Thresholds: Liminality and the In-Between Self in Abubakar Adam Ibrahim's When We Were Fireflies

Abstract

This article analyses  how Abubakar Adam Ibrahim's When We Were Fireflies deploys  liminality as a core narrative strategy. The purpose is to shed light on the performative enactment of liminality in the novel by addressing a gap in current scholarship. The study integrates anthropological and postcolonial frameworks, drawing  on the work of Turner, Mbembe and Bhabha. It applies close textual analysis to examine how characterisation, setting and symbolism construct and sustain liminal states. The findings reveal that Ibrahim's characters are consistently positioned in states of in-betweenness that mirror the complexities and traumas of postcolonial Nigeria. The article further demonstrates that liminality functions in the novel  at multiple levels; temporally, spatially, psychologically and metaphysically, especially in how the novel frames death as a passage rather than an endpoint.  The analysis demonstrates that Ibrahim transforms liminality from a marginal phenomenon to a generative force, shaping identity, mediating social relationships, and offering new possibilities for healing and reconciliation in a society marked by recurring violence and historical trauma. The novel, When We Were Fireflies, therefore, contributes to the broader tradition of African literature that interrogates borders, margins and thresholds, advancing a narrative of ongoing negotiation and renewal.