Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Akata Witch, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Identity and Belonging
The Individual vs. the Collective
Friendship and Teamwork
Education, Power, and Corruption
Summary
Analysis
Sunny can see Zuma Rock long before the funky train gets there. She’s visited it before with her mother; the tour guide then said it has mystical powers. Now, Sunny knows that the Abuja Leopard headquarters, Zuma Ajasco, is at the foot of Zuma Rock. This is where the festival will take place. As the funky train gets closer, Sunny asks Anatov why Zuma Ajasco isn’t the West African headquarters. Anatov gives her a dirty look and curtly explains that Abuja became the capital of Nigeria instead of Lagos in 1991. Now, scholars here think the headquarters should move—but Leopard Knocks has existed for over 1000 years, and it would be inappropriate to move it.
Sunny’s question suggests it makes sense to her that when the Lamb capital moved, the Leopard capital should’ve done the same. Anatov’s angry response, however, clearly shows that he values Leopard tradition over constantly changing Lamb whims (the Nigerian capital moved several times in the decades before Abuja was declared the official capital, as part of several military takeovers). Sunny, this suggests, is still thinking in Lamb terms, rather than in Leopard terms.
Themes
Then, addressing Orlu, Sasha, and Chichi too, Anatov notes that the kids should be aware that things are different here. There are two scholars in Zuma Ajasco: Madame Koto, who’s “wide,” might own a huge oil company, and is constantly surrounded by attractive men; and Ibrahim Ahmed, who’s 112, has 15 wives, and lives a lavish lifestyle after making a fortune in oil. Sunny sees the problem: these two don’t sound like modest Leopard scholars. Anatov notes that these scholars are capable of amazing things, but “potential doesn’t equal success.”
Madame Koto and Ibrahim Ahmed sound at least a bit corrupt—and possibly like they have too much at stake in the Lamb world (with their oil dealings) to really have Leopard society’s best interests at heart. This shows again that Leopard People have choices when it comes to what to do with their education. They can follow in Anatov’s footsteps and focus on serving the community—or they can allow their “potential” to serve only themselves.
Themes
The funky train stops in front of a huge arch. Sunny follows Anatov off the train and notices a huge wooden leopard at the top of the arch, which is animate and inspects festival goers for Lambs. It seems to stare right at Sunny as she enters the festival. The festival itself is overwhelming, with many booths, religious groups, juju everywhere, and kids playing with a tungwa. Anatov suggests they get something to eat, but as Sunny eats her okra soup, she suddenly feels entirely out of place. Chichi points Sunny toward the bathrooms; Sunny needs a moment alone. She passes the bathrooms and enters an open field, where she sobs.
Orlu, it seems, was right to warn Sunny: the festival is a lot to take in, especially when she’s only been part of the Leopard world for a short time. The wooden leopard makes Sunny feel even less welcome—it seems to stare at her as though it doesn’t think she belongs. As Sunny’s overwhelm reaches the breaking point, she finds she can’t bring herself to rely on her friends. In her mind, they clearly belong, and she perhaps doesn’t—so in the moment, they feel beyond her reach.
Themes
A man’s voice interrupts Sunny and asks if she’s alright. The man is over seven feet tall and wears a bright yellow caftan. Sunny just stares—but the man smiles and offers her a handkerchief. Trying to explain herself, Sunny says she’s a free agent. The man exudes calmness as Sunny says she only learned she was a Leopard Person a few months ago and explains that she’s here with Anatov. The man says that the good news is that she’s deep in Leopard society at the festival; it doesn’t get any deeper. When Sunny says she got her juju knife today, he insists there are more valuable things than just safety and comfort. She must learn, and she’ll get used to the rest of it. With this, the man walks away, leaving Sunny with his handkerchief. Sunny realizes a crowd has been watching.
When this man approaches to comfort Sunny, Sunny discovers her three friends and Anatov aren’t the only Leopard People who care about her. There are others who, when they see a young girl sobbing alone, will stop to see if they can help. This helps Sunny rethink her relationship to Leopard society on the whole, since it now seems far more supportive than she thought it was a few minutes ago. This man also echoes what Anatov and other scholars have reminded Sunny and her friends of: that it’s more important for young people to become educated and serve others than it is to use one’s education for selfish means.
Themes
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Sunny, Chichi, Orlu, Sasha, and Anatov get good seats for the match. They’re in the very front, in a special section for teachers and students. Anatov introduces the kids to Madame Koto and to Sugar Cream. Sugar Cream greets everyone in the group but Sunny, who gets only a glare. As they wait for the match to start, Chichi and Sasha exchange insults with a boy they call Yao—Chichi tells Sasha cryptically that he’s the person she was referring to earlier. Orlu groans; Chichi is planning something.
That the teachers and students get special seats close to the wrestling ring implies that the festival’s organizers see the match as a learning opportunity for students. Learning is, quite literally, front and center. Sunny continues to face up to the consequences of frightening Jibaku: she realizes Sugar Cream is still punishing her.
Themes
Just then, a woman steps onto the field and drags her juju knife across her throat to amplify her voice. She introduces herself as Mballa, the commentator for the match. She explains that the finalists this year are undefeated, and they’re also generous, loving, and loyal. They would, she says, give their lives for Africa, and they’re the exact type of person that Western society fears. The first man enters the ring; his name is Sayé. Orlu whispers to Sunny that Sayé wears a leather sleeve because he lost his arm, and his ability is connected to the loss. The second man, Miknikstic, is the man Sunny spoke to earlier. Orlu whispers that he can see the near future, so he can anticipate his opponent’s movements. Sunny asks why the fight must happen at all, but Orlu says it’s just a tradition.
The way Mballa characterizes the wrestling finalists is interesting: they’re not bloodthirsty fighters, but are instead upstanding members of society who will seemingly protect Leopard society at all costs. Mballa also doesn’t allow spectators (or readers) to forget Nigeria’s colonial history, or the West’s racism. She frames Nigerian Leopard People as trying to preserve a way of life in the face of overbearing and frightened white Westerners, suggesting that joining this defense is a way for Leopard People to give back to their community.
Themes
Mballa explains the rules to the audience: the fighters must stay in the ring and can’t use any juju knives, powders, or other aids. She quickly leaves the ring. Miknikstic and Sayé circle each other, run at each other a few times, and then Miknikstic punches Sayé so hard he falls. When Sayé gets up, his arm seems to be made of blue mist—it morphs as Miknikstic tries to fight it. Sunny plugs her ears. She’s horrified, but then she decides she should honor Miknikstic by watching. Everyone else in the audience seems to have become a real, bloodthirsty leopard. Sunny, on the other hand, sobs.
Almost immediately, Sunny discovers that this isn’t fun and games. The match is serious, bloody, and as Anatov noted previously, seems likely to end in death for one of the fighters. Sunny is fighting her own fight and trying to figure out how to serve her community. She decides that watching, and allowing herself to experience pain and upset, is how she can make the fighters’ potential sacrifices worth it.
Themes
After a while, both Miknikstic and Sayé bring forth their spirit faces. The fight continues until Sayé runs his ghost arm straight through Miknikstic’s chest—and Miknikstic dies. Chittim rains onto the field. As Mballa gets up to announce the winner, Miknikstic suddenly gets up. Feathers sprout from his back, and he flies into the sky. Mballa shouts that he’s become a guardian angel. Applause fills the arena, but Sunny shouts that she wants to go home. Orlu pulls Sunny close as Anatov goes to the ring to help heal Sayé. Mballa invites both fighters’ wives into the ring and then announces the end of the match.
It feels counterintuitive to Sunny that such capable, competent men have to fight until one of them dies—how is that person going to protect Leopard society if they’re deceased? But Miknikstic transforming into a guardian angel answers this question somewhat, and it suggests that there’s just more to the Leopard world that Sunny doesn’t know about yet.
Themes
Nobody says anything to Miknikstic’s wife, Kadiatou, who stands in the arena staring at the sky. Sunny breaks free from Orlu and runs to the tall, regal woman. Kadiatou brushes Sunny off at first, but Sunny explains that earlier, Miknikstic helped her feel better when she was overwhelmed. She wanted Kadiatou to know how grateful she is to her husband and his kindness. As Sunny turns to go, Kadiatou thanks Sunny—and gives Sunny a blessing.
When Sunny approaches Kadiatou, she emulates Miknikstic and the way he stepped in to comfort her earlier without being asked. This experience again helps Sunny see that the Leopard world is supportive, even if some of the adults in it are standoffish and prideful in a way that’s a bit confusing to Sunny.
Themes
Anatov returns to the kids a moment later, and Sasha asks why nobody stopped the violent fight. Anatov explains that life doesn’t work like that. Bad things keep happening to people until they die or figure out how to make the bad things stop. He reminds the kids that this isn’t a vacation; this is a learning experience, and they’ll face something just as bad soon.
The wrestling match, Anatov suggests, ended the way it did because the fighters couldn’t figure out how to make “bad things” stop without someone dying. Facing Otokoto later, he implies, is going to follow much the same trajectory: the kids will have to make the “bad thing” stop, or they’ll die.
Themes
