Around the Snake Turn by
Kwame and Baaba, husband and wife, have barely finished celebrating their son’s scholarship when he is accused of raping a girl who is now pregnant. Their son, Yoofi, denies the charge. Once the complaint is made to the local priest — the village leader and arbiter of justice — nobody can prevent him from placing a curse on the extended family in accordance with the centuries-old practice known as trokosi. The...
Kwame and Baaba, husband and wife, have barely finished celebrating their son’s scholarship when he is accused of raping a girl who is now pregnant. Their son, Yoofi, denies the charge. Once the complaint is made to the local priest — the village leader and arbiter of justice — nobody can prevent him from placing a curse on the extended family in accordance with the centuries-old practice known as trokosi. The belief is that the curse will bring continual tragedy to the offender’s family, until the family atones by offering a young virgin girl to serve as a “wife to the gods.” In reality, the young girls become sex slaves to the priest. Realizing her 10-year-old daughter, Aku, is at risk to be named to serve, Baaba challenges the accusation and searches for a way around the curse. Kwame and the extended family want Yoofi to marry his accuser so her family will withdraw the accusation. Baaba, however, is unwilling to accept this solution because there is no guarantee the priest will remove the curse and they will have sacrificed Yoofi’s future for nothing. Baaba puts herself at risk to confront the priest and get help outside of the tribal community. In the end, as Baaba pits herself against family, religion, and tradition, she must decide how far she will go to save her daughter.