Summary
The novel is narrated by an omniscient third-person narrator. The story begins with the birth of Akoko, the first daughter of Chief Odero Gogni of Yimbo. Though the Luo tribe does not use the Western calendar, it is noted that she is born about thirty seasons before the railroad reached Kisuma, making the year roughly 1870. The birth of children in their tribe involves a complex naming process, and Akoko’s is no different. She’s given four names, based on the season she was born, dreams sent by her ancestors, and her personality. Traditionally sons are given more honor in the family than daughters, yet Akoko wins over her father who despite trying to hide it dotes on her.
Akoko grows up to be a beautiful, fearless and wise woman and soon it’s time for her to get married. In the eyes of her father, it seems no one is good enough for her until they meet the young suitor, Chief Owuor Kembo of Sakwa. As custom, he comes with a group of family members to negotiate a bride price that grooms have to pay to the bride's family in order to take her away. Akoko’s father, Chief Odero, asks for an exorbitant amount—thirty head of cattle—and rather than negotiating down as expected, Chief Owuor accepts, earning his father-in-law’s respect. The story of their betrothal spreads far and wide as proof of Chief Owuor’s power and Akoko’s beauty.
Akoko leaves her home to live in Sakwa with her new husband. Their marriage develops into one of mutual love and respect; Akoko speaks her mind and her husband frequently looks to her for her sound advice. Owuor is fulfilled by his marriage to Akoko and has no desire to marry again, although polygamy is the norm in their community. This leads to disbelief and pressure from his mother and brother, compounded by the fact that Akoko does not give birth with the frequency they expect. They have one son named Obura and later a daughter Nyabera.
Pressure mounts and eventually, Akoko’s mother-in-law accuses her of witchcraft, a great offense, claiming that’s why her son won’t marry again. Deeply offended, and with Owuor Kembo away on business, Akoko publicly confronts her mother-in-law and leaves with her cattle to her brother’s house in her old village. Owuor Kembo returns, confounded by what has happened, and the two families must begin the process of reconciliation, one steeped in tradition. It is agreed that Akoko will return to her husband's house, however Akoko is admonished for acting rashly and not waiting to talk with her husband before leaving. From that day forward, ill will continues to grow between her and her brother-in-law Otieno.
Time passes and their son Obura grows up. The clan begins to hear rumors of white men in Kenya. Isolated as they are, their communities have been largely untouched by the colonialism that is affecting other parts of Kenya but that is soon to change. Obura begins to grow restless, wanting to explore more of the world and see these white men for himself. His parents refuse his request, reminding him that as the first born his responsibility is to stay in the village and prepare to be the next chief. One night, Obura runs away, leaving his family distraught. They send out scouting parties and find out he ran away to work for a white man. After months without news, two men come to inform them that he joined the Kenya African Rifles regiment, and was killed in WWI. The family is deeply upset, and the mourning process is made more difficult by the fact that there is no body.
Nyabera grows up and marries a poor man whose main attractive quality is that he lives near her mother in Sakwa. They try to have a family, but many of their children die young. Through hard work, Akoko’s wealth continues to grow, much to her brother-in-law’s jealousy. Akoko and Chief Owuor’s third child is Owang,’ a steady boy with a level head; he prepares to fill the shoes of his older brother and take over as chief as his father gets older. Before he can get married his father dies and negotiations are suspended while they mourn the passing chief. Afterward he marries and takes over as chief, but after only two years, he chokes on a fish bone and dies before his mothers eyes. Distraught, Nyabera asks Were (God) what her mother has done to deserve to lose another son. Owang’s son, Owour, is still a baby, so Akoko’s brother-in-law Otieno Kembo takes over as chief.
As soon as Otieno takes over, he begins to abuse his power. Greedy and lazy, he appropriates his brother’s wealth, gets rid of the Council of Elders and tries to steal Akoko’s cattle as well. Instead of standing by and watching, Akoko decides to take matters into her hands. She journeys to Kisuma to make her case before the District Officer (DO), a colonial judge. Her two nephews, Odongo and Opiyo, accompany her on the long, dangerous journey and Akoko uses the time to share the history of their people with them. In Kisuma, they have their first interactions with white people and the colonial society. They are befriended by a stranger who acts as their guide during their stay, while also looking down on them for their provincial ways. After hearing her case, the DO decides to send representatives to their village to investigate further.
The messengers come to Sakwa to investigate, but are so discreet that Otieno only finds out after they leave. Enraged, he confronts Akoko, but she stands her ground and within a month she’s called back to Kisuma where the District Commissioner (DC), the superior of the DO, will share his decision. After presenting her case again, the DC rules in Akoko’s favor, ordering Otieno to be removed as chief and the Council of Elders to be reinstated until her grandson comes of age to take over as chief. Furthermore, Otieno will have to return all the wealth he stole from Akoko. With her wealth returned, she decides to leave her husband’s village in Sakwa and return to her birthplace in Yimbo. Now fifty and middle aged, she goes to live with her brother Oloo.
Analysis
The River and the Source spans four generations of women in Kenya, and begins roughly in 1870. Akoko and her family are part of the Luo tribe. Ogola describes in great detail the naming ceremony that takes place after Akoko's birth, introducing the theme of tradition and the importance it plays in the Luo people’s lives. Akoko is given four names, each with a different basis: the season she was born, dreams sent by ancestral spirits dreams, and her personality. Her final name, Akoko, which is how she will be referred to throughout the novel, means "the noisy one." Chosen for her frequent screaming as a baby, this name takes on greater significance, as throughout her life she is outspoken in advocating for her rights as a woman. Growing up with nine brothers, Akoko learns to defend herself and notably, despite daughters being less valued in Luo homes, Akoko wins the affection of her father and brothers.
Tradition is a guiding force in the life of the community, and Akoko’s bride negotiations reveals the ritual-like steps that mark this process. Through spokespeople and speeches, her prospective suitor Chief Owuor and her father negotiate their marriage. Feeling protective of his daughter and wishing to assert authority, Akoko's father decides to test Owuor by setting the bride price extremely high—thirty cattle. Surprising everyone, Owuor accepts the price. By paying such an exorbitant bride price without negotiating down, he wins his father-in-law’s respect and honor.
Contrary to modern ideas of marriage for love, marriage for the Luo people of Akoko’s time is an economic and political arrangement between two families. In their culture, suitors have to pay for their wives who they are ‘taking away’ from their father’s home so they may work and support their husband’s compound. Owuor’s ability to pay a high bride price is also security for Akoko and her family that he’ll be able to provide for her.
The differing reactions toward the bride price between Owuor and his younger brother, Otieno, also reveal opposing attitudes toward women. Otieno believes all women are the same and after hearing the bride price cries “that is enough to marry three wives.” In his eyes, all women are interchangeable and so his brother has wasted his wealth on one woman. In contrast, Owuor recognizes Akoko as an extraordinary woman and individual. After negotiations finish, Akoko enters the room and instead of walking in with her eyes trained on the floor she boldly looks up and gazes at Owuor, demonstrating her refusal to play to cultural expectations of a timid, demure woman.
Shortly after marrying Owuor, Akoko gives birth to their first child, a son named Obura. Yet, after three and a half years and no more children, Owuor starts receiving pressure to marry again. The number of children and wives a man has is a matter of wealth, honor, and pride for men in Luo society. The fact that Owuor willingly decides not to marry again flouts traditions and confounds the community. As the Luo saying goes, “a monogamous man was an unknown animal and every man worth his salt tried to marry at least two wives.” In Owuor’s eyes, Akoko has become irreplaceable to him and he loses interest in finding another wife. This begins to cause tension and pressure for Akoko especially as she does not continue conceiving children at the rate expected of her. Pressure builds until her mother-in-law, Nyar Asembo, accuses her of bewitching her husband.
Akoko’s decision to return to her home village after being unfairly accused of witchcraft stuns people, since in Luo culture marriage is sacred and severing a union is seen as taboo. Yet unlike many people in her community, Akoko confronts problems head-on and sees it as a matter of importance to defend her honor. In the aftermath, after her husband and her family resolve the matter, she is reprimanded for her temper and for not waiting to talk to her husband before leaving. The whole incident creates bad blood between Akoko and Otieno, her brother-in-law who disapproves of her and is jealous of the wealth Akoko has built up over the course of her marriage.
At this point in the novel, the Luo people begin to hear rumors about white Europeans, whom they refer to as Jorochere. Isolated as they are, they have been largely untouched by colonial rule, although the English had already taken control of Kenya years before. Obura becomes fascinated with stories of white people and their “magic.” At sixteen, he is curious and restless and yearns to explore the world outside his community. Trapped by his duty as the eldest son to carry on as chief after his father, he eventually decides to pursue his curiosity and runs away. When Akoko finds out her son went off with the white men, she lies in bed for three days and grieves for him as if he were dead, foreshadowing his eventual death. The loss of Obura is the first of many impacts that the white man and colonialism will have on the fabric of Luo society and characters in the novel.
Akoko’s daughter Nyabera mourns her brother’s passing. Her mother believes there's no other way to get through grief than time and resilience, so she pushes her daughter to be strong and keep going. Akoko has high expectations for her daughter, believing that women must be intelligent, hard-working, and strong, for there is no one to cover their weaknesses for them, as women often do for a husband. In many ways, she teaches her daughter to be self-sustaining, at odds with the traditional role of women in Luo culture. Akoko models this with her success at building up her personal wealth in cattle and grains, far surpassing what her husband originally paid for her bride price.
The subsequent deaths of Chief Owuor and two years later her last son Owang’ are hard on Akoko and Nyabera. Ever a steadying force, even Akoko is at a loss in the face of such tragedy. In shock, this time it is Nyabera, her sole living child, who comes to her aid. It is Otieno assuming the position of chief that pulls Akoko out of her grief. As a widow, without sons to defend her, Akoko’s position in society is precarious and seemingly powerless, a fact Otieno gleefully takes advantage of by trying to steal her wealth. Akoko rankles at the injustice that men, however inferior in character, can prey on vulnerable women, and she uses her resourcefulness to seek out the support of the colonial government.
When Akoko and her nephews travel to Kisuma to meet with the DO, they interact with white people for the first time. Her nephews are overwhelmed by the newness of the experience, as the codes of conduct, dress and speech are foreign to them. Coming from the old ways, they are looked down on as being “primitive, straight out of the bush.” However, Akoko holds firm to her goal, guiding them through the experience. Her courageous decision protects not only her wealth but the village and her grandson’s rightful place as future chief. Her actions will in turn inspire her daughter Nyabera to forge her own path in the wider world beyond their village.
