Sunny as though her world is becoming more and more dangerous by the minute. She’s becoming educated so she can protect herself, but any mistake could lead to her death—and she also has to live with the existential dread that she could easily become one of Black Hat's victims, too.
Themes
Anatov greets Chichi, Orlu, Sasha, and Sunny happily when they arrive. He asks them to sit and explains that Kehinde was very impressed—especially with Sasha, whom he’s agreed to mentor. Sasha looks ready to burst with happiness. Anatov continues that the four survived because of their teamwork. He reminds them that knowledge is more valuable than chittim, and says he had to risk their lives to further their educations. Anatov notes that each kid has skills that can help the others—but he says Sasha has to learn Igbo quickly. Then, he gives them their assignment for the day: to visit Taiwo in Leopard Knocks. He gives Chichi a package to give to Taiwo and asks the students to also stop at the bookstore to purchase Advanced Juju Knife Jujus and a book of their choice.
Getting a private mentor will mean that Sasha can continue his education with another trusted adult—something that will help him move more easily toward adulthood and competency with juju. More broadly, Anatov continues to make the point that the kids need to value their educations more than they value the chittim their educations will earn them. That he continues to drive this point home suggests that there are perhaps others who haven’t made this choice. He also highlights the importance of teamwork and reveals an important part of working as a team: identifying each teammate’s strengths and weaknesses, and using those to the team’s advantage.
Themes
At the bridge to Leopard Knocks, Sasha and Orlu have already crossed. Chichi shows Sunny how to call music, though without a juju knife, Sunny can’t do it yet. Chichi demonstrates how to cut the air and create a juju pouch, which she can then speak words into. Sunny can’t see the juju pouch, but Chichi lets her touch it—it feels cool, soft, and wet. Chichi explains that a person speaks the “trigger words” in their first language; hers was Efik, Sunny’s was English. Chichi speaks the words to call music into the pouch and Sunny calls up her spirit face. A voice deep within Sunny says, “Anyanwu”—Sunny’s spirit name. On the bridge, Sunny feels sure of herself. She rushes forward and crosses the bridge in seconds. Chittim fall at her feet: Sunny made herself invisible.
Sunny is reminded again in this passage that she can and should rely on her friends to teach her, just as much as she should rely on adults. With Chichi, Sunny isn’t self-conscious about having the juju pouch explained so simply, or about touching it. And because she’s more comfortable in this setting, Sunny is willing to experiment—though she perhaps didn’t intend to make herself invisible. Regardless, thanks to Chichi’s help, Sunny discovers one more thing she can do—and she’s rewarded handsomely for it.
Themes
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Sasha leads everyone to Bola’s Store for Books. He, Orlu, and Chichi disappear into the store, and Sunny feels drawn to the book she noticed last time in the store. It’s titled Nsibidi: The Magical Language of the Spirits, and the writing seems to wiggle. Sunny pulls the book closer to her face and it seems to whisper—but she jumps when the shop owner, Mohammed, taps on her shoulder. He confirms that she’s a free agent and asks if she saw anything wiggling in the book. When Sunny says she did, he tells her to buy it. He doesn’t know what’s in it, but she’ll learn something—and he shares that the author is Sugar Cream. Mohammed then helps her hunt down the knife juju book.
As Mohammed encourages Sunny to buy the Nsibidi book, even he starts to demonstrate some of what the novel suggests is good teamwork. He can’t read Nsibidi, but that doesn’t mean he won’t encourage someone who shows potential to learn how to—if Sunny learns, it’ll benefit her and possibly Leopard society as a whole. Recall that Sugar Cream is the Head Librarian at the Obi Library. This creates a connection between her and Sunny (they both, it seems, can read Nsibidi), but this seems to go over Sunny’s head at this point.
Themes
Sasha purchases Udide’s Book of Shadows, Orlu purchases A Field Guide to the Night Runner Forest, and Chichi gets Leo Frobenius: Atlantis Middleman or Sellout? She explains that Frobenius was a German Leopard man who almost told Lambs that Atlantis is near Victoria Island. They then discuss the knife juju book, which Chichi says contains jujus for Mbawkwa and above. Orlu explains to Sunny that working jujus above one’s level isn’t illegal, it’s just dangerous—you can die. With this, they set off for Taiwo’s house.
Each person’s book reflects their personality: Sasha is fearless, Orlu loves animals, and Chichi is interested in political questions like this. That Anatov asked the four to purchase such an advanced knife juju book suggests he believes they’re capable of working these higher-level jujus. With his guidance, hopefully they can avoid the danger that comes with working above one’s level.
Themes
Taiwo lives at the end of Leopard Knocks’s main road, a two hour walk from the bookstore. Chichi, Orlu, and Sasha point out shops, Leopard Spots Village (where people sell illegal things), and the Obi Library to Sunny. Orlu explains that anyone can use the library’s first floor, but the second and third floors are for those studying Ndibu, like Chichi’s mother. Chichi notes that Sugar Cream also lives there. They pass farms where supplies sold in shops are grown, and a wall protecting people coming up with new juju charms.
The walk to Taiwo’s hut gives Sunny ample time and a reason to explore way more of Leopard Knocks than she’d otherwise have reason to. Leopard Knocks seems like a self-sufficient community, with gathering places, farming areas, and a university. Seeing all of this also allows Sunny insight into what adult Leopard People do—they can be farmers, scholars, and vendors, just like in the Lamb world.
Themes
Finally, the four reach tall palm trees at the end of the road; there’s a hut hundreds of feet up in one of the trees. Chichi calls for Taiwo, but when she gets no answer, she, Orlu, Sasha, and Sunny sit to wait. After a while, they hear a loud noise from above—and Orlu points to a giant Blue-Footed Miri Bird. It’s the size of a horse, and it’s coming right for them. The bird divebombs the kids before it finally lands in front of them. Sasha shouts that it’s insane, and Chichi grouses that it probably has fleas. At this, the Miri Bird clicks and poops. Sunny suggests the bird is angry; Sasha and Chichi are being awful to it. Sunny tries to offer the bird a cookie, but it steps away.
Sasha and Chichi aren’t all that into animals, so when the Miri Bird shows up and insists on getting so close to them, they’re disgusted. On some level, they see themselves as superior to the bird—and they seem not to truly appreciate how big and powerful the bird is. From Sunny’s perspective, the bird deserves respect: it’s big and could hurt her, and what bird doesn’t like cookies? The bird reads as another test the kids must pass, and Chichi and Sasha seem like they might struggle with this one.
Themes
Sunny shares her cookies with Orlu, Sasha, and Chichi. After a bit, Orlu gets up, tells the Miri Bird that they’ve come from Anatov, and asks for help getting to Taiwo’s house. The bird clicks its beak in Orlu’s face—but Orlu says of course the bird wants to be treated like a person. They all politely introduce themselves to the bird, and then Orlu interprets the bird’s clicks. He and Sunny will ride the bird to Taiwo’s house first, and then it’ll come back for Sasha and Chichi. As Orlu and Sunny tumble into the hut, Taiwo says the kids took long enough and then thanks the bird—Nancy—for her help.
Unlike his friends, Orlu doesn’t treat the Miri Bird as a bird—he treats it like a person. So even though Sunny was trying to be kind when she offered the bird a cookie, she still wasn’t treating it with as much humanity as the test required. This is a reminder for Sasha and Chichi to check their superior feelings: they may be smart and have photographic memories, but that doesn’t mean they don’t sometimes need to rely on beings they consider lesser, like Nancy, for help.
Themes
Taiwo declares that the kids’ lesson today was in humility. Sasha and Chichi have none, Sunny has it because she’s new, but Orlu was born with it. Sunny thinks that Orlu will obviously become Taiwo’s mentee. Then, Taiwo accepts the package from Anatov and pulls out a bag of treats for Nancy. She tells Chichi to feed the contents to the bird, and Chichi acts disgusted as she does. Taiwo explains that all creatures have their place in the world; this is why the world keeps moving if someone dies. She says they must be figuring it out by now, and Chichi asks if they’re really an Oha coven. Laughing, Taiwo says that Sunny has no idea what they’re talking about. She notes that that’s ironic—but she refuses to explain.
Chichi’s unwillingness to acknowledge Nancy’s dignity suggests that she hasn’t fully internalized Taiwo’s lesson—and because of this, Chichi may struggle to be a good teammate to her friends. Taiwo then crystallizes an idea Anatov has floated several times: that individual lives are, in the grand scheme of things, not all that important or meaningful. In her estimation, this is a good thing—it means people can die without ruining things for everyone else.
Themes
Dramatically, Taiwo says that Sunny, Sasha, Chichi, and Orlu will be West Africa’s first “pre-level” Oha coven, though none of them know what’s coming. Sunny mentions her vision in the candle, and Taiwo acknowledges that she was wrong: Sunny knows. She asks if the kids have all heard of Black Hat Otokoto, who is a Leopard Person. She explains that he passed the highest level years ago, when he was only 34, and he never should’ve taken it. He just wanted wealth and power—and now, it’s the kids’ job to save the world from him. She says whatever he’s doing, it’s dark and dangerous and preys on innocence. The kids will go after him in about three months, and scholars have seen this moment coming for a while.
By making it official that the four are an Oha coven, Taiwo essentially explains why it’s so important that they work together as a team. They have a job to do—and they’re going to have to use their combined skill and knowledge to best someone as advanced as Black Hat Otokoto. In describing Black Hat, Taiwo also starts to illustrate why Anatov regularly encourages the kids to prize their education over the chittim it earns them. The extreme alternative is, perhaps, ending up like Black Hat Otokoto—becoming someone who cares only about oneself.
Themes
Sunny can’t stand it. She asks if Taiwo and other scholars seriously expect a bunch of kids to catch someone who knows extremely advanced juju. It’s insane, and if she, Orlu, Sasha, and Chichi die, the scholars will just find more kids to do it. Taiwo says seriously that this is bigger than Sunny; she just doesn’t understand yet. Sunny struggles to shut her mouth. The next morning, she receives her first edition of the Leopard Knocks newspaper.
Leopard society continues to shock Sunny—she’s not used to being told to be quiet and trust her elders. But Taiwo also makes it clear that when it comes to someone as evil as Black Hat Otokoto, Sunny’s life—and those of her friends—are, perhaps, perfectly reasonable sacrifices if they save many more young kids from death and mutilation.
Themes
