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The Wrestling Match
Sixteen-year-old Okei, left an orphan after the Nigerian civil war, engages in a wrestling match to prove to his critical uncle and aunt that he is not as idle and worthless as they think.
74 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1983
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About the author
Buchi Emecheta
30 books617 followersBuchi Emecheta OBE was a Nigerian novelist who has published over 20 books, including Second-Class Citizen (1974), The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977) and The Joys of Motherhood (1979). Her themes of child slavery, motherhood, female independence and freedom through education have won her considerable critical acclaim and honours, including an Order of the British Empire in 2005. Emecheta once described her stories as "stories of the world…[where]… women face the universal problems of poverty and oppression, and the longer they stay, no matter where they have come from originally, the more the problems become identical."
From 1965 to 1969, Emecheta worked as a library officer for the British Museum in London. From 1969 to 1976 she was a youth worker and sociologist for the Inner London Education Authority, and from 1976 to 1978 she was a community worker.
Following her success as an author, Emecheta travelled widely as a visiting professor and lecturer. From 1972 to 1979 she visited several American universities, including Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
From 1980 to 1981, she was senior resident fellow and visiting professor of English, University of Calabar, Nigeria. In 1982 she lectured at Yale University, and the University of London, as well as holding a fellowship at the University of London in 1986.
From 1982 to 1983 Buchi Emecheta, together with her journalist son Sylvester, ran the Ogwugwu Afor Publishing Company.
(from Wikipedia)
From 1965 to 1969, Emecheta worked as a library officer for the British Museum in London. From 1969 to 1976 she was a youth worker and sociologist for the Inner London Education Authority, and from 1976 to 1978 she was a community worker.
Following her success as an author, Emecheta travelled widely as a visiting professor and lecturer. From 1972 to 1979 she visited several American universities, including Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
From 1980 to 1981, she was senior resident fellow and visiting professor of English, University of Calabar, Nigeria. In 1982 she lectured at Yale University, and the University of London, as well as holding a fellowship at the University of London in 1986.
From 1982 to 1983 Buchi Emecheta, together with her journalist son Sylvester, ran the Ogwugwu Afor Publishing Company.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 5, 2020
The Wrestling Match is a rite of passage story about 16-year-old Okei who, after the death of his parents, is being raised by his uncle Obi Agiliga. The story takes place ten years after the Biafra war and things have changed. Okei is rebellious. As a result, he has a bad reputation among the elders, accused of being lazy and not showing proper respect to them. Moreover, Uncle Obi Agiliga can't get Okei to help with the yam harvest or help with anything around the compound. Any problems that arise in the village is blamed on the Okei and his age-mates. Because of their laziness and disrespect, the adults decide to teach the boys a lesson by encouraging the girls to gossip about the boys. When the girls are rebuffed when they go to Eke Market to sell their wares, complications arise.
What began as a wrestling match to settle a dispute between Okei and the boys from Ogbuno Village and those from Akpei, the neighboring village, turns into a rite-of-passage event where the boys come to realize the importance of the values and traditions of their village elders who come out to cheer them on. An intriguing tale that invites the reader into the life and culture of a people.
What began as a wrestling match to settle a dispute between Okei and the boys from Ogbuno Village and those from Akpei, the neighboring village, turns into a rite-of-passage event where the boys come to realize the importance of the values and traditions of their village elders who come out to cheer them on. An intriguing tale that invites the reader into the life and culture of a people.
May 27, 2010
If you grew up Igbo, you would grow up with a cohort of people called an age-group. You would go through many things in life together, including coming-of-age rituals. In this one, one age group wants to do things differently, challenging tradition. Like all of Emecheta's books, she makes both traditional ways of knowing things and new ways work simultaneously, with simple language. Appropriate for kids.
November 14, 2025
Awesome
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews