No man can give an account of a child’s birth more than the mother, as Fr. Peter’s mother narrates his birth:
“He was born on the night of an Okwo market day, which happened to fall on a Sunday. That’s why we named him Sunday. He is also known as Okweze; Okweze Omogo. Giving birth to him was the easiest of all my children as he never gave me any trouble. I often tell people, especially his siblings, that if all labor pains could be as subtle and easy as his, then women would want to give birth every day, regardless of the pain, as his birth was not labor pain but labor fun; the outcome was a pleasant surprise.”
I had just returned from Okwo market in the evening and started cooking dinner when he began giving me signs of his readiness to arrive. He started making it clear that the womb was no longer comfortable for him and that he was ready to join us here on Earth.
Some people who saw how I was behaving noticed that I was in labour. Consequently, they asked his father to take over the food I was about to pound and do it for me. However, his father, being the tough but loving man, refused to do so. He insisted that I complete the pounding or forget about cooking.
Given his father’s insistence on my finishing the pounding and knowing that if I didn’t, he wouldn’t get his supper, as all my grown-up children were males and not skilled in the art of pounding food, I had to take the risk.
While I tried pounding, at intervals, he would make some leaping movements and come to stand in my womb. The pressure from his movements would make me kneel down beside the mortar stand and lean against the mortar, suspending the pounding.
After a while, he would relax, and I would continue pounding. This drama continued for close to an hour, but to the glory of God, I still managed to finish pounding the food. No sooner had I finished pounding the food than he arrived swiftly. I gave birth to him during supper time, although I cannot provide the exact hour. People who noticed the swiftness of the circumstances surrounding his birth said I had walked away from the pains of his labor, having trekked to and fro Okwo market, which was about 10 kilometers away.
Sunday was traditionally named after his great-grandfather, Okwocze. I must note that certain natural coincidences surrounded his birth. He was also named after a man named Okwocze. Naming him after his great-grandfather was intentional. His father, Omogo Eze, explained that his father didn’t name a son after his father, which means that none of Sunday’s grandfather’s siblings were named after their grandfather. This may have been due to a shortage of sons. This circumstance led to Little Sunday being named after his great-grandfather, Okwo Eze. Normally, it was my turn to name after my people, but he had taken the name that came before Sunday, which was his turn. However, he explained to me that he didn’t want his grandfather’s name to be forgotten, so it was necessary to name Sunday after that man. Initially, I opposed the decision/request. I took the matter to my parents, who decided in his favor, even in his absence. They pleaded with me to allow him to take that turn, as his reason was valid.
When Sunday grew up a bit, I recall him asking me once or even twice about the reason behind naming him after his great-grandfather. In response, I narrated this incident in detail to him.
As a child, Sunday was truly remarkable. He was quite different from his siblings. He was exceptionally obedient and never refused to run any errand for me. His willingness to carry out errands without complaining led his father to occasionally call him and remind him that he was behaving like a girl. In response to his father’s advice and caution, young Sunday would insist on continuing to run errands and do chores. His reason was that since no female children were living with us in the family at that time (the only one we had was married), he was willing to serve the dual purpose of a girl and a boy when it came to household duties, chores, and errands. Sunday would cook for me, fetch firewood and water, and even sweep both the compound and the house.
His father often protested, but on one occasion, Sunday asked his father a thought-provoking question that put an end to the argument. He asked, ‘would my doing all these chores, which you claim are for girls, change my gender from male to female?’ His father couldn’t provide an answer to that question, and that naturally settled the matter. My personal belief is that his closeness to me and his obedience were likely because one of my relatives must have reincarnated in him. In summary, he was closer to me and more obedient than anyone else.”
