The Diary of Neenaeh: Life lessons, Adventures, and Fun.

By Rita Oduro

Neenaeh was a regular 9-year-old normal child living in the Kingdom of Matutu, until she made a wish for her ancestors to change some of Matutu’s traditions, then everything changed. She woke up in another world she never knew existed. Will she survive, find her way back or will she be lost forever. Find out in this amazing book filled with many life lessons, adventures and fun.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9781312310377

Book preview

The Diary of Neenaeh

Rita Oduro

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2021 Rita Oduro

All rights reserved. Published in Canada.

ISBN: 978-1-312-31037-7

DEDICATION

For all story lovers across the world.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my English teacher Mrs. Goldstein from Chalkfarm elementary school 1995 to 1996, Toronto, North York, Canada; for believing in me and giving me the motivation to love writing, and my family for their love and support.

1 MATUTU AND MADANEM

I was awoken early this morning by the sound of my mother coming into my room.

She usually comes into my room every morning to open the windows, as a sign for me to know that it was morning for me to wake up. So as usual she came into my room, opened the windows, and left to start the day.

I was still sleepy so as soon as she left; I went back to sleep.

As I was sleeping, suddenly a very refreshing air blew over me from one of the windows. It felt like it was waking me up to see something. As such, I opened my eyes to see where it was coming from.

When I looked at the window. I saw the sun rising and heard the chickens in our village announcing that it was morning.

The sun rising was so beautiful that I got up and sat on the bed looking at it.

As I was looking at it, all kinds of thoughts started flooding into my mind.

I started thinking about life, myself, my family, and our kingdom.

I asked myself why such thoughts were flooding through my mind. As I was wondering, I started feeling that it was worth attention, so I allowed it.

The sound of the chickens announcing to us reminded me of how orderly the Creator had made everything. It made me remember that the Creator has everything in place already to guide us through life. I then started wondering why the Creator created and gave me to my parents.

The thought took me back to all the stories I have been told about my family, our kingdom, and things I have experienced through my 9 years of life.

We are the descendants of Matutu and Madanem.

Matutu and Madanem were our ancient parents who gave birth to our ancestors.

Matutu was the husband, and Madanem was the wife.

Ma means man, tutu means sun, and danem means earth. Together, Matutu means man of the sun and Madanem means woman of the earth, in malawae, which is our native language.

Matutu and Madanem had seven children, and out of their seven children came the people of our kingdom.

My family is Wasa. Wasa was the last born of Matutu and Madanem. And all of us from him are called the Wasa people.

We have our own village called Wasa, away from the other six families.

My great grandmother and my father were born in Wasa village. But we are now living in my great-grandmother’s village called Dadamaa.

My life as the Creator willed it

I was born into one of the elite royal families in our kingdom in a small city hospital near my father’s grandmother’s village.

When I was born the kingdom of Matutu had expanded. It had a capital city, a second largest city, and many small cities and villages.

My mother and father lived in the second-largest city called Kwamaa.

In the city, my mother had a grocery store business and my father worked as a council elder over the affairs of the royal house.

During May every year, they traveled to my great grandmother’s village and return in September.

My father Kingduwa inherited a very large cocoa farm and farmlands from my great-grandmother. As such, my father went to the village with my mother every year to check on his workers that cared for his farms. And to get ready for the harvest season when the crops were to be harvested.

My father was also one of the councils of elders in the village and an advisor to the king. And around May is when the elders and the king came together to solve major problems that had taken place during the year. But the month before I was born was different from every other one. My mother was 9 months pregnant with me. So not only were they going to help their people in the village, but they were also preparing to bring me into the world.

While at the village, my father stayed at my great-grandmother’s house that she gave him. And my mother stayed at another house that my father also inherited from my great grandmother.

My father gave the house to her when they got married, and he also gave her two farmlands to farm on.

My father was taught how to farm by his grandmother from childhood, and so he was excellent at it.

My mother Rozife, on the other hand, was raised in the city, so she did not know much about farming.

My father had to teach her. She learned, and she later became good at it. So, while at the village she farmed on the two lands my father gave her, to keep herself busy, while my father worked on solving the social problems of the people with the king and the other elders.

Strong woman

My mother had a very different life and upbringing from my father.

My mother was born into one of the elite royal families in our kingdom.

Her father and mother were both rich and successful people who were also from a very rich home. Due to that, she did not lack anything. She had all that she needed and more.

She was trained in business by her parents, and she became excellent in marketing.

When she turned 18 years, her parents asked her what she would like them to do for her. She told them to help her open a grocery store, that she would like to sell food to the public. Therefore, with the help of her parents, she opened her own grocery store.

At the age of 21, she built her own house with 9 bedrooms from the profits she made doing her business. Not only was she excellent in her business, but she was also very beautiful. And many rich young men who were also from rich homes wanted to have her as their wife. So, when my father met her and wanted to marry her. My mother’s cousin said no, because at the time my father’s parents were dead.

He was an orphan and though he had inherited a lot of lands and properties from his grandmother who raised him after his parents died. He was not as rich as the other rich young men. But my mother loved him, and so she went and had a conversation with her father. And expressed to him that though my father was an orphan and was not as rich as the other young men. He loved her and was the only one who she believed would be patient with her in difficult times.

After that, my mother’s father called my father and had a conversation with him. He also called the other young men who were fighting to make her their wife and had a conversation with them. At the end of their conversation, my mother’s father saw that my father was the best man for her. As such, he gave them his blessing for them to get married and they got married in our family home in Okufowo city.

So, my mother had her own home in the village, and in the city.

My mother’s house in the village is right next to the king of the village wife’s house.

The king whose name is King Kokoumaa has seven sons and one daughter with his wife.

His daughter whose name is Akuo and his last son whose name is Kuoku became my best friends.

Next to my mother’s house is another home that also belongs to my great-grandmother.

My father’s female cousin called Jeema used to live there.

She was a very strong and independent woman. She feared no one and didn’t follow many of the things that the custom and tradition required that women did.

Things like getting married, having children, knowing how to cook well, not smoking, not drinking alcohol, and not doing business in the area for men.

She did not get married or had children. She had relationships with men, but never accepted anyone of them as a husband.

She didn’t want to be controlled and loved not being answerable to any man.

She wanted to be able to go out, do whatever she wanted, and come home when she wanted. And she had her way. She lived a free life, uncontrolled by what the tradition demanded before she died.

Some of our family members believed she was a bad influence, but I loved her.

I always went to see her when my mother was not around.

When I had a conversation with her and asked her questions. I noticed that in a way some of what the family said was right, and some were wrong.

I notice that some of her philosophies of life were not healthy for her. Like smoking, drinking alcohol, and having relationships with men, but never committing to any of them. But staying single helped her to be happy and free from all the responsibilities that the tradition had imposed on women that were not fair to them. Because it binds them from achieving their own purpose in life and from being free.

I learned both good and bad from her. But I rejected the bad side of her and valued and respected her for the good side. Because I thought she was very strong to continue living a single life when tradition forbade it.

She held onto her belief that not every woman was meant to get married and have children.

She was also a businesswoman. She sold what traditionally only men are allowed to sell. But she was very good at it, so even the men who were in the same business respected and accepted her.

She died at a very old age, peacefully in her sleep.

Because she had no children, all the wealth and money she left behind was given to an orphanage home. The family did not want them. They believed that her ghost would hunt them if they took any. Because they never agreed with the way she lived her life.

So, my father and his family were lucky to have had a grandmother who was able to leave them so much land and properties, where they lived and farmed, which also gave them food to eat. And they accepted my mother Rozife as