'On Becoming A Guinea Fowl' Movie Ending Explained & Summary: What Does The Final Scene Suggest?

A puffy suit, a bejeweled headgear, and a dead body on an empty road—Rungano Nyoni sets the tone of her second feature film, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, from the very first scene. The surreal drama focuses on systemic misogyny and the process of coming to terms with childhood trauma as an adult. The Zambian film is centered around Shula, who chanced upon her uncle’s dead body in the middle of an empty, dark street at night. Her father instructed her to wait for him to arrive, and in the meantime, she noticed her cousin, Nsansa, show up to the spot drunk. She inspected the dead body and knocked on Shula’s car window. Shula had been strictly instructed by her father to keep the windows rolled up, and she chose to abide by his words. Nsansa contacted her lover, a policeman, to find out their next course of action. She was told that the police van used in such cases was occupied for the night, so their only option was to wait till dawn. In her dream, Shula imagined her uncle covered in sanitary napkins, a visual representation of Nsansa’s joke when she discovered that the closest thing to a sheet that Shula had in her car was a packet of sanitary napkins. Glimpses of such surreal sparks are plentiful all throughout the film, at times humorous and mostly meant to discuss the challenging task of dealing with death and trauma. 

Spoiler Alert

What had happened to Bhupe?

Shula’s indifference to her uncle’s passing was frowned upon by her aunties. We discover that in Zambia, women at the funeral house are expected to mourn the loss for days, but Shula clearly had no intention of sticking by the norms. She almost felt ridiculous watching her mother roll on the airport floor, expressing her grief over the death of her little brother. Watching her relatives pretend to care about the loss of a morally corrupt man was painful for Shula. Her aunties whispered and begged her to shed some tears, but Shula remained cold. She had wanted to steer clear of the pretense, but she was dragged from the hotel she’d booked and brought to the house to mourn the loss of her uncle. Shula found comfort in the company of her cousins, Nsansa and Musonda. They didn’t shy away from openly discussing how flawed their uncle was, and how they needed alcohol to process the performance on display. 

Rungano Nyoni gradually arrives at the crux of the drama with Bhupe, a university student scarred by sexual abuse. Shula arrived at Bhupe’s university to drive her to the funeral house, and she found her cousin lying on her dorm bed. She tried to wake her up, but Bhupe seemed too tired. Shula promised to take on all of Bhupe’s funeral tasks, and in exchange she hoped her sister would agree to accompany her to the funeral house. Bhupe got up from her bed, and after taking a couple of steps, she collapsed to the floor. We discover that Bhupe had been repeatedly abused by her uncle when she was just a child. She’d spiraled after she received the news of her abuser’s death, and presumably she’d attempted to poison herself. Shula admitted her to a hospital, and that was when she learned about the video Bhupe had sent her mother discussing the abuse she was subjected to. On one hand, Shula watched her young cousin struggle to cope with the trauma, and on the other, she watched her aunties wail and cry upon the loss of their beloved brother. The contrast was nauseating, and Shula was left speechless when she saw Bhupe working in the kitchen to serve the guests at the funeral house. She was told to act normal, and she was begged to hide her scars now that her abuser was already dead. Her agony and rage didn’t have a space in the confines of the funeral house. She was advised to forget the horror she’d lived through, and blend in with the rest of the women in mourning. 

How did Bhupe’s video trigger Shula and Nsansa?

Nsansa’s coping mechanism was belittling her traumatic childhood experience and poking fun at the incident to not slip into depression. She remembered she was still in school when Uncle Fred first abused her at a motel. She trusted him—after all, he was a parental figure. But within minutes, she lost all respect for the man. She joked about how Uncle Fred attempted to rape her but he couldn’t get hard. She tried to project a diluted version of the abuse, perhaps because she wanted to believe that she was not a victim but a hero who not only stopped the heinous man from violating her but also had the courage to laugh at him. She wished she could have been that woman, fierce enough to push away the beast, and on difficult days she preferred her version of the incident to the actual reality. 

When Bhupe was found in an unconscious state in the kitchen, Shula and Nsansa readmitted her to a hospital. The entire family chose to live in denial, risking Bhupe’s life. While at the hospital, Nsansa finally confessed the truth to Shula. She admitted that she couldn’t protect herself at the time, and that was possibly her biggest regret. Shula didn’t know what to say, except that she was sorry for all that Nsansa had had to go through.

What does the film primarily address?

The drama unfolds from Shula’s perspective, who couldn’t help but notice the deep-rooted misogyny in the garb of traditions. She wanted to protest and hold her relatives accountable, but years of being taught to obey her elders and revere tradition had conditioned her to remain silent. Women were not only expected to mourn and wail but also to prepare food for the guests and serve the men attending the funeral service according to their dietary preferences. Internalized patriarchy and the prospect of potential wealth had resulted in the female relatives questioning Frederick’s widow. They were not ready to let her inherit his property even though they were well aware of Frederick’s monstrousness. 

Sula was heartbroken when she watched her aunties ostracize Frederick’s widow, accusing her of not taking care of him and blaming her for his death. She was not allowed to eat, she was told to relieve herself in the open, and she was reminded that she was not crying enough to prove that she was indeed saddened by her husband’s demise. Shula felt pity for the young woman and allowed her to use her washroom. When she discovered that the phone Fred’s widow used had run out of charge, she decided to drive to her home and bring the charger. Shula felt guilty, but at the same time, she didn’t know how to voice her opinion and chose to help the widow in her own little way.

Shula was all the more devastated when she met Frederick’s children; she figured that, most of her married life, the widow was pregnant. And she could already imagine the challenges the widow would face raising her children on her own. The widow’s grandmother fell at Shula’s feet, begging her to convince her family not to take away the only shelter they had. Shula tried to console her and left the house feeling all the more overwhelmed. She decided to have a word with her father. She expressed how unfair the whole arrangement was. It was obviously not the widow’s fault that Frederick died right outside a brothel. He had impregnated her when she was eleven or twelve and she’d been forced to live with the man who’d violated her. Shula hoped they could come up with a solution to help her, but her father reminded her that since they couldn’t question a corpse, it was best to let time heal all the pain. Shula figured he didn’t intend on helping her, so she decided to leave. On her way out, her father asked her if Fred had ever tried to force himself on her, and she assured him that she was not one of his victims. 

What is the meaning behind the title?

Shula confronted her mother when she returned home. She had assumed her father knew that Uncle Fred had sexually abused her when she was a little girl, but as it turned out, her mother had chosen not to discuss the issue with him. She instead spoke to her sisters about it, and they’d unanimously decided to confront Frederick. He’d promised to be a better man, but clearly he didn’t live up to that promise. Later, Shula’s aunties had a word with Shula and Nsansa, where they addressed the abuse that the girls were subjected to. They hoped the girls would believe that they felt their pain, and if they could have, they would have protected them. They loved the girls immensely and hoped they would understand that even though they were mourning the loss of their brother, they also felt strongly for the girls. The only difference was that the abuser was hailed as a kind-hearted man in public while his victims were comforted behind closed doors. 

Shula and Nsansa spent the night with Bhupe at the hospital. Shula remembered watching a show about animals and birds when she was abused by her uncle. She had a clear memory of the show discussing guinea fowl, and the one thing that stuck with her was that when a predator approached the bird, they made a warning noise that in a way helped all the animals in the wild. Shula wished she could’ve been the guinea fowl in her family. The title of the film hints at Shula’s journey in literally finding her own voice and speaking out against injustice. 

What Does The Final Scene Suggest?

In On Becoming a Guinea Fowl’s ending, Shula approached the funeral house with her cousins and all of Frederick’s children. There was a loud commotion at the funeral house because it was the day that Frederick’s family would decide if the widow should be allowed to inherit her late husband’s wealth. The widow bowed her head and tried to explain how Frederick’s death was rooted in his drinking habit that his family was well aware of. But she didn’t get the chance to tell her side of the story because her late husband’s family dismissed her claim and accused her of not taking good care of her husband. The widow was also blamed for not loving Frederick enough, which they believed had resulted in him seeking pleasure in brothels. The widow’s mother begged forgiveness on behalf of her daughter, and they even paid a sum to compensate for the widow’s mistakes. Even though they got on their knees and begged and pleaded, Frederick’s sisters stated it was all an act, and they weren’t convinced that they were genuinely apologetic. They announced that the title deed of the farm, the papers for the car, and his clothes had to be handed to them and that the widow would not get anything. The two families got into a loud fight by the time Shula arrived. 

During On Becoming a Guinea Fowl’s ending, we witness Shula imitate the warning call of a guinea fowl. According to me, the ending suggests that Shula finally decided to break her silence. She had tried to be respectful of her elders and their customs, but seeing the injustice unfold right before her eyes, she decided it was enough. Her cousins had suffered because she was told to remain silent; Frederick’s wife and her children were about to be dragged out onto the streets because no one had the courage to speak about the atrocities her husband had inflicted on them. She was blamed even though everyone knew that Frederick was a morally corrupt man. Shula would not let her aunties take away everything from the widow. Hopefully, she and her cousins will openly discuss the abuse they were subjected to and also make it a point to ensure that the widow and her children have a place to live. Her one step had the potential to encourage the women in her family to speak up and not let guilt and shame silence them.

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