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PARABLE OF IJAPA and CHILD

There is an old Yoruba proverb that says “The child insisting that his mother must not sleep will also not get any sleep.” (Ọmọ tó ní ìyá òun ò ní í sùn kò ní fojú ba oorun).

Women who nurse babies know the challenge of getting enough sleep while a baby is still unable to understand the difference between night and day. The baby keeps waking up to feed, cry, poo and pee.

The mother must attend to all the needs of the baby during the night. Typically, for the mother, therefore, it is a long, wearying night.

The poor mother gets up in the morning having caught almost no sleep, exhausted and drained physically and emotionally.

Yet she must face another day of sleeplessness and ceaseless labor until the baby grows up.

Now think of the story of Ijapa.