THE writer, mainly from  hearsay, has a rather dotty background in my hazy estimation, showing potential for a multidirectional thrust.  She has been a banker, a businessman; and now she is speaking about religion?
The title does not help either, providing sniffs of religiosity and conservatism. The surprise comes not even from the first pages, where the author describes the process of the creation of the woman as the “masterpiece” of the Creator, a rather tired idea.

The language is flowery and evocative, but that is all that is initially original about it. Then, the surprise jumps at you. If Break the Alabaster uses time worn biblical clichés, it is only fleetingly, and as a soft landing for one of the bravest critiques of church traditions ever written, and by a woman.

The full on attack on contemporary church practices is all encompassing, questioning norms that had never been publicly challenged in our society. Gathering support from existing literature and suggesting clear alternatives, Onuk makes a case for female leadership in the church using the same tool its present male leadership use: the Bible.

Qualifier for ministry
We have preached that a woman’s primary responsibility is to find a Godly husband, she asserts, but your marital status is not a qualifier for ministry. From the old testament she cites Miriam and  Deborah, a Judge in Israel, as well as Priscilla, Chloe and Phoebe in the new testament; as women used by God to play prominent roles in the  holy book.

Then, Onuk ventures into the most dangerous territory of all- challenging obedience to husbands in everything. Sapphira  in the early church got to be the unfortunate illustration of a woman who should not have obeyed her husband (page 37). She cites, also, the closer-to-home example of a Christian woman who had reported domestic abuse by her husband to her pastor. “if he kills you”, the pastor reportedly said, “it will be to the glory of God!”

The discourse descends into innuendo often times, but thankfully quickly recedes. In seeking to debunk religious myths about women while quoting copiously from the writings of J. Lee Grady, Onuk writes:  Within our society it is widely believed that women are gullible and thus open to all manner of deception. Research, however, shows that intuition… is far more developed in women than in men. She thus reaches the befuddling conclusion: if we had more women in boardrooms, the world economy would definitely not be where it is now!.

In moving into the realm of politics, Break the Alabaster once more makes the descent into innuendo when the third chapter opens with a most clichéd and not so appropriate quote (it smirks of reverse sexism) from late former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher: in politics if you want something said,. Ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.

Again there is quick recovery, with the author reeling out statistics and doing the usual meandering around the subjects of past discouragement and present progress. The most important inference here is to be found on page 85, that on a global level Africa appears to be at the forefront of female political leadership with South Africa, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Rwanda, Namibia and most especially Liberia as examples.

The author further explores legal arguments pro-women participation, as well as making arguments in favour of affirmative action while acknowledging existing arguments to the contrary. It is a tad disappointing, though,  that the conclusion here is more of the same: Nigeria must ensure that all hands are on deck… because a successful society needs gender balancing to maximize its potential and bring about change.

A stalemate of a sort is reached when the author at once argues against the overburdening of the woman while trying to make a case for their being given opportunities to work outside of the home. She complains: women’s work not only includes reproductive work but also productive work… (women) are severely constrained by the burden of simultaneously balancing the tripartite role…

It takes a romantic turn in the last chapter but one, with the woman being likened to the alabaster in terms of beauty, sweetness, control and sensuality and of course, content. Onuk propounds: the woman is the fragrance of love, life, affection, desire, emotion, attention, need, want, nurture, gratitude, bliss, newness, patience, commitment…when you choose to remain an unbroken alabaster you have chosen to hide your talents, your purpose, calling, reach, your original self, your being, substance, influence and vision…

This ‘alabaster’, according to the author, ought to contain a good scent but might as well contain a bad one depending on whether the ‘alabaster’ has had positive or negative experiences.

Negative experiences
Whatever the  scent, however, the prevailing admonition is for the woman to take the “pain” to break it, in order to release her scent.
The lashings of inter chapter fiction are both inspiring and engaging, and are evocative of reality, lending the work all the vividness the author probably intends of them . And though the quotes which precede the discourse in every chapter vary in levels of profundity and appropriateness,, they lend the work a firm consistency, if not direction.

By the time I am through, I am almost certain I can smell perfume.  You come away with the idea that the book should be much longer than its 128 pages, as it packs so many minimally explored points so close together. Break the Alabaster is like a book of short stories when it should have been a full length novel. A second edition might do much more justice.

A beautiful book, Break the Alabaster has all the makings of a feel good book for big girls by a big girl, except it is too deep to be.
Much as the author rejects the tag of feminism, the gusto with which myths are smashed and establishments demolished means Break the Alabaster and release the fragrance   might be one of the most important pieces of feminist literature to have come out of Africa in this decade. Brilliantly written.

Know your  Perfumes
Perfume making began in ancient Egypt; later, it was improved by the Romans and the Arabs. The process of distilling oils from flowers was discovered by an Iranian doctor, and this is the process still used in perfume making today.

Modern perfume was first made in 1370 in Hungary, by blending scented oils in an alcoholic solution, and was known all over Europe as Hungary water. Perfume making continued to be developed in Italy during the Renaissance and in France from the 16th century onwards. Growing of flowers for perfume making became an important industry in southern France; and France is still the center of perfume making in Europe.

The designer houses famous for their perfumes keep their formulas of the fragrances a closely guarded secret. But there are perfume experts who can identify the origins and components of the scents much like wine testers. Perfumes are classified by their scent and concentration levels.

Allergic reactions
The oils used in making perfume are diluted by ethanol and water, because the undiluted oils can cause damage to the skin or to clothing, or can cause allergic reactions. Accordingly, there are Pure perfume, Eau De Parfum, Eau De Toilette and Eau De Cologne, with Pure perfume containing the largest percentage of aromatic oils, and Eau De Cologne the smallest amount.

The fragrance designer houses use different levels of concentration for the same category of perfume; for instance, the Eau De Parfum belonging to one house, may be much stronger than one from another house. There are also three different perfume classifications according to scents; the traditional scents were created in the early 1900‘s; the modern scents date from 1945; the Fragrance wheel was created in 1983, there being five standard fragrance categories: the Fougere family, Floral, Woody, Oriental and Fresh.

Perfumes are also known by their top, middle and base notes, which unfold gradually; the top notes can be sensed immediately, next, the deeper middle notes, and the base notes appear gradually in the last stage. There is an evaporation process in perfumes, and this knowledge is used in carefully choosing the notes. Top notes are important in selling the perfume as they can be perceived immediately; the middle and the base notes make up the perfume‘s main theme.

The aromatic oils used in perfume making are obtained from various sources. Barks of cinnamon, sassafras and cascarilla are used. Flowers are the largest source; rose, osmanthus, jasmine, tuberose, mimosa and blossom of citrus trees are widely used.

Odors from fresh fruits like cherries, strawberries and apples cannot be extracted well and synthetic substances are used. The exceptions are vanilla, juniper and oranges, grapefruit and limes. Among leaves and twigs, lavender, patchouli, rosemary, violets, sage and citrus leaves are used. Resins are obtained from frankincense, labdanum, myrrh, gum benzoin, Peru balsam, fir and pine.