The Door of No Return

The Offin River is not only a symbolic connection to Kofi and his birth, but it also represents sacred cultural traditions, freedom, resources, power, and conflict. The book begins with Chapter One, which is titled “The Story of Offin River” and describes Kofi’s birth story in relation to the river: “The river Offin grabbed you with an invisible cord wrapped around each moment of your day… held you like a mother cradles a baby…” (20). Kofi is bonded to the river, making his love of water and swimming innate. He adores swimming and spending time at the river, feeling called” to it repeatedly. The river is a symbolic place of Kofi’s solace, happiness, and freedom, where he can swim without worries—except for at night. In contrast to the enjoyment the river offers people like Kofi, at night it is “cursed.” This restriction reveals it as a symbol of conflict and a source of fear that parallels Kofi’s fearful character. In the darkness, the river could have evil spirits, beasts, or worse. Kofi and Kwasi are trapped and taken to Lower Kwanta while at the river at night, like an omen foreshadowing their kidnapping.

Besides being representative of Kofi’s connection to water and independence, the water is the subject of many stories and traditions. Nana Mosi tells Kofi many pieces of advice about rivers, such as that they are “…[a] sacred space / where our ancestors dwell / so that they can assist you / during times of need” (214). Mosi also relates the river to family ties: “A family tie is like the river, / I can hear Nana Mosi saying, / it can bend, but it cannot break” (389). Mosi delivers his speech about their ancestral home in relation to the river, the center of their survival. Offin River gives them the means to live by providing its water for drinking, bathing, and fishing for food, but also its gold. Gold is a primary resource that their tribe—like Kofi’s father the lead gold panner—uses as currency. As the stories state, the Upper and Lower Kwanta tribes have had past issues over dispersing the gold, and the white men came and tried to take their gold, too. The river is thus a coveted source of power and riches that created conflicts throughout their tribe’s history.