An African Story: The Marriage

Akapwon is looking for a bride.  However, circumstances have caused his bride price offer to be very low and so it is always rejected.  He has very little to offer, yet is determined to choose the right bride.  Finally he gets a bride but he is amazed that the woman whose father accepted his offer is from the Twee village.  Twee is a village whose women are so highly favored that they are out of reach of the average farmer.  The fathers of Twee women could demand any price and prospective bridegrooms would willingly agree. Yet Akapwon who is a poor farmer, has managed to acquire such a prize.  How can it be? Akapwon is suspicious. Little does he realize how well-founded his suspicions are.  His new bride comes with a devastating secret.

The story follows the newly-weds through the first years of their married life.  From an inauspicious start, and through further trauma, love finds a way.

This is a story of ancient Africa. At its core, The Marriage is a story as old as time. A story of jealousy, lust and pride counter-balanced by the energy of love, forgiveness and acceptance. It's a story about what it is to be human, and somehow through its pared back simplicity, the story of Maimuna and Akapwon will anger you, move you, and remain with you in a way that you will never expect.

This tale explores universal themes such as the demands of tradition versus the dictates of conscience; how confrontation, counsel and punishment can all be means of bringing a person to greater self-knowledge and positive change; and how unselfishness, self-control and compassion are needed to undergird passion in a marriage.