ABSTRACT
On a cool and moonlit night in December 1981, the members of Ode Agbike's family sat by a log fire in their home in Uchenyim village of the Ibilla clan. The majority of them have been busy all day harvesting crops—mostly yams and water yams—from the farm. After the evening meal, the head of the household announced that there was a pressing family matter to be discussed. Everyone waited for him to announce the subject. Shortly afterward, he called each of his wives and commended her for the work she did that day on the farm. On this particular day, only one family member had gone shopping, and she was thanked for that, while the efforts of another family member who had spent the day working hard to bring firewood home from the bush were also recognized. Afterward, he thanked the older children individually for the part each played in the family's work.
