Diiche recap episode 5: “A child from the gods”
When Diiche rebuked a dibia for locking her in a room in episode three, we knew there was something about her. But while it was unclear if she was a witch, mami wata or an evil spirit, this episode provides clarity. The writers took us to the past which provided a window into the present.
Long before Diiche was born, her mother, Kessandu, suffered miscarriages – six times! Her husband, the kindest of men, was patient with her. Even when Afam’s relatives brought a younger woman for him to marry, he chased them away. But Kessandu still wasn’t satisfied; she was the one who got ridiculed for being barren. Not her husband. So she still wanted a child. Afam’s suggestion of adoption was admonished with fiery eyes.
She took her burden to the dibia ala who promised her a child, but our people know the gods don’t give freely. The child must get married before 30, if not the sea will choose a spouse for her. And she cannot swim in water that leads to the Eze Nwanyi, or she will be carried home. Kessandu accepted.
A few months later, she is pregnant. She dances as she takes the news to her husband, swinging her waist from right to left and back again. But Afam is perplexed; they have not laid in months. An argument ensues.
“Are you Holy Mary, the mother of Jesus?” he shouts when his wife won’t explain how she became pregnant.
But Kessandu won’t budge, she knows her husband is against fetish practices. When Kessandu conceived, she gave birth to twins. The priestess visits to inform her ala doesn’t give twins, the other child is a passenger who doesn’t belong in this world. That child, Chidi, was taken away that day, but her spirit stayed. She became Diiche’s invisible friend and would often tell Diiche about impending doom, which would come to pass. All of these made Diiche a difficult child to raise, and a cleansing ritual was done to sever her ties with the spirit world. But the calls from that world never really stopped; they manifested in migraines.
On the night of Nnamdi’s murder, Diiche stayed too close to the beach and the sea took her home. She returned as a different person to the land of the living but did that person kill Nnamdi? That’s the question the season finale will answer next week!
