 However, the elders deem this atmosphere to be counterproductive due to a number of recent events such as Ibrahima refusing to marry his cousin or Collé's protection of the five children (including her daughter).The elders think that Ciré Bathiliy, Collé's husband, has lost the ability to control his own wife so the elders insist that he beat her with a leather whip in front of the village to show that he still controls her.The elders want her to utter the magic word so they can take the four girls from her protection but, no matter how hard her husband whips her, she endures and refuses to give her tormenters the satisfaction of a scream or cry.