Abeo Kata/Vinga

Abeo is the main character in Praise for the Butterflies. The story is told in the third person narrative stance, but the narrative stance is closest to Abeo’s perspective. We first meet Abeo in New York City in 2009 on the day she kills Duma, a man she recognizes from Ukemby, on her way to work at The Queens of Africa Braiding Salon. Then the narrative jumps back in time to 1978 in Ukemby when Abeo is only two years old. Abeo is sold into ritualized servitude at age 9, by Wasik, the man she believes to be her father. The novel then follows the story of Abeo's brutalization, her recuse and finally her healing. Abeo is raped repeatedly at the shrine she is sold to in Ukemby. Eventually she bears a son named Pra, but Pra drowns in a river. Abeo is freed from the shrine by...