Akata Witch

by

Nnedi Okorafor

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Akata Witch: Chapter 12 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
On Saturday morning, Sunny gathers with other Leopard People in Leopard Knocks. Since she’s with Leopard People, she doesn’t have to pretend to be sensitive to the sun—and she can’t stop smiling. When the funky train pulls up, it’s covered in Christian slogans. Chichi explains that this will change once they reach a Muslim-majority area. The driver, a man called Jesus’s General, gets out and begins haggling with people for the price of the trip to the festival. Anatov takes care of negotiating for his, Chichi, Sunny, Orlu, and Sasha’s ride. As Sunny follows her friends onto the funky train, she accidentally hits a handsome boy in the head with her backpack. They find seats and soon, the train is off.
Leopard Society gives Sunny privileges she gets nowhere else. She can be who she truly is among other Leopard People: someone who enjoys the sun. Chichi’s explanation about the religious slogans on the funky train show Sunny again that Leopard society is closely intertwined with Lamb society; religion, it seems, transcends whether a person has magical powers or not. Noticing the cute boy highlights that Sunny is starting to mature and take interest in boys—a sign of her burgeoning independence.
Themes
Identity and Belonging Theme Icon
Friendship and Teamwork Theme Icon
Leopard Knocks is paying for Anatov, Sasha, Chichi, Orlu, and Sunny to stay at a fancy Hilton hotel in Abuja. They have a busy day: Sunny must get her juju knife, they’ll see the wrestling finals, and then there are events, including a soccer match, all afternoon and evening. The kids are all sharing a suite, and they celebrate once Anatov leaves them alone in the room. Chichi sniffs that the room is “toxic,” and Orlu says he hates how extravagant the hotel is. Chichi and Sasha start to whisper over a book, and Chichi acts guilty when Sunny asks what she’s doing. But Sasha changes the subject and tells Sunny that they should both play in the soccer match later—even if Sunny is a girl.
Though the kids are still supervised in Abuja, they’re also enjoying way more independence than they usually get at home. With this independence, they’re able to experiment and figure out, without adults’ help, how they feel about things—such as staying in such a lavish hotel. That Chichi and Sasha seem up to something adds tension, especially since they both seem relatively fearless when it comes to trying new things. The way Sasha talks about him and Sunny joining the soccer match highlights that Leopard society is, in some ways, still as sexist as Lamb society (recall that Sunny believes she’d never be able to play soccer with Lamb boys due to her sex).
Themes
Identity and Belonging Theme Icon
Friendship and Teamwork Theme Icon
Once Sunny, Sasha, Orlu, and Chichi have showered and changed, they head for the funky train. As Chichi and Sasha talk music with Jesus’s General, Orlu tells Sunny to be careful; she’s new, and things will be odd and unfamiliar. Sunny asks if Orlu’s parents and Chichi’s mother are friends. Uncomfortably, Orlu explains that Chichi’s mother is a brilliant Nimm priestess, which means she was chosen at birth to be sold to a goddess named Nimm. She’s not allowed to marry, must reject wealth, and has Nimm as a last name. After a minute of silence, Sunny asks Orlu how she’s supposed to keep all this secret from her family. Orlu reminds her that the trust knot prevents her from saying anything, but he suggests she try to find out more about her grandmother.
Even though Sunny felt right at home with other Leopard People as she and her friends boarded the funky train in Leopard Knocks, Orlu suggests here that these feelings of belonging might not last when Sunny is faced with so many new things at the festival. But again, she has her friends to lean on as she navigates this new territory. And Orlu tries to impress upon her that she should lean on her friends as much as she needs to, especially since, due to the trust knot, she physically cannot tell her parents anything about her new world.
Themes
Identity and Belonging Theme Icon
Friendship and Teamwork Theme Icon
The funky train takes Anatov, Sasha, Orlu, Sunny, and Chichi to the Abuja Lamb market. At a shaded part of the market, they find Junk Man’s booth. He clearly looks like he’s more than just a Lamb vendor. Anatov greets him loudly and Junk Man points to Sunny. He tells her to look around. Sunny studies the various objects in the stall and finally finds a cardboard box filled with knives. Junk Man appears beside her. He asks if she’s American and if her parents are Nigerian, and then declares that Sunny is from America and Nigeria. Then, he tells her to simply close her eyes and reach into the box of knives.
Sunny is getting better at identifying things and people that are clearly part of the Leopard world, such as the ghost hoppers and now Junk Man. Junk Man’s insistence that Sunny is both American and Nigerian encourages Sunny to not think so hard about her identity: she is who she is, and she doesn’t have to just be one thing. Changing the subject to the juju knives immediately after this also suggests that Sunny’s identity as a Leopard Person is, perhaps, more important than where she’s from.
Themes
Identity and Belonging Theme Icon
Quotes
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Sunny does as she’s told—and snatches her hand back when a knife cuts her. Junk Man fishes out the knife that cut Sunny, which has a plain silver handle and a blade of a green glassy material. He, Orlu, and Sasha all seem intrigued by the knife—and the kids gasp when Junk Man says the knife costs 13 copper chittim, a small fortune. But Junk Man says he doesn’t negotiate on juju knives; Sunny has to pay up. Sunny pays for her knife and then, after Anatov looks at it, she accepts the knife from Junk Man.
This passage drops more clues that Sunny is more, and possibly more powerful, than she looks—Isong described the material that makes up the blade of her juju knife in Fast Facts, and suggested one should be concerned if a knife made of that material chooses them. Isong also noted that this has to do with a person’s spirit identity—suggesting that Sunny has more self-discovery ahead of her as she explores this new side of herself. 
Themes
Identity and Belonging Theme Icon
As soon as Sunny takes the juju knife, she yelps. It feels like the knife is part of her hand. Anatov assures her that’s normal, and then Chichi coaches Sunny through calling music. Two copper chittim fall at her feet when she successfully does so. Pleased, Junk Man gives Sunny a little blue bean that sounds like it’s giggling; she must put it under her bed and wait. Sasha negotiates to purchase a big brown conch shell, which garners a meaningful look from Anatov.
The juju knife, it seems, is now part of Sunny’s body—and part of her identity. By learning to use it, she’ll learn more about herself and about Leopard society as a whole. Sasha’s conch shell purchase creates some tension, as he and Anatov seem to know what it’s for, but readers do not. The tension makes it seem like Sasha is preparing for something, perhaps the showdown with Otokoto.
Themes
Identity and Belonging Theme Icon
Education, Power, and Corruption Theme Icon