Goretti explained that her father had learned a lesson in survival the hard way. He had been the favored child of a man who had 26 wives (the more yams a man has, the more wives he can afford and in turn, the more wives he has for toiling the soil). Though his father sent most of his numerous children to be schooled by Christian teachers, he was a very traditional man who still practiced the ways of his ancestors. "My father was the favorite child, so he didn't have to go to the Christian schools. He stayed with my grandfather and learned the traditions of the elders. He carried his father's stool and attended the meetings of the elders. This was a place of honor. He was to succeed him but my grandfather died when my father was only sixteen and his brothers and sisters who were older and educated, took over and sent him to a priest's house as a servant". His favored status having turned into a disadvantaged position, Goretti's father learned to quickly adapt to his new environment by learning English and becoming a Christian at age 21. When Goretti was born, her father was the cook and driver of an Irish Bishop.
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Goretti's father and step-mother