Nasula the Iroko in Binwell Sinyangwe’s A Cowrie of Hope
Nasula the Iroko in Binwell Sinyangwe’s A Cowrie of Hope

Summary/Abstract: Drawing insights from Resilience Theory, this paper critically analyzes the survival and coping strategies of Nasula in the face and wake of adversity in Binwell Sinyangwe’s A Cowrie of Hope. The aim is to affirm that human beings have the potential to rise above the vicissitudes of life through resilience, the obstacles notwithstanding. The paper demonstrates the strength, in- novativeness and agency of Nasula in her struggle to fulfil her strong desire to send her daughter, Sula, to high school. The paper posits that hope and determination inspired by resilience equip Nasula to rise above all the traumatic circumstances that confront her to write her daughter’s fu- ture through education. Her determined and resilient response to her adversity informs the meta- phoric title of this paper, ‘Nasula the Iroko’, and Iroko in Igbo worldview stands as a metaphor for strength, mobility and resilience. All these qualities are enshrined in Nasula. The paper concludes that Nasula’s resilience is an inspirational model that may strengthen the innate resilient capac- ities of the readers, both men and women, to rise above adversity, especially women in whose minds the patriarchal definition of the woman as a weaker vessel has been engraved.

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