Nkasi's mother: "If I had not married an Osu, i will not be going through what I am going through today" she blurted out. Nkasi's father was stunned by what his ears were hearing:"Obiageli, what did you just say?" he asked, calling her name, which he rarely did. Nkasi's mother moved backwards slowly, waiting to run away if her husband came towards her, because she knew that she had just insulted him.
In igboland, predominantly where the Nri culture is practiced, there are two classes of people; the Osu and the Nwadiala. The Osu are those whose fore- fathers were sacrificed to gods, and made slaves. Therefore, generations after them carried the curse which was the mark of the gods. While the Nwadiala, were the free born and sons of the soil. The Osu are treated as inferior human beings in a state of permanent and irreversible disability. In most cases they reside very close to shrines and marketplaces. They are not allowed to dance, drink, hold hands, associate or have sexual relations with Nwadiala.This was the predicament of Nkasi and her family. Nkasi's mother, Obiageli was from a large family that had a lot of children, so when she defiled her family, they just ostracized her. But in worst cases, the Osu who wanted to marry a freeborn stood the risk of death, as the family members of the freeborn could go to any length to remove the insult they felt.
Nkasi's father picked up an axe that was lying around and ran after his wife, who ran away, screaming on the top of her voice. An Osu could kill for being called an Osu to the face, so at this moment, Nkasi's father was not himself, all he could think about, was his own wife calling him an Osu to his face. The worst part of the situation is that the villagers, who were coming back from their day's activities, saw the husband pursuing his wife with an axe and pretended not to see; they had no business with the Osu.
Nkasi's father's anger did not get spent, until he caught up with his wife and swung the axe.
