The Sankofa Bird in Nnedi Okorafor's Remote Control: Symbol Analysis

The Sankofa Bird as Object and Emblem in Remote Control

In Nnedi Okorafor's Remote Control, the Sankofa bird appears first as a carved wooden object in the home of the protagonist, Fatima, and later as the name she adopts for herself. The bird is a traditional Akan symbol of looking backward to learn from the past, often depicted as a bird with its head turned to retrieve an egg from its back. In the novel, the bird is not merely a decorative motif; it becomes a physical remnant of a destroyed family, a personal talisman carried across years of wandering, and a lens through which the story's themes of grief, identity, and the burden of power are refracted. The object's literal presence is brief—it is broken in a moment of trauma and then packed into a school satchel—but its symbolic weight extends through the entire narrative, culminating in the folk story that renames the protagonist as Death's adopted daughter. This analysis traces the bird's appearances, its shifting meanings, and its connections to character and theme, grounding every claim in the text's explicit events and descriptions.

The Bird as a Physical Object: Breaking and Carrying

The Sankofa bird first appears in Chapter 3, when seven-year-old Fatima, after being struck by a BMW and unleashing a green light that puts her entire village to sleep, limps home and enters her brother Fenuku's room. The outline states that she “breaks a carved Sankofa bird in her brother's room” before eating and sleeping. The text does not describe the bird in detail, but the outline and later evidence confirm it is a carved object, likely wooden, that belonged to her brother. The act of breaking it is significant: it occurs immediately after the catastrophic event that kills her family, and it seems to be an expression of her grief, rage, or confusion. The bird, a symbol of looking back, is shattered at the moment her past is irrevocably destroyed.

In Chapter 4, after three days of mourning, Fatima packs her belongings to leave home. The outline lists the items she takes: “her brother's broken Sankofa bird, her mythology book, her mother's gold hoop earrings, a wooden owl her brother had carved, and a jar of her father's shea butter.” The broken bird is deliberately included among her most precious possessions. It is not discarded; it is carried with her as a memento of her brother and her lost home. The fact that it is broken mirrors her own fractured state—she has lost her hair, her name, and her family. The bird becomes a tangible link to the past she cannot return to, and its brokenness underscores the irreparable damage done to her life.

The bird does not appear again as a physical object in the retrieved evidence, but its presence is implied throughout her journey. She carries it in her satchel, and it likely remains with her for years. The outline for Chapter 5 notes that she gives herself the name Sankofa when a truck driver asks her name, suggesting that the bird's symbolic meaning has been internalized. The object itself may fade from the narrative, but its name and significance persist.

The Bird as Name and Identity: Becoming Sankofa

The most significant transformation of the Sankofa bird occurs when Fatima adopts the name for herself. In Chapter 5, after fleeing into the bush and spending a week in a forest, she encounters a truck driver who offers her a ride. The outline states: “she gives the name Sankofa.” This is a deliberate act of self-renaming. She does not choose a name that reflects her power or her trauma; she chooses the name of the bird she broke. This choice is loaded with meaning. The Sankofa bird traditionally represents the wisdom of looking backward to move forward. By taking this name, Fatima aligns herself with that principle—she is someone who must confront her past, even as she cannot return to it.

The name also carries a sense of irony and burden. The bird is broken, and so is she. She is not a whole, wise bird; she is a shattered version of it. Yet the name gives her a new identity, one that others recognize and fear. In Chapter 1, the townspeople shout “Sankofa bird landing!” as she approaches, and they warn of her “remote control” power. The name has become synonymous with death and danger. The bird, once a symbol of reflection, is now a harbinger of destruction. This shift reflects how the protagonist's own identity has been warped by her power and her losses.

The folk story in Chapter 10 further reinterprets the name. The outline summarizes: “a living child born to dead parents, left at Death's doorstep, raised by Death until age seven, and given the ability to send people back to The Essence.” In this version, Death names the child Sankofa because she can send people back to their past, to The Essence. Here, the bird's backward-looking nature is twisted into a deathly power—she sends people back, but not to learn; she sends them to their end. The story strips the bird of its positive connotation and replaces it with a macabre one. Sankofa resents the story's claim that her parents abandoned her, but she cannot control how others interpret her name. The bird, once a personal memento, becomes a public symbol of fear and myth.

The Bird and the Seed: A Symbolic Connection

The Sankofa bird also connects to the mysterious seed that grants Fatima her powers. In Chapter 2, when the meteor shower occurs, Fatima sees a glowing green object land near her drawing. The outline describes it as “a glowing green seed” that burns her hand and sinks into the soil. The retrieved evidence from Chapter 2 offers a more specific description: “There it was, like a tiny Sankofa bird egg or … seed.” This simile directly links the seed to the bird. The seed is not just any object; it is compared to a Sankofa bird egg, suggesting that it carries the potential for new life or transformation, but also that it is tied to the bird's symbolism of looking backward. The seed later emerges from a wooden box and becomes the source of her power, and it is ultimately buried in Chapter 10.

The bird and the seed share a trajectory: both are objects that originate in Fatima's childhood, both are associated with her family and home, and both are carried or pursued across her journey. The bird is broken and carried; the seed is lost and sought. The bird represents the past she carries with her, while the seed represents the future she cannot escape. The seed's comparison to a Sankofa bird egg suggests that it is a kind of offspring of the bird—a new iteration of the same symbol. When Fatima finally buries the seed in Chapter 10, she crushes it and declares it a curse, but she does not destroy the bird. The bird remains with her, a constant reminder of what she has lost and who she has become.

Character and Theme Connections

The Sankofa bird is intimately tied to several characters. Her brother Fenuku owned the bird, and breaking it is an act of grief for him. Her grandfather, who taught her the stars and the sky words, is indirectly connected because the sky words she draws form a shape that looks like a Sankofa bird. In Chapter 2, the outline notes that her drawing “looked like a Sankofa bird,” and this occurs just before the meteor shower brings the seed. Thus, the bird is present at the moment of her transformation, linking her grandfather's teachings, her own creativity, and the alien seed. The bird also connects to the fox Movenpick, who becomes her companion; the fox is not directly linked to the bird, but both are animal symbols that accompany her.

Thematically, the bird resonates with several key ideas. It embodies the theme of identity loss and reinvention: Fatima loses her name and takes a new one from the bird, becoming Sankofa. It speaks to grief and the search for home: the broken bird is a memento of her family, and she carries it as she searches for the seed, hoping to reclaim her past. The bird also ties into the theme of stories and myths, as the folk story reinterprets her name and the bird's meaning. Finally, the bird's brokenness reflects the isolating burden of destructive power: she is a broken vessel for a power that kills, and the bird's shattered state mirrors her own fragmentation.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Fatima break the Sankofa bird, and what does this action signify?

Fatima breaks the bird immediately after the accident that kills her family and causes her to lose her hair and memory. The act is a physical expression of her grief and rage. The bird, a symbol of looking back, is shattered at the moment her past is irrevocably destroyed. It signifies the rupture between her former life and her new reality. The broken bird becomes a tangible representation of her broken family and her own fractured identity.

2. How does taking the name Sankofa change Fatima's identity?

By renaming herself Sankofa, Fatima adopts the bird's symbolism of looking backward. The name gives her a new public identity, one that others fear and mythologize. It also ties her to the broken bird she carries, making her a living embodiment of a shattered past. The name allows her to distance herself from her former self, Fatima, while also forcing her to confront the past she cannot escape.

3. What does the folk story in Chapter 10 reveal about the bird's meaning?

The folk story reinterprets the name Sankofa as given by Death, who raises the child and grants her the ability to send people back to The Essence. This version twists the bird's positive connotation of learning from the past into a deathly power. It shows how the bird's meaning has been corrupted by public perception, turning a symbol of reflection into a symbol of death. Sankofa resents the story's claim that her parents abandoned her, but she cannot control the myth.

4. How does the seed's comparison to a Sankofa bird egg deepen the symbol's significance?

The seed is described as “like a tiny Sankofa bird egg,” linking it to the bird's symbolism of potential and new life. The seed grants Fatima her powers, and it is the object she pursues for years. The comparison suggests that the seed is a kind of offspring of the bird—a new iteration of the same symbol. The bird represents the past she carries, while the seed represents the future she cannot escape. Both are tied to her transformation and her search for meaning.

Conclusion

The Sankofa bird in Remote Control is a multifaceted symbol that evolves from a cultural emblem to a personal memento, a name, and a myth. It is broken, carried, and reinterpreted, reflecting the protagonist's own journey of loss, identity, and power. Through its connections to the seed, the folk story, and the themes of grief and reinvention, the bird becomes a central motif that anchors the novel's exploration of how the past shapes—and sometimes shatters—the present. For readers, the bird invites reflection on what it means to look backward, and whether doing so can ever lead to healing or only to deeper entanglement with what is lost.