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Maame
Baaba is Cobbe Otcher’s wife, Fiifi’s mother, and Effia’s adoptive mother. Resentful of having to take care of a daughter that is not her own, Baaba is extremely cruel to Effia and beats her frequently. Baaba eventually plots for Effia to marry British colonist James Collins so that she can rid herself of Effia, telling everyone that the girl is evil and cannot have children.
Baaba Quotes in Homegoing
The Homegoing quotes below are all either spoken by Baaba or refer to Baaba. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 1: Effia Quotes
He knew then that the memory of the fire that burned, then fled, would haunt him, his children, and his children’s children for as long as the line continued.
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Baaba Character Timeline in Homegoing
The timeline below shows where the character Baaba appears in Homegoing. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1: Effia
...wrecking everything in its path. Effia’s father, Cobbe Otcher, leaves Effia with his first wife, Baaba, to survey his yams, which have been damaged. He is haunted by the sight of...
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The villagers say that Effia had been born of that fire, and that was why Baaba had no milk. Effia is nursed by another of Cobbe’s wives, but she bites the...
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Effia grows older. When Effia is three, Baaba has a son named Fiifi. The first day that Effia holds Fiifi, she accidentally drops...
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When Cobbe comes home and discovers what happened, he and Baaba fight into the night, and he beats her for the cruel way she treated Effia....
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...hides behind Cobbe’s leg, as she has never seen a white man before. Cobbe and Baaba show him their compound, explaining that each wife has her own hut that she shares...
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...has bigger plans for her, however, and that she will not marry a white man. Baaba scowls at this, though Cobbe does not see her.
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Effia nods and stays quiet, which she notes pleases Baaba. She has come to realize that Baaba prefers to remain silent and wants Effia to...
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Abeeku finishes eating and tells Baaba to let him know when Effia is “ready.” That night, Baaba tells Effia that when...
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On one such visit, Baaba asks Millicent’s mother what it is like in the Castle. Millicent’s mother says that they...
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Two days after Effia’s fifteenth birthday, she has her first menstrual period. She tells Baaba, who tells Effia to keep this development a secret. When Effia asks why, Baaba pinches...
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Effia asks Baaba what they’re doing, but Baaba tells her that it does not concern her. Baaba has...
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In the days following the chief ceremony, Cobbe continues to ask Baaba what is happening with Effia, as he had hoped that she would be Abeeku’s wife...
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On one such visit to Abeeku’s compound, Baaba and Effia are there at the same time as British soldiers. When the soldiers tour...
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...appointed governor of the Cape Coast Castle. Within a week, he comes back to ask Baaba for Effia’s hand. Cobbe is outraged because he wants her to marry Abeeku, but Baaba...
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Cobbe tells Baaba that they must make Abeeku think that it is his own idea for Effia to...
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Abeeku calls Effia into the room, and tells Baaba and Cobbe that they are right—Effia should marry James Collins. Cobbe weeps openly, but Baaba...
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...Coast Castle, reciting words she doesn’t understand. Effia’s family does not attend the ceremony, because Baaba convinced them that Effia was a bad omen.
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...his hand over her mouth, telling her that her home is no better. Effia remembers Baaba’s treatment and realizes that he is right.
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James Collins leads her to the bed, and he and Effia consummate their marriage. Baaba had told Effia what was expected of her, but James seems very unsure, and so...
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...had wanted her to marry a Fante chief rather than a white man. But instead, Baaba had cast Effia out of the village entirely.
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...be a bad mother, because she had such a bad mother herself. Furthermore, even though Baaba’s insistence that Effia could not have children had been a ruse, Effia worries that she...
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Effia and a house girl travel to Effia’s village. Baaba stands in the entranceway when she arrives, scowling. Baaba leads Effia to Cobbe. No one...
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Fiifi then reveals that Baaba is not Effia’s mother. Effia is actually the child of Cobbe and a house girl...
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As Effia leaves, she starts to apologize to Baaba for the burden that Cobbe made her carry for so many years, but before she...
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Part 1: Quey
Effia is a patient and loving mother, in an attempt to be as little like Baaba as possible. She never hits Quey, even when others taunt her that she is spoiling...
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...would visit, as she still feels that there is evil in the village, even though Baaba had died many years prior. He also knows she would never want to see Abeeku,...
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...on to say, however, that Effia is not the daughter of his mother. Furthermore, because Baaba had hated her, Fiifi had hated Effia too, particularly when she left to live with...
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Part 1: James
...her crying, and when he asked her why, she had told him the story of Baaba.
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