Soukeyna Pitroipa, Grade 11
UWC Costa Rica
When I mention fantasy, you may think about the Harry Potter saga or a geek fascinated by Star Wars. Today, let me present to you a different imaginary world inspired by a real African religion coming from the Yoruba tribe: the legacy of Orisha. Orisha is defined as the deities of the Yoruba religion, which can be found in southwestern Nigeria, Togo, Benin, and even outside the African continent in religions as Santeria in Cuba and Vodou in Haiti. However, in the universe of Children of Blood and Bones, the author Tomi Adeyemi represented Orisha not only as a religion but as a culture, a kingdom, and most importantly, as a source of magic.
Tomi Adeyemi is a Nigeria-American novelist and creative writing coach. She is well known for winning a Hugo Award and being the first young-adult bestselling author in the New York times for her first book Children of Blood and Bones which is the first of the trilogy of the ‘“legacy of Orisha’’. At just 26 years old, she has already been classified at the thirtieth position of Forbes’ ranking as a person who has defined and driven world media. During her childhood, her parents did not expose her to their African heritage, and while living in Chicago, she never learned her parents’ native tongue. She expressed that she learned to embrace her culture much later as an adult. This explains why, after graduating from Harvard University with an honor degree in English, she got the opportunity to study West African mythology, religion, and culture in Salvador, Brazil. It was from her studies that she found the inspiration to start the universe of her first opus.
The story opens on a training battle between Zelie, the protagonist of the story, and her friend Yemi with the supervision of Mama Agba. It is during and after the battle that we get to know that our protagonist is one of the last diviners, a child descendant of a Maji, a superhuman with the capacity to wield magic gifted by the Orishian gods. Her mother, who was a Maji precisely a reaper, was killed during the raid (a genocide ) lead by the authoritarian King Saran. If you have watched the show, Avatar: The Last Airbender, also known by the fandom as ATLA, you may recognize a point of similarity between both the book and the show. Zelie and Aang share the common denominator of living in a post-genocide world where their destiny is to bring back justice/balance to their divided universe. The only difference is that Zelie has to bring back magic to her diviners’ community in order to bring back balance between the Kosidans, the ones who don’t wield magic, and the diviners. Therefore, throughout the story, we are going to follow Zelie, Tzain, and Amari’s adventures all around the Orishian Kingdom in the aim to bring magic back.
However, there is no ATLA without Zuko. Therefore there are no Children of blood and bones without Inan, the authoritarian King’s son. He is attached to the throne, his honor, and the well-being of his kingdom and, like his father, he has the mentality that magic is the worst thing that has ever existed in Orisha. So, during the story, he chases our protagonist Zelie to stop her from bringing magic back into their world. Interestingly enough, Inan has an arc of redemption, yet he will also be drawn back to his old mentality and fears. He is on the side of the enemy, but I can appreciate that he is well written, and his actions are in concordance with his lost personality. As Zuko, he lost the capacity to distinguish what is wrong or right anymore, and while reading the book, I remember being worried and even sad for him, even though he is on the side of the villains!
What makes this book special is the level of commitment you will have all along their adventure. You gain insight into each character, to the point of reaching empathy for them, even for the villains of the story. In Children of Blood and Bones, enemies are not only viewed negatively because they are genuinely rotten to the core but rather they have a back story that has led them to be the character that they are.
The author has the capacity to share their emotions with so many details and imagery that the reader is directly affected by the character’s experiences, particularly Zelie. She is presented in the beginning to the reader as a strong, stubborn girl with a sad history, who shows no compassion. As we get further into the book, we discover her vulnerability and how the raid has traumatized and drastically changed her childhood. We discover our heroine with more human features, feeling pain, and hope at the same time all because of the gods’ fate and the destiny they have charged on her back. One of the most interesting parts of the book is the unexpected ending, with the way Amari and Inan’s siblingly relationship plays out with the gods’ destiny. It is not only the unexpected ending that surprised me but also, the protagonist’s words in the last chapters that gave meaning to the title: ‘We are all children of blood and bones. All instruments of vengeance and virtue’, this citation is a reference to her ancestry, the story they share together as diviners. To me, the title expresses how even the diviners are humans made from blood and bones; therefore, the world did not have the right to hunt them. They are like any other human/Kosidan.
I like the fantasy genre of the book because it shows a view of society and humanity in a way we fail to see reality. Fantasy gives us the capacity to break out from our reality and reimagine it from a different perspective where the protagonist has the power to reorganize the mess of the world he/she is in. What I really appreciate in the author’s writing is how she used an accurate African religion and culture to shape her own fantasy world. She has made me proud of my African culture, ancestry, and roots. I appreciated her notes at the end, where she shares her personal emotions while writing and the background of her creative writing, which helps to make more sense in some details in the story. This book encapsulates a beautiful mixture of culture and fantasy. If you have never read the book, I strongly recommend you to do so because it is going to make you dream, learn about the Yoruba religion Orishian system, and even give you some inspiration. When you are feeling down because of society and all the events that are happening currently, never forget mama Agba’s words: They don’t hate you, my child. They hate what you were meant to become. (pg. 33)
Tomi Adeyemi is a Nigeria-American novelist and creative writing coach. She is well known for winning a Hugo Award and being the first young-adult bestselling author in the New York times for her first book Children of Blood and Bones which is the first of the trilogy of the ‘“legacy of Orisha’’. At just 26 years old, she has already been classified at the thirtieth position of Forbes’ ranking as a person who has defined and driven world media. During her childhood, her parents did not expose her to their African heritage, and while living in Chicago, she never learned her parents’ native tongue. She expressed that she learned to embrace her culture much later as an adult. This explains why, after graduating from Harvard University with an honor degree in English, she got the opportunity to study West African mythology, religion, and culture in Salvador, Brazil. It was from her studies that she found the inspiration to start the universe of her first opus.
The story opens on a training battle between Zelie, the protagonist of the story, and her friend Yemi with the supervision of Mama Agba. It is during and after the battle that we get to know that our protagonist is one of the last diviners, a child descendant of a Maji, a superhuman with the capacity to wield magic gifted by the Orishian gods. Her mother, who was a Maji precisely a reaper, was killed during the raid (a genocide ) lead by the authoritarian King Saran. If you have watched the show, Avatar: The Last Airbender, also known by the fandom as ATLA, you may recognize a point of similarity between both the book and the show. Zelie and Aang share the common denominator of living in a post-genocide world where their destiny is to bring back justice/balance to their divided universe. The only difference is that Zelie has to bring back magic to her diviners’ community in order to bring back balance between the Kosidans, the ones who don’t wield magic, and the diviners. Therefore, throughout the story, we are going to follow Zelie, Tzain, and Amari’s adventures all around the Orishian Kingdom in the aim to bring magic back.
However, there is no ATLA without Zuko. Therefore there are no Children of blood and bones without Inan, the authoritarian King’s son. He is attached to the throne, his honor, and the well-being of his kingdom and, like his father, he has the mentality that magic is the worst thing that has ever existed in Orisha. So, during the story, he chases our protagonist Zelie to stop her from bringing magic back into their world. Interestingly enough, Inan has an arc of redemption, yet he will also be drawn back to his old mentality and fears. He is on the side of the enemy, but I can appreciate that he is well written, and his actions are in concordance with his lost personality. As Zuko, he lost the capacity to distinguish what is wrong or right anymore, and while reading the book, I remember being worried and even sad for him, even though he is on the side of the villains!
What makes this book special is the level of commitment you will have all along their adventure. You gain insight into each character, to the point of reaching empathy for them, even for the villains of the story. In Children of Blood and Bones, enemies are not only viewed negatively because they are genuinely rotten to the core but rather they have a back story that has led them to be the character that they are.
The author has the capacity to share their emotions with so many details and imagery that the reader is directly affected by the character’s experiences, particularly Zelie. She is presented in the beginning to the reader as a strong, stubborn girl with a sad history, who shows no compassion. As we get further into the book, we discover her vulnerability and how the raid has traumatized and drastically changed her childhood. We discover our heroine with more human features, feeling pain, and hope at the same time all because of the gods’ fate and the destiny they have charged on her back. One of the most interesting parts of the book is the unexpected ending, with the way Amari and Inan’s siblingly relationship plays out with the gods’ destiny. It is not only the unexpected ending that surprised me but also, the protagonist’s words in the last chapters that gave meaning to the title: ‘We are all children of blood and bones. All instruments of vengeance and virtue’, this citation is a reference to her ancestry, the story they share together as diviners. To me, the title expresses how even the diviners are humans made from blood and bones; therefore, the world did not have the right to hunt them. They are like any other human/Kosidan.
I like the fantasy genre of the book because it shows a view of society and humanity in a way we fail to see reality. Fantasy gives us the capacity to break out from our reality and reimagine it from a different perspective where the protagonist has the power to reorganize the mess of the world he/she is in. What I really appreciate in the author’s writing is how she used an accurate African religion and culture to shape her own fantasy world. She has made me proud of my African culture, ancestry, and roots. I appreciated her notes at the end, where she shares her personal emotions while writing and the background of her creative writing, which helps to make more sense in some details in the story. This book encapsulates a beautiful mixture of culture and fantasy. If you have never read the book, I strongly recommend you to do so because it is going to make you dream, learn about the Yoruba religion Orishian system, and even give you some inspiration. When you are feeling down because of society and all the events that are happening currently, never forget mama Agba’s words: They don’t hate you, my child. They hate what you were meant to become. (pg. 33)
Bibliography:
Tomi Adeyemi Biography on her website: https://www.tomiadeyemi.com/about
Wikipedia Page about Tomi Adeyemi's Biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomi_Adeyemi
Tomi Adeyemi Biography on her website: https://www.tomiadeyemi.com/about
Wikipedia Page about Tomi Adeyemi's Biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomi_Adeyemi
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