Akata Witch: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

An excerpt from Fast Facts for Free Agents explains what chittim are: Leopard People currency. They’re curved metal rods; big copper ones are the most valuable and tiny gold ones are the least valuable. Chittim fall from the sky like rain, but they never hurt people. One earns chittim by gaining knowledge and wisdom. Isong warns the free agent reader that they’ll never get rich.

Everything seems normal when Sunny gets home, but she’s exhausted and goes to bed early. In the morning, Sunny gets dressed and puts on her favorite gold necklace, a gift from her father. Sunny’s mother tells Sunny to be home by four. Once Sunny meets up with Chichi and Orlu, Orlu says his mother was really angry about the trust knot. His parents also said that Sunny can’t enter Leopard Knocks until she’s fully initiated. Chichi grins—she knew this, and she’s certain Sunny is “one of [them].” Sunny is angry and confused, but Chichi says the worst that’ll happen is that Sunny can’t talk about this, or speak to her or Orlu again. They’re going to see a man named Anatov, Defender of Frogs and All Things Natural.

Orlu hires a cab to take them to the market. Once it reaches the market, he and Chichi lead Sunny away from it until they reach a path leading into the bush. There, several older men come out of the bush and ask if Sunny knows where she’s going. Chichi tells the man that Sunny is with her, which satisfies the man. Once the man is out of sight, Sunny begs for Orlu or Chichi to explain things—but they say Anatov will explain. Sunny grouses to herself that her friends could easily be Black Hat Otokoto’s accomplices—she saw the worst possible thing in the candle, after all, so anything’s possible.

When Orlu, Sunny, and Chichi reach a rushing river with a thin, slippery bridge with no handrails stretching across it, Sunny stops. Orlu explains that the entrance to Leopard Knocks is on the other side, and Chichi says the place is named after juju an Efik woman created to make an attacking leopard stub its foot. She and Orlu argue about which ethnic group has the strongest juju, but Sunny can’t listen: the river is too scary. Chichi says they’ll cross it later, but for now, they’re taking a path on this side of the river.

Finally, Anatov’s hut comes into view. It’s big with two doors, one labeled IN and one labeled OUT. Chichi and Orlu lead Sunny through the OUT door. Anatov rises from a throne-like chair as Sunny sneezes snot into her hands. Anatov scolds Chichi that this is improper, and then asks Sunny what’s wrong with her. He hands her a tissue when she explains she needs to blow her nose—and then he watches her intently and declares that she’s “yellow.” Sunny snaps that she’s albino, but Anatov tells her to sit down or things will get even worse for her. He walks a slow circle around her and then pulls out white powder, which he sprinkles in a circle around Sunny. He then pulls out a jeweled knife—Sunny is terrified he’s Black Hat Otokoto.

Chuckling, Anatov says Sunny will remember this for a while. He draws in the air with his knife and a red symbol floats down from it toward Sunny’s head. Chichi tells Sunny to hold her breath—but as the symbol touches Sunny, Sunny is yanked through the floor, deep into the earth. Earth fills Sunny’s mouth and it pulls her clothes off. Sunny starts to move back up. Her body is in pain already as she bursts into water and then back out of it again. With a splat, she’s back in Anatov’s hut with mud in her mouth and things falling around her. When Sunny opens her eyes and asks what happened, she sounds like a glamorous smoker and feels like a graceful ballet dancer. Orlu says he’s never seen “that kind” before, but Chichi hisses at him to turn away.

Sunny asks if this can stop now, and something seems to shrink back inside of her. She realizes she’s wearing a raffia dress, and Chichi says that Sunny passed. Anatov instructs Orlu to put the chittim in Sunny’s purse and explains that Sunny is a rare free agent, since neither of her parents are Leopard People. He asks if Sunny has any mysterious extended family members, and Sunny says her maternal grandmother was strange and possibly mentally ill. But she doesn’t know her grandmother’s maiden name, so Anatov can’t identify her. He explains that Leopard abilities travel through spirit lines, rather than bloodlines, but most Leopard People are born to Leopard parents.

Anatov then explains that Sunny has been initiated: it’s like she’s a computer that came installed with certain programs, but now those programs have been activated. He then asks if odd things have happened to Sunny recently. Sunny tells him about what she saw in the candle, and Anatov deems it “interesting.” But he tells Orlu and Chichi it’s their job, not his, to explain more things—and he expects them all back here at midnight in four days.

Then, Anatov says that “he” arrived last night. Orlu groans, but Chichi laughs happily that they visited at just the right time—and Anatov says that the world is “bigger and more important than you.” Anatov calls for a boy named Sasha, who enters the hut a moment later. Sasha, Anatov explains, is here from Chicago to “cool down.” Chichi seems intrigued by Sasha immediately. Anatov shoos the kids out of his hut and says to take care of Sunny.

Sunny is nauseous and tired. She asks why Anatov has the IN and OUT signs if nobody uses them, but Orlu explains that Anatov’s hut is outside of the disgusting world. Sasha offers Sunny a minty chewing stick, which helps her feel better. Chichi asks if they’re ready to go, but Orlu grumbles that he doesn’t want to hang out with “dangerous people.” He knows what Sasha did, and he doesn’t want to live with a “Troublemaking black American” and an “akata criminal.” Sunny quietly asks Sasha to tell his story and shares that she was also born in the U.S. She feels like an akata often here. Orlu looks ashamed.

Sasha shares that his parents moved to an all-Lamb neighborhood, so he got into fights—and Orlu snaps that Sasha set a masquerade on a few kids. Chichi is impressed, since that’s upper-level juju, but Orlu insists that they’re Ekpiri—low-level—and there are rules. Sasha remains unconcerned, even when Orlu adds that Sasha changed the minds of two police officers. Sunny tells the boys to stop fighting; they’ll have to figure it out since Sasha is supposed to live with Orlu. Chichi says they should all go to Leopard Knocks, get lunch, and explain things to Sunny. When Orlu comments on how heavy with chittim Sunny’s purse is, Chichi points out that Sunny knew nothing before she was initiated, so she learned a lot.