The Girl with the Louding Voice: Chapter 45 Summary & Analysis

Fact: Nigeria boasts “some of the richest pastors in the world.” The prophet leads Adunni’s group down a path lined with green plants. A thin woman wearing the same dress and cap as the prophet greets them at the end of the path. The prophet introduces this woman as Mother-in-Jerusalem Tinu, or Mother Tinu for short, and explains that she is “the head of [their] female birth-makers.” Mother Tinu will lead Adunni’s group to the river, as men are not allowed past this point. Ms. Tia wants to turn back, but Mother Tinu explains that she cannot, because the prophet has already circled her with the bell seven times. The prophet instructs them to go to the church after the bath so that he can give Ms. Tia a special cream to use. 

The group follows Mother Tinu to a cave made of brown rocks. Adunni hears women inside the cave moaning a sad song, and Ms. Tia grows increasingly concerned about the ritual. Mother Tinu explains that the river past the cave is where Ms. Tia will receive her bath. Doctor mama verifies that they have paid for the bath, which shocks Ms. Tia, who hadn’t realized that it cost money. They enter the cave to find a small, dark space with a low ceiling. They stand before the river, and the scene reminds Adunni of Khadija’s final hours. Four “female birth-makers” kneel before the river, tying white cloths around themselves. Ms. Tia is nervous and squeezes Adunni’s hand. She begs to go back, but Mother Tinu shouts at them to be quiet as she fetches the “holy cloth and holy brooms.”

Mother Tinu returns with the cloths and brooms. She instructs Ms. Tia to remove her clothes and wrap the holy cloths around her body and head. Ms. Tia shakes, but she follows Mother Tinu’s orders. Mother Tinu then instructs Adunni and doctor mama to step back as she guides Ms. Tia closer to the river.

The four women stop moaning and take the brooms from Mother Tinu. One of the birth-makers pulls back Ms. Tia’s cloth and begins to beat her naked body with the broom. Ms. Tia screams and writhes on the floor. The other three women join the first in flogging Ms. Tia, their faces devoid of all emotion. Adunni wants desperately to help Ms. Tia but finds herself unable to move. As the women whip Ms. Tia with their brooms, Adunni observes that Ms. Tia’s “whole body is becoming the red of the earth.”