woman.The way into the shrine was a round hole at the side of a hill." The crowd agreed. Obierika nodded in agreement.

"There is too much green vegetable
"There is too much green vegetable. if it lost its tail it soon grew another. But in absence of work. Nwoye's mother carried a basket of coco-yams. It rose and faded with the wind??a peaceful dance from a distant clan. and stake them when the young tendrils appear. It was evening and the sun was settingUchendu's eldest daughter. and she was notorious for her late cooking. To show affection was a sign of weakness."Uzowulu's body.""I pray she stays. If you are sending him on an errand he flies away before he has heard half of the message. Cam wood was rubbed lightly into her skin. "You are our teacher. and a girl. At the most one could say that his chi or personal god was good." said Okagbue. looking up from the yams she was peeling. And so people said he had no respect for the gods of the clan. as was the custom. Does a man speak when a god speaks? Beware!"She walked through Okonkwo's hut into the circular compound and went straight toward Ekwefi's hut. If a clansman killed a royal python accidentally. so that he was full of food and drink and his body filled out in his shell.

how many twins she has borne and thrown away." he said. There was foo-foo and yam pottage. the interpreter. This happened in the rainy season. When they had eaten they talked about many things: about the heavy rains which were drowning the yams. he was terribly afraid. hungry swarm. that is not the beginning." said Uchendu.In spite of this incident the New Yam Festival was celebrated with great joy in Okonkwo's household. all strong and healthy." said someone light-heartedly and the crowd laughed. It was said that they had built a place of judgment in Umuofia to protect the followers of their religion. He trembled with the desire to conquer and subdue. We heard of it. "People traveled more in those days.The last match was between the leaders of the teams. Early that morning as he offered a sacrifice of new yam and palm oil to his ancestors he asked them to protect him." he said as he broke it. whom they had asked to leave them for a while so that they might "whisper together. He died of the swelling which was an abomination to the earth goddess. conversing with his father in low tones.

Igwelo had a job in hand because he had married his first wife a month or two before. children." said Okonkwo. They sympathized with their neighbors with much shaking of the head. He hoped to get another four hundred yams from one of his father's friends at Isiuzo. and people came from far and near to consult it. The house was now a pandemonium of quavering voices: Am oyim de de de de! filled the air as the spirits of the ancestors. On his head were two powerful horns. The rains had come and yams had been sown. But they dared not complain openly. and within a short time all the birds agreed that he was a changed man."Sometimes I wish I had not taken the ozo title. Those who were big enough to carry even a few yams in a tiny basket went with grown-ups to the farm. It was as if water had been poured on the tightened skin of a drum. and Umuofia. There were only three such boys in each team."Leave her to me. The first people who saw him ran away."Come and show me the exact spot. children. On the second day Uchendu called together his sons and daughters and his nephew. Fortunately. "Are you afraid you may dissolve?"The harvesting was easy.

" said the old man. carrying a wooden dish with three kola nuts and alligator pepper."And it died this morning?"Okonkwo said yes. A sudden hush had fallen on the women. Darkness held a vague terror for these people. You grew your ears for decoration.' said Mother Kite.""I can tell you. But it was a resilient spirit. fantastic figures that dissolved under her steady gaze and then formed again in new shapes. The white man had gone back to Umuofia. "the goddess of the earth. for whom is it well? There is no one for whom it is well."It was Wednesday in Holy Week and Mr. The moon must be preparing to rise. but he had not expected he would be so generous. he was terribly afraid. he sat down in his obi and mourned his friend's calamity. They have said so.Ekwefi peeled the yams quickly. The crowd had surrounded and swallowed up the drummers. As the elders said. The fire did not burn with a flame.

roots and barks of medicinal trees and shrubs. He searched his bag and brought out his snuff-bottle. and they ran for their lives. worthless. the medicine itself was called agadi-nwayi. The drums and the dancing began again and reached fever-heat. Has he thrown a hundred Cats?He has thrown four hundred Cats." he said. Whenever the thought of his father's weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it by thinking about his own strength and success. They were locusts. the man saw it vaguely in the darkness. Unoka prayed to their ancestors for life and health. with her suitor and his relatives. or the teeth of an old woman. Di-go-go-di-go-di-di-go-go floated in the message-laden night air. Earth's emissary. became for Ekwefi mere physical agony devoid of promise. And now he was going to take the Idemili title. A vague scent of life and green vegetation was diffused in the air. He held up a piece of chalk. when Mr. "In Abame and Aninta the title is worth less than two cowries. But he threw himself into it like one possessed.

the people of the sky set before their guests the most delectable dishes Tortoise had even seen or dreamed of. It had to be done slowly and carefully. His future sons-in-law would be men of authority in the clan. and at the end he had been taken out and handed over to a stranger. Tears of gratitude filled her eyes. All the grass had long been scorched brown. There were little holes from one side to the other in the upper levels of the wall."They are here."He will do great things.' he said as they flew on their way. Suppose when he died all his male children decided to follow Nwoye's steps and abandon their ancestors? Okonkwo felt a cold shudder run through him at the terrible prospect. Kiaga had asked the women to bring red earth and white chalk and water to scrub the church for Easter. forty. She broke them into little pieces across the sole of her foot and began to build a fire. The Lord shall have them in derision. He knew that he was a fierce fighter. and each hut seen from the others looked like a soft eye of yellow half-light set in the solid massiveness of night. He wanted Nwoye to grow into a tough young man capable of ruling his father's household when he was dead and gone to join the ancestors. Obierika. She beckons in front of her and behind her. he was not afraid now."After the Week of Peace every man and his family began to clear the bush to make new farms. who will hold his head up among my people.

The inhabitants of Mbanta expected them all to be dead within four days.At the beginning of their journey the men of Umuofia talked and laughed about the locusts."The next day a group of elders from all the nine villages of Umuofia came to Okonkwo's house early in the morning. he sat down in his obi and mourned his friend's calamity. It said that other white men were on their way. Ezeudu was the oldest man in this quarter of Umuofia. They came when misfortune dogged their steps or when they had a dispute with their neighbors. The total effect was gay and brisk. passed through his obi and into Ekwefi's hut and walked into her bedroom. such as befitted a noble warrior. In the end Parrot. It filled him with fire as it had always done from his youth. to Obierika's compound." Quite often she bought beancakes and gave Ekwefi some to take home to Ezinma. Okonkwo helped them put down their loads. They called him the little bird nza who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his chi. Soon it covered half the sky.""Oho." He waved his arm where most of the young men sat. and so everyone in his family listened. now desperate. His name was Uchendu. But the Hills and the Caves were as silent as death.

Would he recognize her now? She must have grown quite big. demolished his red walls. Unoka. and there had been a mad rush for shelter earlier in the day when one appeared with a sharp machete and was only prevented from doing serious harm by two men who restrained him with the help of a strong rope tied round his waist."Although they were almost the same age. He did not know who the girl was. Its most potent war-medicine was as old as the clan itself. Ezigbo. As for the boy. Neither of the other wives had. They set out early that morning. He was merely led into greater complexities."Come along. Tortoise began to sniff aloud. A man can now leave his father and his brothers. It was on the seventh day that he died." said one of the priests. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone." he said. called him by his name and went back to her hut. when the rains had stopped and the sun rose every morning with dazzling beauty."Odukwe was short and thickset.He took a pot of palm-wine and a cock to Nwakibie.

He is fit to be a slave."Answer the question at once. Their fathers had never dared to stand before our ancestors. eating the peelings. The drums rose to a frenzy. He still remembered the song:Eze elina." Okonkwo was specially fond of Ezinma."Agbala do-o-o-o!?? Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Ekwefi trudged behind.""I did not know that. but no one spoke.One day a neighbor called Okoye came in to see him. The first cup went to Okonkwo."We shall be late for the wrestling. Okonkwo was among them. Unoka loved the good hire and the good fellowship. His eldest son. There was no festival in all the seasons of the year which gave her as much pleasure as the wrestling match."Then I shall go back to the clan. But the one knew what the other was thinking. and offered prayers to them on behalf of himself. Of all his children she alone understood his every mood. love returned once more to her mother. and as it dwelt on it.

Ezeudu had taken three titles in his life. forty. And then the smooth. Everybody stood to let her pass and then filed after her. "people should not talk when they are eating or pepper may go down the wrong way. but its vigor was undiminished. and asked Okonkwo to have a word with him outside. That was his fifth head and he was not an old man yet." replied her mother. and the children who sang songs of welcome to them. He searched in it for his snuff-bottle. Ekwefi quickly took her to their bedroom and placed her on their high bamboo bed. "We have been sent by this great God to ask you to leave your wicked ways and false gods and turn to Him so that you may be saved when you die. And he knew which trees made the strongest bows." said the joker. An evil forest was where the clan buried all those who died of the really evil diseases. When they saw it they drove it back to its owner. The drums beat the unmistakable wrestling dance - quick. and Ekwefi recoiled.All this anthill activity was going smoothly when a sudden interruption came. who was the oldest man in the village. She had about three teeth and was always smoking her pipe. "Who will drink the dregs?" he asked.

there was always a large quantity of food left over at the end of the day.Okonkwo was also feeling tired." He paused for a long time and then said: "I told you on my last visit to Mbanta how they hanged Aneto. As for the boy. That was why he had called him a woman. "I planted the farm nearly two years ago. Okonkwo and the two boys were working on the red outer walls of the compound.And then quite suddenly a shadow fell on the world."When they had cut the goats' throats and collected the blood in a bowl. Okonkwo had gone to a medicine man. The women had come to the church with empty waterpots. "But I cannot understand these things you tell me. Ezinma had not wanted to cooperate with him at first. That was in fact the reason why he had come to see Unoka. She knelt on her knees and hands at the threshold and called her husband." said one of the younger men."Go and bring me some cold water. which was shaved in beautiful patterns. They were grieved by the indignity and mourned for their neglected farms. seeing that the new religion welcomed twins and such abominations. To show affection was a sign of weakness.Okonkwo had eaten from his wives' dishes and was nowreclining with his back against the wall. Umuofia has decided to kill him.

Nwoye.Share-cropping was a very slow way of building up a barn of one's own. in silence. Obierika. How could she know that Ekwefi's bitterness did not flow outwards to others but inwards into her own soul."I must go home to tap my palm trees for the afternoon. But by the end of the day the sisal rings were burned dry and gray. Nwoye's mind had gone immediately to Nwayieke. was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness. "Let us hear Odukwe. Old men nodded to the beat of the drums and remembered the days when they wrestled to its intoxicating rhythm.- then silence descended from the sky and swallowed the noise. from Umuofia to Mbaino." said Machi. and his relatives. she was in close communion with the departed fathers of the clan whose bodies had been committed to earth. Once she tripped up and fell. and a little hoe for digging out the tuber. He was greatly surprised. If we allow you to come with us you will soon begin your mischief. You grew your ears for decoration. It was as if water had been poured on the tightened skin of a drum.""Uzowulu's body.

He was therefore waiting to receive them. and his eyes were red and fierce like the eyes of a rat when it was caught by the tail and dashed against the floor. But I can trust you. He looked terrible with the smoked raffia "body. And for the first time they had a woman. Okonkwo!" she warned. whereupon Ear fell on the floor in uncontrollable laughter. Although he had felt uneasy at first. They should have armed themselves with their guns and their machetes even when they went to market. but the elders counseled patience till nightfall. The three white men and a very large number of other men surrounded the market." said Machi. "We have been sent by this great God to ask you to leave your wicked ways and false gods and turn to Him so that you may be saved when you die. beginning with the eldest man. He could neither marry nor be married by the free-born. They boast about victory over death."The next day a group of elders from all the nine villages of Umuofia came to Okonkwo's house early in the morning. It was quiet and confident. Her basket was balanced on her head. and on the other the offer of a young man and a virgin as compensation. Mr. They sang the latest song in the village:" If I hold her handShe says. He must have a wife.

and Nwakibie's two grown-up sons were also present in his obi. Okonkwo would take care of meat and yams. Only the word of our God is true."Come. Only a week ago a man had contradicted him at a kindred meeting which they held to discuss the next ancestral feast. my daughter. Now you talk about his son.Uchendu had been told by one of his grandchildren that three strangers had come to Okonkwo's house.' said the young kite. for in spite of their worthlessness they still belonged to the clan. Their leader was called Evil Forest. and Ekwefi asked Nwoye's mother and Ojiugo to explain to Obierika's wife that she would be late. Even the smell of gunpowder was swallowed in the sickly smell that now filled the air. The harvest was over. And when he got there he found it was a man making a sacrifice. In the other group were her husband. "before i learned how to tap. Okonkwo ground his teeth in disgust. touching the earth. But when a father beats his child. my daughter. Okonkwo said yes very strongly. and in the end it was decided to ostracize the Christians.

I did not send her away. who came out of her hut to draw water from a gigantic pot in the shade of a small tree in the middle of the compound."But this particular night was dark and silent. But before they left each took back the feather he had lent to Tortoise. but he had been too surprised to weep. On Obierika's side were his two elder brothers and Maduka." A cold shiver ran down Okonkwo's back as he remembered the last time the old man had visited him. she sat down on a stony ledge and waited.During the planting season Okonkwo worked daily on his farms from cock-crow until the chickens went to roost. And so Nwoye was developing into a sad-faced youth. perhaps even quicker." said Obierika. But his wives and young children were not as strong. If a man kills the sacred python in the secrecy of his hut."No. As soon as Uchendu saw him with his sad and weary company he guessed what had happened. the third highest in the land. He ate a few more pieces of plaintain and pushed the dish aside. and the sound of wooden mortar and pestle as Nwayieke pounded her foo-foo. with music and dancing and a great feast.The nine villages of Umuofia had grown out of the nine sons of the first father of the clan. But no one was sure where it was coming from. which was shaved in beautiful patterns.

He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth.As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his machete. ignorant of the love of God. He asked the birds to take a message for his wife. but she must wait for Ezinma to wake. He could not ask another man to build his own obi for him. I am an old man and you are all children. He led it on a thick rope which he tied round his wrist. "Your friend Anene asked me to greet you.He took a pot of palm-wine and a cock to Nwakibie. walked in their midst.The arrival of the missionaries had caused a considerable stir in the village of Mbanta. It was a very expensive ceremony and he was gathering all his resources together. All else was silent. Everybody was killed. The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did. Ekwefi screwed her eyes up in an effort to see her daughter and the priestess."That was all he had said."Odukwe's body. He made him feel grown-up.They sat in a big circle on the ground and the young bride in the center with a hen in her right hand.Ekwefi rose early on the following morning and went to her farm with her daughter." Okonkwo said to the lad.

three times. let his wing break. At first the clan had assumed that it would not survive. He had therefore put his drinking-horn into his goatskin bag for the occasion. In fact he recovered from his illness only a few days before the Week of Peace began. where titled men climb trees and pound foo-foo for their wives. His love of talk had grown with age and sickness. it said.""But someone had to do it. I greet you. with which they sat on the floor. They should have armed themselves with their guns and their machetes even when they went to market. The first cup went to Okonkwo. He was very good on his flute. The first cup went to Okonkwo. whom she called her daughter. She was called Crystal of Beauty. and was now accorded great respect in all the clan." said Machi." he had said. Then the bride. Indeed he respected him for his industry and success. facing the elders and grandees of the clan.

Quick as the lightning of Amadiora. I want you to be there.The drummers stopped for a brief rest before the real matches. But you are still a child. She beckons in front of her and behind her. Then the bride. Obierika and half a dozen other friends came to help and to console him. white dregs and said. only to return to their places almost immediately. "my eyelid is twitching. Uchendu's eldest daughter had come from Obodo. Her husband had brought out more yams than usual because the medicine man had to be fed. And they might also have noticed that Okonkwo was not among the titled men and elders who sat behind the row of egwugwu."Ekwefi did as she was asked. Her eyes were useless to her in the darkness." said Ezelagbo. And they all knew Ekwefi and her daughter very well. roots snapped below. She only began to weep when they got near the iroko tree outside their compound. A man's life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors. And if the clan did not exact punishment for an offense against the great goddess." He threw his head down and gnashed his teeth. it is play'.

"She should have been a boy. and Ekwefi recoiled.' Maduka has been watching your mouth. After that they began to eat and to drink the wine. This one had only one hand and it carried a basket full of water. The men trod dry leaves on the sand.""He has. But she had grown so bitter about her own chi that she could not rejoice with others over their good fortune. But as he walked through the market he realized that people were pointing at him as they do to a madman. only more holy than the village variety. As for the boy."What is iyi-uwa?" she asked in return. When Ekwefi had followed the priestess. which was only broken when a new palm frond was lifted on to the wall or when a busy hen moved dry leaves about in her ceaseless search for food. and it was not until late in the evening that one of them saw for the first time his in-law who had arrived during the course of the meal and had fallen to on the opposite side. When his wife Ekwefi protested that two goats were sufficient for the feast he told her that it was not her affair.""What will I see?" she asked. Who else among his children could have read his thoughts so well? With two beautiful grown-up daughters his return to Umuofia would attract considerable attention. the king of crops." Ezinma pointed out.Unoka. nor even a young wife. panting.

and the sands felt like live coals to the feet. But it was a resilient spirit.Ekwefi was tired and sleepy from the exhausting experiences of the previous night. And so at a very early age when he was striving desperately to build a barn through share-cropping Okonkwo was also fending for his father's house.Onwumbiko was not given proper burial when he died. But it was the season of rest between the harvest and the next planting season.Okonkwo and his family worked very hard to plant a new farm. and when he died he was buried by his kind in the Evil Forest.Thus the men of Umuofia pursued their way. Okonkwo got ready quickly and the party set out with Ikemefuna carrying the pot of wine.'"None of the birds had heard of this custom but they knew that Tortoise. She sometimes broke into a run and stopped again suddenly."Yes.Okonkwo's neighbors heard his wife crying and sent their voices over the compound walls to ask what was the matter. and one almost heard them stretching to breaking point. But there were some too who came because they had friends in our town. for his father's relatives to see. The white man was also their brother because they were all sons of God." said Ezinma. to roast plantains for him. and the hosts looked at each other as if to say. 'You are full of cunning and you are ungrateful. a place which was already becoming remote and vague in his imagination.

Some kinsmen ate it with egusi soup and others with bitter-leaf soup. Then came the voices of the egwugwu. My case is finished. Thirty. prophesying. Kiaga's joy was very great. When they had all taken. All cooking pots. malevolent. silencing him."Don't cry. who had risen so suddenly from great poverty and misfortune to be one of the lords of the clan.Okonkwo sprang from his bed. He remembered his wife's twin children.Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. I would have asked you to get life. But he was not a failure like Unoka. and then painted his big toe."One of them passes here frequently. It had to be done slowly and carefully. And then suddenly she had begun to shiver in the night.Dusk was already approaching when their contest began."Okonkwo bit his lips as anger welled up within him.

"He said something.The arrival of the missionaries had caused a considerable stir in the village of Mbanta."He led Umuofia to war in those days. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten. The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did. whose feeling of importance was manifest in her sprightly walk. They said that some young men had chased them away from the stream with whips. And if the clan did not exact punishment for an offense against the great goddess.""You do not understand. how many twins she has borne and thrown away.' said her mother. but many of them believed that the strange faith and the white man's god would not last. But the arrivees persevered.The wrestlers were now almost still in each other's grip. And when he got there he found it was a man making a sacrifice."We shall be going. and it was he who had received Okonkwo's mother twenty and ten years before when she had been brought home Irom Umuofia to be buried with her people." said Okonkwo. gome." said the leader of the ecjwucjwu." replied Okonkwo.""There is no story that is not true." At the same time the priestess also said.

that night." His tone now changed from anger to command.""The only other person is Udenkwo. Nothing pleased Nwoye now more than to be sent for by his mother or another of his father's wives to do one of those difficult and masculine tasks in the home. refreshed and thankful." he said. A deathly silence descended on Okonkwo's compound."Ekwefi came out from her hut carrying her oil lamp in her left hand. The missionaries had come to Umuofia.It was a long and weary journey and Ekwefi felt like a sleepwalker most of the way. called round his neighbors and made merry. He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth. What you have done will not please the Earth." said Obierika."You have not eaten for two days.The wrestlers were not there yet and the drummers held the field. and which she no doubt still told to her younger children??stories of the tortoise and his wily ways. Ukegbu counted them. If you had been a coward." said the woman.The way into the shrine was a round hole at the side of a hill." The crowd agreed. Obierika nodded in agreement.

infant congregation. Ezinma shook every tree violently with a long stick before she bent down to cut the stem and dig out the tuber. eating the peelings.

""An albino
""An albino. I shall pay you.Of his three wives Ekwefi was the only one who would have the audacity to bang on his door."At that moment Obierika's son. If the song ended on his right foot. It filled him with fire as it had always done from his youth. Okonkwo. dressed in garbs of war. There is only one true God and He has the earth. Obierika. and it seemed now as if it was happening all over again. He had fallen ill on the previous night. As long as they lasted. too busy to argue.Ikezue held out his right hand. In Umuofia's latest war he was the first to bring home a human head. And so on this particular night as the crier's voice was gradually swallowed up in the distance. Age was respected among his people. The cannon seemed to rend the sky. He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages. who had begun to pour out the wine. roots and barks of medicinal trees and shrubs. Why.

" said Okonkwo. He laughed loud and long and his voice rang out clear as the ogene. The women were screaming outside."Once upon a time. but ill."When nearly two years later Obierika paid another visit to his friend in exile the circumstances were less happy. which means "the good one. "They had been warned that danger was ahead.When all the egwugwu had sat down and the sound of the many tiny bells and rattles on their bodies had subsided. Her back was turned on the footpath that led out of the hills."We are at last getting somewhere."You do not know the answer? So you see that you are a child. It was a cry in the distance: oji odu aru ijiji-o-o! (The one that uses its tail to drive flies away!). Nwoye turned round to walk into the inner compound when his father. Brown. as everybody knew they would. gome." she said. spears. but he stood beckoning to them. one saw that there was sorrow and grief there. for that was his father's name. Okonkwo had slaughtered a goat for her.

We live in peace with our fellows to honor our great goddess of the earth without whose blessing our crops will not grow." said Okonkwo. Most of them were sons of our land whose mothers had been buried with us. He then adjusted his cloth."Come along.His life had been ruled by a great passion??to become one of the lords of the clan. and very strong. And there he stood in his hard shell full of food and wine but without any wings to fly home. as if that was paying the big debts first. and in one deft movement she lifted the pot from the fire and poured the boiling water over the fowl. All the grass had long been scorched brown. The men were seized and beaten until they streamed with blood. A sudden fury rose within him and he felt a strong desire to take up his machete. "Let us not presume to do so now."Yam pottage was served first because it was lighter than foo-foo and because yam always came first. might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springywalk of Okonkwo. It throbbed in the air. a man of war.One day a neighbor called Okoye came in to see him. The next morning they were roasted in clay pots and then spread in the sun until they became dry and brittle. malevolent. the rulers of Mbanta gave to the missionaries. He raised his voice once or twice in manly sorrow and then sat down with the other men listening to the endless wailing of the women and the esoteric language of the ekwe.

He raised his voice once or twice in manly sorrow and then sat down with the other men listening to the endless wailing of the women and the esoteric language of the ekwe. so that he was full of food and drink and his body filled out in his shell. The young tendrils were protected from earth-heat with rings of sisal leaves.He sighed heavily." Nwoye's mother said.The first cock had not crowed."Come." said Machi. Ezinma placed her mother's dish before him and sat with Obiageli. overpowered him and obtained his first human head. As they emerged into the open village from the narrow forest track the darkness was softened and it became possible to see the vague shape of trees. "It's true that a child belongs to its father. They just pulled the stump."He was not an albino. We put our fingers into our ears to stop us hearing. Nwoye passed and repassed the little red-earth and thatch building without summoning enough courage to enter. They had something to say for every man. In the end Parrot. It contained other things apart from his snuff-bottle. the one young and beautiful. "Blessed is he who forsakes his father and his mother for my sake. 'Don't touch!' If i hold her footShe says. It was not until the following day that Okonkwo told him the full story.

wiping the foam of wine from his mustache with the back of his left hand."Akueke moved to the other end of the hut and began to remove the waist-beads.""Go and bring our own. he had gone to consult the Oracle. It filled him with fire as it had always done from his youth. and each wife built a small attachment to her hut for the hens. living in a special area of the village. almost overnight. another man asked a question: "Where is the white man's horse?" he asked. Ekwefi uttered a scream and sprang to her feet.At last the day came by which all the missionaries should have died. machetes. It was only after the pot had been emptied that the suitor's father cleared his voice and announced the object of their visit."Ogbuefi Ndulue of Ire village. They each made nine or ten trips carrying Okonkwo's yams to store in Obierika's barn. Ezinma? You are older than Obiageli but she has more sense. His name was Maduka." said Ekwefi with a heavy sigh. for that was his father's name. he beat her again so that if the neighbors had not gone in to save her she would have been killed. relaxed again. His younger wives did that. It was clear that the bags were full of cowries.

In ordinary life Chielo was a widow with two children.Many years ago when Okonkwo was still a boy his father. The young ailing girl who had caused her mother so much heartache had been transformed."Bring me a hoe. into a healthy. Nwoye's mother was very kind to him and treated him as one of her own children. And there he stood in his hard shell full of food and wine but without any wings to fly home. "It is not to pay you back for all you did for me in these seven years. Suppose when he died all his male children decided to follow Nwoye's steps and abandon their ancestors? Okonkwo felt a cold shudder run through him at the terrible prospect. The faint and distant wailing of women settled like a sediment of sorrow on the earth. It was instinctive. When the moon rose late in the night. I salute you. It was said that they had built a place of judgment in Umuofia to protect the followers of their religion. And how is my daughter." was joyfully chanted everywhere."Don't you know what kind of man Uzowulu is? He will not listen to any other decision. Then she suddenly turned round and began to walk back to the road. male and female." Ezinma began. Nwoye. When one came to think of it. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone.

He remembered once when men had talked in low tones with his father. It was a very good wine and powerful. Do you not think that they came to our clan by mistake. It is against the will of God. I owe that man a thousand cowries. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut."You are a big man now. But the Ibo people have a proverb that when a man says yes his chi says yes also. Each of his three wives had her own hut. roots snapped below. No matter how prosperous a man was. He was a man of action. Ezinma rushed out of the hut. or God's house. She buried her face in her lap and waited. They had the same style and one saw the other's plans beforehand. They sympathized with their neighbors with much shaking of the head. When he walked. and of the forces of nature. A razor was taboo to him. And." said another man. as on that day.

Earth's emissary." said Uchendu. The kola nut was given him to break. It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights. and would not go to war against it without first trying a peaceful settlement. And not only his chi but his clan too. For a long time nothing happened. There is only one true God and He has the earth.""And have you never seen them?" asked Machi. And then suddenly like one possessed he shot out his left hand and pointed in the direction of Mbaino. And they began to shoot. When your neighbors go out with their ax to cut down virgin forests.Okonkwo shook his head doubtfully." said Mr. 1 know you will not despair.The drummers stopped for a brief rest before the real matches.""There is no song in the story. Later on I sold some of the seed-yams and gave out others to sharecroppers. He lelt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul. and drinking palm-wine copiously. solid drops of frozen water which the people called "the nuts of the water of heaven. Okonkwo ate the food absent-mindedly. His mother and sisters worked hard enough.

But the Ibo people have a proverb that when a man says yes his chi says yes also. He asked the birds to take a message for his wife. You buried it in the ground somewhere so that you can die and return again to torment your mother. During those years no single day passed in the sky without his beating the woman. They were the harbingers sent to survey the land.Ezinma was an only child and the center of her mother's world. And what made it worse in Okonkwo's case was that he had to support his mother and two sisters from his meagre harvest. talking was the next best. fresh yams and not the shriveled and fibrous crop of the previous year. something felt in the marrow. and the quiet spectators murmured to themselves. He counted them. "When I think that it is only eighteen months since the Seed was first sown among you. and the man growled at him to go on and not stand looking back. and the others to the chalk quarry. a man of war." and on each occasion he faced a different direction and seemed to push the air with a clenched fist." said Idigo. So he would make a fresh start. He always gnashed his teeth as he listened to those who came to consult him. emerged from her hut. She has the right spirit. Two little groups of people stood at a respectable distance beyond the stools.

she prayed a thousand times. and how Sky withheld rain for seven years." said Ekwefi. as her father and other grownup people did. Nwoye went to his mother's hut and told her that Ikemefuna was going home." Ekwefi said to the woman who had stood shoulder to shoulder with her since the beginning of the matches. for he had no grave. It was called a string."The weeping was now quite close and soon the children filed in. and it was not until late in the evening that one of them saw for the first time his in-law who had arrived during the course of the meal and had fallen to on the opposite side." he said. a large crowd of men from Ezeudu's quarter stormed Okonkwo's compound. A proud heart can survive a general failure because such failure does not prick its pride."For the first time in three nights. A man's life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors." he said. But they were very rare and short-lived." This was interpreted to them but very few of them heard. "and a thick mat. He wanted Nwoye to grow into a tough young man capable of ruling his father's household when he was dead and gone to join the ancestors."That is the money from your yams. In the morning he went back to his farm and saw the withering tendrils."When nearly two years later Obierika paid another visit to his friend in exile the circumstances were less happy.

and each party brought with them a huge pot of palm-wine.As the men ate and drank palm-wine they talked about the customs of their neighbors. because there was no humanity there."Thank you. they have killed me!" as he ran towards him."It was only this morning."We have now built a church. And for many days this rare food was eaten with solid palm-oil.Ezinma was an only child and the center of her mother's world. Even the very little children seemed to know. especially their hair. and each stroke is one hundred cowries. ozo is so low that every beggar takes it."But the leaves will be wet.""Yes. women and children left their work or their play and ran into the open to see the unfamiliar sight. Children were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits. It said that other white men were on their way. Ani. My case is finished. Smoke poured out of his head. as was the custom. beginning with the eldest man.

If the song ended on his right foot. If only he could find some work to do he would be able to forget. roasting and eating maize. he had stalked his victim. the feasting and fellowship of the first day or the wrestling Contest of the second." A cold shiver ran down Okonkwo's back as he remembered the last time the old man had visited him. But he has not come to wake me up in the morning for it. A deep murmur went through the crowd when he said this. And then appeared on the horizon a slowly-moving mass like a boundless sheet of black cloud drifting towards Umuofia." Okonkwo agreed.The drums beat and the flutes sang and the spectators held their breath. How then could he have begotten a son like Nwoye. Okonkwo wondered what was amiss. old way. looking up from the yams she was peeling. Even the sacred fish in their mysterious lake have fled and the lake has turned the color of blood. "You are not a stranger in Umuofia. carrying a pot of palm-wine on his head."Go home and sleep.Am oyim de de de de! flew around the dark. Okonkwo saw clearly the high esteem in which he would be held. There were nine of them. my hand has touched the ground.

"The people of Umuike wanted their market to grow and swallow up the markets of their neighbors. After waiting in vain for her dish he went to her hut to see what she was doing. The medicine man ignored him. The crowd burst into a thunderous roar. have no toes. He brought another seven baskets and cooked them himself. He worked. Some said Okafo was the better man."The medicine man then ordered that there should be no mourning for the dead child. It told of one sheep out on the hills. When he brought out the snuff-bottle he tapped it a few times against his knee-cap before taking out some snuff on the palm of his left hand." said Okonkwo. which children were rarely allowed to eat because such food tempted them to steal." He looked in the direction of Okonkwo. But they soon returned and everyone was gazing at the rag from a reasonable distance."Ekwefi. And immediately Okonkwo's eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly."We are all well. When they had eaten they talked about many things: about the heavy rains which were drowning the yams. in their proper order. They stood round in a huge circle leaving the center of the playground free."One of them passes here frequently. Umuofia has decided to kill him.

Spirits always addressed humans as "bodies."That is the strange part of it. It was a very good wine and powerful. he was not a hunter. Nwoye's mother swore at her and settled down again to her peeling. Why. Quick as the lightning of Amadiora. His wives.The two teams were ranged facing each other across the clear space. and the solid mass was now broken by tiny eyes of light like shining star dust.Okonkwo was very happy to receive his friend." replied Ekwefi. The pot fell and broke in the sand. and soon they were the strongest adherents of the new faith. but every farmer knew that without sunshine the tubers would not grow. They stood round in a huge circle leaving the center of the playground free. Those were good days when a man had friends in distant clans. She wore the anklet of her husband's titles. Ezinma had not wanted to cooperate with him at first. you can tell a ripe corn by its look.Then the missionaries burst into song. and the tuber was pulled out.""Oho.

who lived near the udala tree."For three years Ikemefuna lived in Okonkwo's household and the elders of Umuofia seemed to have forgotten about him. called him by his name and went back to her hut. Ezinma sneezed. Ikemefuna was equally excited. But whenever they came to preach in the open marketplace or the village playground. Nwoye's mother thanked her and she went back to her mother's hut. The cut bush was left to dry and fire was then set to it. The dark top soil soon gave way to the bright red earth with which women scrubbed the floors and walls of huts. like leprosy and smallpox. she has told me about it. It was then uncertain whether the low rumbling of Amadiora's thunder came from above or below." she replied. and then turning to his brother and his son he said: "Let us go out and whisper together. And so everybody came to see the white man." he said as he went. No one had ever beheld Agbala. And before the cock crowed Okonkwo and his family were fleeing to his motherland. It was powerful in war and in magic. Ikeocha."Odukwe's body. Okonkwo stood by the pit." she said.

" Ekwefi said to the woman who had stood shoulder to shoulder with her since the beginning of the matches."Tell them. But I want you to have nothing to do with it. But on one point there was general agreement??the active principle in that medicine had been an old woman with one leg. that is not the beginning. but they never brought them into the village. The glowing logs only served to light up vaguely the dark figure of the priestess. But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship."Yaa!" replied the thunderous crowd. It was addressed as "Our Father. Okonkwo's son."Ezinma is dying. He led it on a thick rope which he tied round his wrist. His fame rested on solid personal achievements." said Ezinma to her mother. The lad's name was Ikemefuna. she has told me about it."When did you set out from home?" asked Okonkwo. from Umuofia to Mbaino."The two men sat in silence for a long while afterwards. They were the harbingers sent to survey the land. Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man. who stood beside her.

" Okonkwo replied. And then like the sound of his cannon he crashed on the compound. The sickness was an abomination to the earth. who was Okonkwo's father. 'It just walked away.As soon as his father walked in. who came out of her hut to draw water from a gigantic pot in the shade of a small tree in the middle of the compound. made up her mind. Unoka went into an inner room and soon returned with a small wooden disc containing a kola nut. who suddenly gave up his trade. Umuazu. With this magic fan she beckons to the market all the neighboring clans. when Mr. afraid of your next-door neighbor."Answer the question at once. He was ill for three market weeks. Then everything had been broken."You are a big man now. Cooking pots went up and down the tripods and foo-foo was pounded in a hundred wooden mortars Some of the women cooked the yams and the cassava.That was the kind of story that Nwoye loved. but offered to use his teeth. She had. silencing him.

Her basket was balanced on her head.' 'You must return the duckling."Do what you are told. They sympathized with their neighbors with much shaking of the head. Worshippers and those who came to seek knowledge from the god crawled on their belly through the hole and found themselves in a dark."I am following Chielo. He told them that they worshipped false gods. I shall pay you. tall.The drums beat and the flutes sang and the spectators held their breath. The personal dynamism required to counter the forces of these extremes of weather would be far too great for the human frame. I have come to pay you my respects and also to ask a favor. You see. bringing the third dish. When the moon rose late in the night. Kiaga's joy was very great. But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship. Beyond that limit no man was suffered to go.And now the rains had really come. A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. who was now the eldest surviving member of that family. relaxed again. and a great land case began.

Mighty tree branches broke away under them.On the following morning the entire neighborhood wore a festive air because Okonkwo's friend. he was asking Unoka to return the two hundred cowries he had borrowed from him more than two years before. They boast about victory over death." said Ezinma touching the ground with her finger. She prepared it the way he liked??with slices of oil-bean and fish. Once she tripped up and fell."They say that Okoli killed the sacred python. asked on behalf of the clan to look after him in the interim.Many people went out with baskets trying to catch them. New yams could not be eaten until some had first been offered to these powers. Sometimes he turned round and chased after those men. Neither of the other wives dared to interfere beyond an occasional and tentative. Two elderly neighbors were sent for."Everybody thanked Okonkwo and the neighbors brought out their drinking horns from the goatskin bags they carried. when the land had been moistened by two or three heavy rains. If any money came his way. It was not external but lay deep within himself. He remembered once when men had talked in low tones with his father. He had no patience with unsuccessful men. Even Mgbafo took to her heels and had to be restrained by her brothers. that was how it looked to his father. But Chielo ignored what he was trying to say and went on shouting that Agbala wanted to see his daughter.

"Ee-e-e!"The kola was eaten and the drinking of palm-wine began. He had a large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth. Guns were fired on all sides and sparks flew out as machetes clanged together in warriors' salutes. One morning three of them came to my house."The village has outlawed us. as if he was going to pounce on somebody. met to hear a report of Okonkwo's mission."You have not eaten for two days."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! Chi negbu madu ubosi ndu ya nato ya uto daluo-o-o! ??"Ekwefi could already see the hills looming in the moonlight. One of them was a pathetic cry."You will blow your eyes out. the sun is shining. her voice terrible as it echoed through the dark void. And what made it worse in Okonkwo's case was that he had to support his mother and two sisters from his meagre harvest." said another woman. and the other an old and faint shadow. In the end he decided that Nnadi must live in that land of Ikemefuna's favorite story where the ant holds his court in splendor and the sands dance forever. metallic and thirsty clap. 'It just walked away. waiting for the women to finish their cooking. She will bear you nine sons like the mother of our town. almost overnight. But the drought continued for eight market weeks and the yams were killed.

It was like a man wondering in broad daylight why a dream had appeared so terrible to him at night. "1 told you. "In Abame and Aninta the title is worth less than two cowries."Your buttocks said he had a son. That was a favorite saying of children. and he loved this season of the year. The total effect was gay and brisk. Only then did she realize. his half-sister. Iweka." said Okonkwo as he rose to go.Ikezue held out his right hand. Okonkwo did not know at first that she was not at home.""Your chi is very much awake." said Okonkwo. After such treatment it would think twice before coming again. And when a man is at peace with his gods and his ancestors." he said.Ekwefi had suffered a good deal in her life. tall. The rainy season was approaching when they would go away until the dry season returned. my child. "We have men of high title and the chief priests and the elders.

and filled the village with excitement." replied the white man. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace. A proud heart can survive a general failure because such failure does not prick its pride. Some said Okafo was the better man."Bring me a low stool for Ezinma. I also kill a cock at the shrine of Ifejioku. and it ended on the left. Mr." said Okonkwo. The New Yam Festival seemed to him to be a much bigger event here than in his own village.- one could not have known where one's mouth was in the darkness of that night. who had begun to pour out the wine. "They will put off Ndulue's funeral until his wife has been buried. He had many friends here and came to see them quite often. He would be very much happier working on his farm." He was talking about Okonkwo. It descended on him again." said the priestess."Ezinma's voice from the darkness warmed her mother's heart. On her arms were red and yellow bangles. "My father told me that he had been told that in the past a man who broke the peace was dragged on the ground through the village until he died.Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life.

The married women wore their best cloths and the girls wore red and black waist-beads and anklets of brass. It was like the desire for woman." was joyfully chanted everywhere. Kiaga's joy was very great. He thought of his mother and his three-year-old sister and wept bitterly. quietly and deliberately. who drank a cup or two each. Ekwefi believed deep inside her that Ezinma had come to stay." The boy smiled. welcoming it back from its long. He picked it up. 'There is something ominous behind the silence. He asked them for health and children. But no one was sure where it was coming from."When this was interpreted to the men of Mbanta they broke into derisive laughter. "Okonkwo! Agbala ekme gio-o-o-o! Agbala cholu ifu ada ya Ezinmao-o-o-oi"At the mention of Ezinma's name Ekwefi jerked her head sharply like an animal that had sniffed death in the air. They did not really want them near to the clan. A man's life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors. where he built his headquarters and from where he paid regular visits to Mr. who only stayed in the hope that it might come to chasing the men out of the village or whipping them. who was now in charge of the infant congregation. Ezinma shook every tree violently with a long stick before she bent down to cut the stem and dig out the tuber. eating the peelings.

some work to do he would be able to forget. In the end the fearless ones went near and even touched him. Go ahead and prepare your farm.

No matter how prosperous a man was
No matter how prosperous a man was."He does not know that either. We heard of it.At first Ikemefuna was very much afraid."We have heard both sides of the case. and in one deft movement she lifted the pot from the fire and poured the boiling water over the fowl. but ill. they kept their imagination to themselves. gods of wood and stone. An evil forest was. What did they know about the man?" He ground his teeth again and told a story to illustrate his point."He gave his mother seven baskets of vegetables to cook and in the end there were only three. Okoye was a great talker and he spoke for a long time. When the will of the goddess had been done. My case is finished." said Uchendu to his peers when they consulted among themselves. It is good in these days when the younger generation consider themselves wiser than their sires to see a man doing things in the grand. the distance they had covered.As the years of exile passed one by one it seemed to him that his chi might now be making amends for the past disaster. She was called Crystal of Beauty. But he thought that one could not begin too early. Quick as the lightning of Amadiora. for as soon as the first rain came farming would begin.

He was a person dedicated to a god. and asked Okonkwo to have a word with him outside. How could he know that his father had taken a hand in killing a daughter of Umuofia? All he knew was that a few men had arrived at their house. and he loved the first kites that returned with the dry season."I have come to you for help. during the last harvest season. "We have been sent by this great God to ask you to leave your wicked ways and false gods and turn to Him so that you may be saved when you die. and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back. the Evil Forest was a fit home for such undesirable people. woman."That woman standing there is my wife. They had thrown down their water-pots and lain by the roadside expecting the sinister light to descend on them and kill them.'When Ekwefi brought the hoe." Nwoye's mother said. "Let us give them a portion of the Evil Forest. "Use the fan. Okonkwo and the boys worked in complete silence. In fact he recovered from his illness only a few days before the Week of Peace began. The first thing he would do would be to rebuild his compound on a more magnificent scale. and in a basket beside her were green vegetables and beans." replied her mother. Not long after. I want you to be there.

and although ailing she seemed determined to live. A bowl of pounded yams can throw him in a wrestling match."Who is that?" he growled. Kiaga. his wives and children in their houses could hear him breathe. I am an old man and you are all children. woman. that is a boy's job." he had said.Obierika's compound was as busy as an anthill. and it was their counsel that prevailed in the end.""I did not know that. He had a bad chi or personal god. He lelt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul." said Ezinma. the distance they had covered. She could not be expected to cook and eat while her husband starved. "The bell-man announced it last night. She went on fanning it until it burst into flames.That night he collected his most valuable belongings into head-loads. Then the metal gong sounded and the flute was blown."Father."When did you become a shivering old woman.

Her daughter was only ten years old but she was wiser than her years. They became ordinary human beings again. and sometimes two rainbows. He is an exile. And he found that Okonkwo did not wish to speak about Nwoye. Then from the distance came the faint beating of the ekwe. They were not the real wrestlers. And so the two of them refused every offer of marriage in Mbanta. yellow and dark green. Many people laughed at his dialect and the way he used words strangely. There were five groups." he said. and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back. That woman.""You sound as if you question the authority and the decision of the Oracle."Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?" Okagbue had asked Ezinma."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Chielo began once again to chant greetings to her god." he said. The story was told in Umuofia."Obiageli called her "Salt" because she said that she disliked water. He went into the obi and saluted his father. But it is your turn now. The priestess.

" lied Nwoye's mother." she began.Obierika's compound was as busy as an anthill. and the polite name for leprosy was "the white skin. The egwugwu had emerged once again from their underground home. But even in such cases they set their limit at seven market weeks or twenty-eight days. that they have strayed from their way to a land where everybody is like them?"Okonkwo's first wife soon finished her cooking and set before their guests a big meal of pounded yams and bitter-leaf soup. He always gnashed his teeth as he listened to those who came to consult him. He played on the ogene. All the neighbors and relations who had come to mourn gathered round them. or the teeth of an old woman. and you can teach us the things of the new faith."He does not know that either. Even the greatest medicine men took shelter when he was near. It was called a string. He was the oldest man in Ire. Everyone knew then that she would live because her bond with the world of ogbanje had been broken. She rose. She cut the yams into small pieces and began to prepare a pottage. Soon it covered half the sky. gome. "that he repeated over and over again a word that resembled Mbaino. Dum! Dum! Dum! boomed the cannon at intervals.

""Have you heard. and since he now had three wives his guests would make a fairly big crowd.The priestess screamed.The only course open to Okonkwo was to flee from the clan. Obierika pointed at the two heavy bags. Sometimes he turned round and chased after those men. his half-sister. It was after such a day at the farm during the last harvest that Nwoye had felt for the first time a snapping inside him like the one he now felt. When he brought out the snuff-bottle he tapped it a few times against his knee-cap before taking out some snuff on the palm of his left hand. And if the clan did not exact punishment for an offense against the great goddess. Then she suddenly turned round and began to walk back to the road."Go and bring me some cold water. Okonkwo!" she warned. "There must be a reason for it. but when they went away Okonkwo sat still for a very long time supporting his chin in his palms. "Your wife was at fault. He did not understand it. gazed at it a while and went away again??to the underworld. that night. blowing it with her breath.But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through. "What about you? Can you answer my question?"They all shook their heads." he said.

"Where is Ojiugo?" he asked his second wife. 'Then we can eat the chick. I kill a man on the day that his life is sweetest to him. Everybody in the crowd was talking. gome. They did not stay very long.But somehow Okonkwo could never become as enthusiastic over feasts as most people."You must watch the pot carefully.What moved Obierika to visit Okonkwo was the sudden appearance of the latter's son. Another one was wailing near his right ear. He did not know who the girl was. But his wives and young children were not as strong. with love." She died in her eleventh month. Obierika nodded in agreement. children. They were silent for a long time. only they did not understand him. Ojiugo. It was as if water had been poured on the tightened skin of a drum. They sat in a half-circle and began to talk of many things. but nothing like this had ever happened. and on her waist four or five rows of jigida.

His wives and children were very happy too. But it turned out to be even bigger than we expected. he immediately bought gourds of palm-wine. the priestess of Agbala. he has learned to fly without perching.The two teams were ranged facing each other across the clear space. Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly. like leprosy and smallpox. It throbbed in the air. They all wore smoked raffia skirts and their bodies were painted with chalk and charcoal. "honest men and thieves.""In future call her into your obi. The women weeded the farm three times at definite periods in the life of the yams. should he."For three years Ikemefuna lived in Okonkwo's household and the elders of Umuofia seemed to have forgotten about him. He had felt very anxious but did not show it. His death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles. But there was one woman who had no doubt whatever in her mind. what did the mother of this duckling say when you swooped and carried its child away?' 'It said nothing."A little more?? I said a little. ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn. She miscarried after she had gone to sleep with her lover. It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights.

burning torches were set on wooden tripods and the young men raised a song." said an old man." said Okonkwo. He had cracked them himself. It was said that they had built a place of judgment in Umuofia to protect the followers of their religion. But a few years later she ran away from her husband and came to live with Okonkwo. and Umuofia was still swallowed up in sleep and silence when the ekwe began to talk. "You will bring to the shrine of Ani tomorrow one she-goat. In that way she will elude her wicked tormentor and break its evil cycle of birth and death." said Okonkwo."You must watch the pot carefully. drank a little and handed back the horn." And he told him what an osu was. would wipe them off the face of the earth. He then roused Ezinma and placed her on the stool.On the third day he asked his second wife."Oye. another man asked a question: "Where is the white man's horse?" he asked. trembling. who must taste his wine before anyone else." said Okonkwo. he was terribly afraid. He had felt very anxious but did not show it.

he was at a loss. which should be a woman's crowning glory." said Okonkwo. Everybody had been invited??men. Uchendu pulled gently at his gray beard and gnashed his teeth. burning torches were set on wooden tripods and the young men raised a song. but the fattest of all was tethered to a peg near the wall of the compound and was as big as a small cow. the earth goddess and the source of all fertility.- they all fled in terror. Quick as the lightning of Amadiora. Then the crier gave his message. mother. Nwoye's sister."Ezinma looked at her mother. The woman was Mgbafo and the three men with her were her brothers. Okonkwo stood by. The white man has no sense. Now and then a cold shiver descended on his head and spread down his body. old way. That was not luck.' Why is that?"There was silence. Her voice was as clear as metal. a loud cheer rose from the crowd.

Their sound was no longer a separate thing from the living village.But there were many others who saw the situation differently.A strange and sudden weakness descended on Ekwefi as she stood gazing in the direction of the voices like a hen whose only chick has been carried away by a kite. 'You have taken back your sister. He looked it over and said it was done.""One of the men told me. She could hear the priestess' voice. and so did his little children. He was taking his family of three wives and their children to seek refuge in his motherland. which was rubbed with red earth so that it shone. Go and see if your father has brought out yams for the afternoon."They want a piece of land to build their shrine. The imagery of an efulefu in the language of the clan was a man who sold his machete and wore the sheath to battle. That was a source of great sorrow to the leaders of the clan. The women began to talk excitedly. As soon as he heard of the great feast in the sky his throat began to itch at the very thought.- they all fled in terror." Okonkwo thundered. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness. Okonkwo's wives and children and those who came to help them with the cooking began to bring out the food. It was also part of the night. and men dashed about in frenzy. and soon returned with a bowl of cool water from the earthen pot in her mother's hut.

They had the same style and one saw the other's plans beforehand." He then added ten sticks to the fifteen and gave the bundle to Ukegbu. now desperate. You stay at home. what do I do? Do i shut my eyes? No! I take a stick and break his head That is what a man does. "He hardly ever walks. but he had not expected he would be so generous."The weeping was now quite close and soon the children filed in. forty-five. It was then uncertain whether the low rumbling of Amadiora's thunder came from above or below. became for Ekwefi mere physical agony devoid of promise. Every man and woman came out to see the white man. Would he recognize her now? She must have grown quite big. and at his death there were only three men in the whole clan who were older. he had not slept at all last night. father? You are beyond our knowledge. And then Nkechi came in. The same thought also came to Okonkwo's mind. She trudged slowly along.That was the kind of story that Nwoye loved." she replied. At such times she seemed beyond danger."Ogbuefi Ndulue of Ire village.

But you are still a child. The Lord shall have them in derision. Suppose when he died all his male children decided to follow Nwoye's steps and abandon their ancestors? Okonkwo felt a cold shudder run through him at the terrible prospect.""Anyway. I salute you. He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat.Obierika was sitting outside under the shade of an orange tree making thatches from leaves of the raffia-palm. And supporting his mother also meant supporting his father. but ill.Ekwefi knelt beside the sick child.His life had been ruled by a great passion??to become one of the lords of the clan. calling him "Our father. Their church stood on a circular clearing that looked like the open mouth of the Evil Forest. each brought her bowl of foo-foo and bowl of soup to her husband. That week they won a handful more converts. But by the end of the day the sisal rings were burned dry and gray." answered his first wife.The wrestlers were now almost still in each other's grip. and others who could think of nowhere else open to escape.' said Tortoise. "She must have broken her waterpot. Darkness held a vague terror for these people."Oho.

On Obierika's side were his two elder brothers and Maduka."He will do great things. She often called her Ezigbo. Anasi was the first wife and the others could not drink before her.""Oho.Okonkwo's family was astir like any other family in the neighborhood.But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through." replied Obierika."At that moment Obierika's son. they held them over an open fire to burn off the hair. to her right and to her left. They were grieved by the indignity and mourned for their neglected farms.Ikemefuna had begun to feel like a member of Okonkwo's family. each carrying a pot of wine. in which he took a pinch of snuff and sneezed noisily.The New Yam Festival was thus an occasion for joy throughout Umuofia. But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship. and at the end of three years he had become very distant indeed. and his face beamed.He was tall but very thin and had a slight stoop. But at that very moment Chielo's voice rose again in her possessed chanting. trying to minimize Ojiugo's thoughtlessness. It was Ekwefl's turn to tell a story.

a long and thin strip of cloth wound round the waist like a belt and then passed between the legs to be fastened to the belt behind.Okonkwo's prosperity was visible in his household. and in its place a sort of smile hovered. And so nobody gave serious thought to the stories about the white man's government or the consequences of killing the Christians. I fear for you. He never stopped regretting that Ezinma was a girl. asked on behalf of the clan to look after him in the interim. and when he got home he went straight to Okonkwo's hut and told him what he had seen."Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?" Okagbue had asked Ezinma. beans and cassava. passing back the disc."Five women stayed behind to look after the cooking-pots. The crowd had surrounded and swallowed up the drummers. He would stamp out the disquieting signs of laziness which he thought he already saw in him. But as he flew home his long talon pierced the leaves and the rain fell as it had never fallen before. and sat down. Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. He had sown four hundred seeds when the rains dried up and the heat returned." the convert maintained. There was a famine in those days and Tortoise had not eaten a good meal for two moons. lest he should be found to resemble his father."No. Mr.

Okonkwo."Then listen to me. On ordinary days young women who desired children came to sit under its shade. A new cover of thick palm branches and palm leaves was set on the walls to protect them from the next rainy season. Nobody thought that such a thing could ever happen. He also took with him a pot of palm-wine. where titled men climb trees and pound foo-foo for their wives. Ezenwa took it. She only began to weep when they got near the iroko tree outside their compound." they said to the women. Many people laughed at his dialect and the way he used words strangely. But I think you ought to break it. There was no question of killing a missionary here. who was fat and whose body shone as if oil was rubbed on it??"She broke off because at that very moment a loud and high-pitched voice broke the outer silence of the night. which was passed under his right arm-pit and tied above his left shoulder."Okonkwo bit his lips as anger welled up within him. It always surprised him when he thought of it later that he did not sink under the load of despair. as most people were. And he had all but achieved it. She was used to Chielo calling her "my daughter. All was silent. It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights.Although such stories were now often told they looked like fairy-tales in Mbanta and did not as yet affect the relationship between the new church and the clan.

I would not have believed." said one man." She went into the hut again and brought down the smoke-black basket in which she kept her dried fish and other ingredients for cooking soup. He walked unsteadily to the place where the corpse was laid. You stay at home. And they might also have noticed that Okonkwo was not among the titled men and elders who sat behind the row of egwugwu." he said. She was about sixteen and just ripe for marriage. women and children. But as he flew home his long talon pierced the leaves and the rain fell as it had never fallen before. passed through his obi and into Ekwefi's hut and walked into her bedroom. who was the oldest man in the village. spread her mat on the floor and built a fire. "They are pieces of wood and stone. Uchendu. years ago. saluted the spirits and began his story. The hosts nodded in approval and seemed to say."Ekwefi did as she was asked. I shall do that every year until you return. You may have heard of the title I intend to take shortly. and the solid mass was now broken by tiny eyes of light like shining star dust."You think you are the greatest sufferer in the world? Do you know that men are sometimes banished for life? Do you know that men sometimes lose all their yams and even their children? I had six wives once.

" replied the white man. meanwhile. and the children who sang songs of welcome to them. I say it because I fear for the younger generation. "One of the young children had opened the gate of the cow-shed. and Ikemefuna. and old men and women would remember their youth. he had gone to consult the Oracle. She miscarried after she had gone to sleep with her lover. all the same. But they dared not complain openly. His younger wives did that. they say. Tortoise stood up in his many-colored plumage and thanked them for their invitation. The drums beat the unmistakable wrestling dance - quick.Ezeudu had been the oldest man in his village. Okonkwo. Their leader was called Evil Forest." replied Uzowulu. And so she brought out her husband's hoes. A toad does not run in the daytime for nothing. "I remember when I was a young boy there was a song about them. to her right and to her left.

If one says no to the other. You know his first wife who walks with a stick?""Yes. They all have food in their own homes. This was before the planting season began. His yams grew abundantly. Their wives also. another group with hoes and baskets to the village earth pit. A snake was never called by its name at night.After the death of Ekwefi's second child.Very soon after. The thick mat was thrown over both."He took down the pot from the fire and placed it in front of the stool. Their sound was no longer a separate thing from the living village. His greatest friend." Okonkwo threatened. but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders."Just then Obierika's son. But such was her anxiety for her daughter that she could not rid herself completely of her fear. One of these days your jigida will catch fire on your waist. I salute you. An oil lamp was lit and Okonkwo tasted from each bowl. Every man can see it in his own compound. who was once the village beauty.

He was a good eater and he could drink one or two fairly big gourds of palm-wine. for in spite of the palm fruit hung across the mouth of the pot to restrain the lively liquor. It was as if water had been poured on the tightened skin of a drum. The interpreter explained each verse to the audience. They boast about victory over death. Any wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him? Fortunately."He died this morning. "If you had been poor in your last life I would have asked you to be rich when you come again. And whenever the moon forsook evening and rose at cock-crow the nights were as black as charcoal."Did she ask you to feed them before she went?""Yes. in the sunshine. But at that very moment Chielo's voice rose again in her possessed chanting.As soon as day broke. Two years after her marriage to Anene she could bear it no longer and she ran away to Okonkwo. and brought out his snuff-bottle from the goatskin bag by his side. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy." said Obierika. One of these days your jigida will catch fire on your waist. he thought over the matter. He was roused in the morning by someone banging on his door."How can I know?" Ekwefi wanted her to work it out herself."He does not know that either.After the singing the interpreter spoke about the Son of God whose name was Jesu Kristi.

But the boy was afraid of him and slipped out of the hut as soon as he noticed him dozing."At that moment Obierika's son. scooped out two mouthfuls and fled from the hut to chew the cud in the goats' shed. Even as a little boy he had resented his father's failure and weakness." he had said. In Umunso they do not bargain at all. and so all the clan was at his funeral. "my eyelid is twitching."I have come to you for help."Is that enough?" she asked when she had poured in about half of the water in the bowl. In Umunso they do not bargain at all. As the rains became heavier the women planted maize. children sought for shelter. The first voice gets to Chukwu. The ancestral spirits of the clan were abroad. and allowed a murmur of suppressed anger to sweep the crowd. "I have even heard that in some tribes a man's children belong to his wife and her family. and was full of the sap of life. one of those wicked children who. gazing into a log fire. "She must have broken her waterpot. He had finished it on the very day the locusts came. And this was the message.

At one stage Ekwefi was so afraid that she nearly called out to Chielo for companionship and human sympathy. Chielo. pushed back the bolt on his door and ran into Ekwefi's hut. But the third created a big sensation even among the elders who did not usually show their excitement so openly. She pulled again and it came off. took the lump of chalk. Children were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits."I am Evil Forest. It was Ekwefl's turn to tell a story. He was tall and huge."At that moment Obierika's son. who was greatly perplexed. He exchanged greetings with Okonkwo and led the way into his obi."We cannot all rush out like that. It is like Dimaragana. may Agbala shave your head with a blunt razor! May he twist your neck until you see your heels!"Ekwefi stood rooted to the spot. But although Okonkwo was a great man whose prowess was universally acknowledged. and.'"Parrot promised to deliver the message. She trudged slowly along." And they dispersed. in which he took a pinch of snuff and sneezed noisily.Nneka had had four previous pregnancies and child-births.

"As they spoke Ezinma emerged from the hut. carrying a pot of palm-wine on his head. and because of their ash-colored shorts they earned the additional name of Ashy Buttocks. with her suitor and his relatives. when his father had not been dead very long. Then he and another man went before Ikemefuna and set a faster pace. who will hold his head up among my people.Okonkwo's wives."Ask Akueke's mother to send us some kola nuts. Ikemefuna looked back. I married her with my money and my yams. It is like Dimaragana. A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet.As soon as day broke. How old is she now?""She is about ten years old. The meat was then shared so that every member of the umunna had a portion. Why was that?"Okonkwo shook his head. "Your wrestling the other day gave me much happiness. But they dared not complain openly. Ikemefuna came into Okonkwo's household. If only he could find some work to do he would be able to forget. In the end the fearless ones went near and even touched him. Go ahead and prepare your farm.

kwenu!" roared Evil Forest. At last Ogbuefi Ezeugo stood up in the midst of them and bellowed four times. I salute you. in their due proportions.As the men drank.

to harvest cassava tubers
to harvest cassava tubers. which the first wife alone could wear. But he has not come to wake me up in the morning for it. Some of them were very violent. The next child was a girl. If a clansman killed a royal python accidentally. And then the locusts came. He still remembered the song:Eze elina. And then suddenly she had begun to shiver in the night." said Nwoye's mother. At last Vulture was sent to plead with Sky. or with their father in his obi warming themselves from a log fire. looking up from the yams she was peeling.At this point an old man said he had a question. '1 am a changed man."The market of Umuike is a wonderful place. was among them. the fear of the forest. It was in fact one of them who in his zeal brought the church into serious conflict with the clan a year later by killing the sacred python. Ogbuefi Ugonna had thought of the Feast in terms of eating and drinking. Only a week ago a man had contradicted him at a kindred meeting which they held to discuss the next ancestral feast. A new cover of thick palm branches and palm leaves was set on the walls to protect them from the next rainy season. looked forward to the New Yam Festival because it began the season of plenty??the new year.

you can tell a ripe corn by its look."You need some sleep yourself. He immediately set to work digging a pit where Ezinma had indicated. but he had been too surprised to weep. He had called the first child born to him in exile Nneka??"Mother is Supreme"??out of politeness to his mother's kinsmen. the men returned with a pot of wine." he always said. And so nobody gave serious thought to the stories about the white man's government or the consequences of killing the Christians. In Umuofia's latest war he was the first to bring home a human head. He was a very strong man and rarely felt fatigue. All the neighbors and relations who had come to mourn gathered round them. Okonkwo decided to go out hunting. Okonkwo was the greatest wrestler and warrior alive. For three or four moons it demanded hard work and constant attention from cock-crow till the chickens went back to roost. but they are too young to leave their mother. Ezinma took it to him in his obi. I married her with my money and my yams. solid drops of frozen water which the people called "the nuts of the water of heaven. They had built a court where the District Commissioner judged cases in ignorance. How could he have begotten a woman for a son? At Nwoye's age Okonkwo had already become famous throughout Umuofia for his wrestling and his fearlessness. The children made endless trips to the stream. as was the custom. Some of them were too angry to eat.

and his face beamed. Every man of Umuofia was asked to gather at the market place tomorrow morning. put down his load and sat down." said Obierika. Obierika nodded in agreement. but if one picked out the flute as it went up and down and then broke up into short snatches." Obierika again drank a little of his wine."Odukwe was short and thickset. He had cracked them himself. or rather held out her hand to be shaken. The first cock has crowed. "You are already a skeleton. and was about to say something when the old man continued:"Yes.It was late afternoon before Nwoye returned.At first. Obierika offered him a lobe of the kola nut he had broken with Okonkwo." Obierika replied sharply. was among them. and stake them when the young tendrils appear. a thing set apart??a taboo for ever. were fixed on her.At last they took a turning and began to head for the caves. Obiageli brought up the rear.

"When they had cut the goats' throats and collected the blood in a bowl. But there was one woman who had no doubt whatever in her mind. or how. which was part of the night. fresh yams and not the shriveled and fibrous crop of the previous year." He was talking about Okonkwo. How old is she now?""She is about ten years old."This is Obierika. Where is my daughter. But Tortoise jumped to his feet and asked: Tor whom have you prepared this feast?'"'For all of you.It was a great funeral. which was only broken when a new palm frond was lifted on to the wall or when a busy hen moved dry leaves about in her ceaseless search for food. They must have bypassed it long ago.But the war that now threatened was a just war. "They have that custom in Obodoani. she was in close communion with the departed fathers of the clan whose bodies had been committed to earth. setting up a wave of expectation in the crowd. One of them was so old and infirm that he leaned heavily on a stick. a man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness. he is telling a lie." he said. wiping the foam of wine from his mustache with the back of his left hand. "Poor child.

The men then continued their drinking and talking. He could hardly imagine that Okonkwo was not his real father." said Obierika. When all the birds had gathered together. paid regular visits to them.The night was impenetrably dark. Okonkwo brought out l??s big horn from the goatskin bag. mother."Father. spears. slanting showers through sunshine and quiet breeze. Spirits of good children lived in that tree waiting to be born. They each made nine or ten trips carrying Okonkwo's yams to store in Obierika's barn.The men then continued their drinking and talking. His yams grew abundantly. because you understand us and we understand you. She stood until Chielo had increased the distance between them and she began to follow again. The fowl Ekwefi had just killed was in the wooden mortar. But very few people had ever seen that kind of wrestling before." replied the white man. "I shall not talk about thanking you any more.The drum sounded again and the flute blew. he was not a hunter.

that I am not afraid of blood and if anyone tells you that I am. And so he is bowed with grief.Many years ago when Okonkwo was still a boy his father."That is not strange. The two voices disappeared into the thick darkness. He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace.The sun rose slowly to the center of the sky."We had meant to set out from my house before cockcrow. He then roused Ezinma and placed her on the stool." He paused. Its most potent war-medicine was as old as the clan itself. and there was no hurry to decide his fate. go in peace. Ikeocha. Do you not think that they came to our clan by mistake. are known in all the clan for the weakness of your machete and your hoe. This one had only one hand and it carried a basket full of water. in spite of his failings in other directions. He had a large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth. Soon it covered half the sky.""You were very much like that yourself. Obierika.

He immediately set to work digging a pit where Ezinma had indicated. the medicine itself was called agadi-nwayi. beat him up and took our sister and her children away." Okonkwo replied. He heaved a heavy sigh and went away with the gun. drew some lines on the floor. and the quiet spectators murmured to themselves. my child. But you are still a child. And such was the deep fear that their enemies had for Umuofia that they treated Okonkwo like a king and brought him a virgin who was given to Udo as wife. "Life to all of us. But all he said was: "When shall I go home?" When Okonkwo heard that he would not eat any food he came into the hut with a big stick in his hand and stood over him while he swallowed his yams. The crowd then shouted with ainger and thirst for blood. Every man wears the thread of title on his ankle. Nwakibie sent for his wives. We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas. an old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb. Nwoye overheard it and burst into tears. There is only one true God and He has the earth. And supporting his mother also meant supporting his father. He is always in a hurry. they set off in a body. and then passed two shares to Nwoye and Ikemefuna.

It might happen again this year. She had. The iron horse was still tied to the sacred silk-cotton tree."They will not begin until the sun goes down. Okonkwo got ready quickly and the party set out with Ikemefuna carrying the pot of wine.The drums were still beating. who walked away and never returned." said Ogbuefi Ezeudu. None of them was a man of title. was a very exacting king. all strong and healthy. "That is the story." he said. Ezinma shook every tree violently with a long stick before she bent down to cut the stem and dig out the tuber. They danced back to the center together and then closed in. for his father's relatives to see. That week they won a handful more converts. He heard the blow." said Ibe. His mother's kinsmen had been very kind to him. Uchendu pulled gently at his gray beard and gnashed his teeth. male and female.As night fell.

usually before the age of three. But it had gone on living andUGG Kids Sale gradually becoming stronger. but she went to Okonkwo's compound. in a terrifying voice. The children were also decorated. the wife of Amadi. should he. "So he must have a wife and all of them must have buttocks. I am an old man and you are all children. And such was the deep fear that their enemies had for Umuofia that they treated Okonkwo like a king and brought him a virgin who was given to Udo as wife."Uzowulu's body.Okonkwo was very happy to receive his friend. That is all I am good for now." said another woman. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. The rainy season was approaching when they would go away until the dry season returned. He knew that he was a fierce fighter.The wrestlers were now almost still in each other's grip. that Chielo had stopped her chanting. and others prepared vegetable soup. The elders said locusts came once in a generation. And when a man is at peace with his gods and his ancestors. where they were guarded by a race of stunted men.

The crowd roared and clapped and for a while drowned the frenzied drums. When a man was afflicted with swelling in the stomach and the limbs he was not allowed to die in the house."Ah. and one almost heard them stretching to breaking point."It was in the second year of Okonkwo's exile that his friend. but not overmuch. gome. Soon it covered half the sky. Kiaga. At first they were afraid they might die. Why did they not fight back? Had they no guns and machetes? We would be cowards lo compare ourselves with the men of Abame. one of these women went to Ozoemena's hut and told her. Only a week ago a man had contradicted him at a kindred meeting which they held to discuss the next ancestral feast."We shall be late for the wrestling. But Chielo's voice was still a long way away. the god of yams. But he was not the man to go about telling his neighbors that he was in error. Ogbuefi Ezeugo was a powerful orator and was always chosen to speak on such occasions." And he did. Her heart jumped painfully within her.In this way Akuke's bride-price was finally settled at twenty bags of cowries. The personal dynamism required to counter the forces of these extremes of weather would be far too great for the human frame. persistent and unchanging.

Then the missionaries burst into song. by Okonkwo's brusqueness in dealing with less successful men. But it only lasted till the end of the service. But what of our own people who are following their way and have been given power? They would go to Umuru and bring the soldiers."She is ill in bed. As the smoke rose into the sky kites appeared from different directions and hovered over the burning field in silent valediction. Then everything had been broken. But it is not our custom to debar anyone from the stream or the quarry. and allowed a brief pause. her left palm closed on her fish and her eyes gleaming with tears."You are a big man now. Ezinma. Her coming was quite useless. when Okonkwo's in-laws began to leave for their homes The second day of the new year was the day of the great wrestling match between Okonkwo's village and their neighbors. Tears of gratitude filled her eyes. and in the end it was decided to ostracize the Christians.And then the storm burst. Obierika. "1 do not know how to thank you. The cannon seemed to rend the sky."Five women stayed behind to look after the cooking-pots. and they began to go back the way they had come. Such was Unoka's fate.

but offered to use his teeth. she prayed a thousand times. seeing that the new religion welcomed twins and such abominations. and does not lose it even if he steals. I also kill a cock at the shrine of Ifejioku." he said. "And so they killed the white man and tied his iron horse to their sacred tree because it looked as if it would run away to call the man's friends.Ezinma was still sleeping when everyone else was astir.""What has happened to that piece of land in dispute?" asked Okonkwo. The man who dug it up was the same Okagbue who was famous in all the clan for his knowledge in these matters. If it does its power will be gone. Two elderly neighbors were sent for.But the most dreaded of all was yet to come." said Machi. The bride-price had been paid and all but the last ceremony had been performed. His eldest son. The whole church raised a protest and was about to drive these people out."When this was interpreted to the men of Mbanta they broke into derisive laughter. They told the white man and he smiled benevolently. Nwayieke lived four compounds away. and it could not be done later because harvesting would soon set in. 1 know how to deal with them. They should have armed themselves with their guns and their machetes even when they went to market.

and all over her body were black patterns drawn with uli."He was not an albino. But it was the season of rest between the harvest and the next planting season. and scorched all the green that had appeared with the rains. elina!SalaEze ilikwa ya Ikwaba akwa ogholi Ebe Danda nechi eze Ebe Uzuzu nete egwuSalaHe sang it in his mind. only they did not understand him. not for hearing." he said. Smoke poured out of his head. wiping the foam of wine from his mustache with the back of his left hand. But it was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth. some were orators who spoke for the clan."After the kola nut had been eaten Okonkwo brought his palm- wine from the corner of the hut where it had been placed and stood it in the center of the group."No."Two years ago." said some of the elders. It filled him with fire as it had always done from his youth.""Once upon a time. If the song ended on his right foot. "I marvel at what the Lord hath wrought.Ezeudu had taken three titles in his life. But Ekwefi was not thinking about that."Okonkwo thanked him again and again and went home feeling happy.

blew into it to remove any dust that might be there. in the same way as they would meet if a death occurred . yet young people ran about happily picking up the cold nuts and throwing them into their mouths to melt."Nwoye always wondered who Nnadi was and why he should live all by himself. only to return to their places almost immediately.' said her mother. and what is good among one people is an abomination with others. unless it was one of the stubborn ones who returned.At last the day came by which all the missionaries should have died. He sang. one hen. and she was notorious for her late cooking. He could fashion out flutes from bamboo stems and even from the elephant grass. Okonkwo remembered his own father. That is all I am good for now." They laughed and agreed."There is too much green vegetable. Although her husband's wives were saying that it was nothing more than iba. condemned for seven years to live in a strange land. and he was not afraid of war. But for a young man whose father had no yams. the white missionary. 'She should have been a boy.

Ezinma was an only child and the center of her mother's world. especially these days when young men are afraid of hard work."As they spoke Ezinma emerged from the hut. and he who could feed his family on yams from one harvest to another was a very great man indeed. It was Nwoye's mother. asked on behalf of the clan to look after him in the interim. had crawled out of the shrine on her belly like a snake. That was not luck. sat on a mat on the floor. Mgbafo and her brothers were as still as statues into whose faces the artist has molded defiance. But on further thought he told himself that Nwoye was not worth fighting for. let his wing break.And so Obierika went to Mbanta to see his friend."The two outcasts shaved off their hair. and most of them never did because they died too young - before they could be asked questions. When they finished. and the quiet spectators murmured to themselves. Darkness held a vague terror for these people."They do not understand. There were twenty-two of them. and each party brought with them a huge pot of palm-wine." replied Okonkwo. There were only three such boys in each team.

The egwugwu had emerged once again from their underground home. In the other group were her husband. Children no longer stayed indoors but ran about singing:"The rain is falling. who had been walking about aimlessly in his compound in suppressed anger. "Okoli told me himself that it was false. Mighty tree branches broke away under them. For three or four moons it demanded hard work and constant attention from cock-crow till the chickens went back to roost." said Ezinma. should bring to your mother a heavy face and refuse to be comforted? Be careful or you may displease the dead." He threw his head down and gnashed his teeth. then.A hush fell on the compound immediately. But you will never hear. There were little holes from one side to the other in the upper levels of the wall. An oil lamp was lit and Okonkwo tasted from each bowl. Evil Forest rose to his feet and order was immediately restored. and he owed every neighbor some money. even into people's beds. as the saying goes. for that was his father's name. He was a man of action. and he was soon chosen as the man to speak for the party because he was a great orator. He could hear in his mind's ear the blood-stirring and intricate rhythms of the ekwe and the udu and the ogene.

Okonkwo got ready quickly and the party set out with Ikemefuna carrying the pot of wine. and was not given the first or the second burial." replied Uzowulu. Cam wood was rubbed lightly into her skin.Many young men and prosperous middle-aged men of Mbanta came to marry her. It was difficult to say which the people enjoyed more. The married women wore their best cloths and the girls wore red and black waist-beads and anklets of brass. And then after another lifetime these men opened the caves again and the locusts came to Umuofia. "Who will drink the dregs?" he asked." he said. so she cupped her right hand to shelter the flame. He had lost the years in which he might have taken the highest titles in the clan. he had allowed what he regarded as a reasonable and manly interval to pass and then gone with his machete to the shrine. They said that some young men had chased them away from the stream with whips. Some of them had been heavily whipped. It was powerful in war and in magic. Once in a while Chielo was possessed by the spirit of her god and she began to prophesy. Every woman in the neighborhood knew the sound of Nwayieke's mortar and pestle. When he died this morning.He took a pot of palm-wine and a cock to Nwakibie.Okonkwo cleared his throat and moved his feet to the beat of the drums. and then he continued: "Each group there represents a debt to someone. Have you not heard the song they sing when a woman dies?"'For whom is it well.

"Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?" asked Okagbue when Ezinma finally stopped outside her father's obi. But if a man caused it. He was a great man. Ikezue strove to dig in his right heel behind Okafo so as to pitch him backwards in the clever ege style. We would then not be held accountable for their abominations. He fell and fell and fell until he began to fear that he would never stop falling. was the wife of Ogbuefi Udo. and they nodded their heads. They stood round in a huge circle leaving the center of the playground free. She was nine then and was just recovering from a serious illness. "Look at those lines of chalk. when Okonkwo's in-laws began to leave for their homes The second day of the new year was the day of the great wrestling match between Okonkwo's village and their neighbors. She stood for a while."Who taps your tall trees for you?" asked Obierika. a large crowd of men from Ezeudu's quarter stormed Okonkwo's compound. but that year-had been enough to break the heart of a lion." She died in her eleventh month. and in one deft movement she lifted the pot from the fire and poured the boiling water over the fowl. The three white men and a very large number of other men surrounded the market. They are gods of deceit who tell you to kill your fellows and destroy innocent children.The priestess had now reached Okonkwo's compound and was talking with him outside his hut. Go and see if your father has brought out yams for the afternoon. But when he reached Tortoise's house he told his wife to bring out all the hard things in the house.

"1 thought you were going into the shrine with Chielo. Iweka. a light rain had fallen during the night and the soil would not be very hard. and the women sat on a sisal mat spread on a raised bank of earth. He had not hoped to get more than four hundred seeds." said some of the elders. He was the oldest man in Ire. the king of crops. she found her lying on the mat. But as he flew home his long talon pierced the leaves and the rain fell as it had never fallen before. And what is the result? Their clan is full of the evil spirits of these unburied dead. and ate up all the wild grass in the fields. There was pounded yam and also yam pottage cooked with palm-oil and fresh fish."I will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan. carrying a pot of palm-wine on his head. but six. No woman ever asked questions about the most powerful and the most secret cult in the clan. The other people were released. with which they sat on the floor. and how Sky withheld rain for seven years. But before he could answer.""Don't cry. and everyone filled his bags and pots with locusts.

The men in the obi had already begun to drink the palm-wine which Akueke's suitor had brought. But it only lasted till the end of the service.The arrival of the missionaries had caused a considerable stir in the village of Mbanta. because you understand us and we understand you. which only made the darkness more profound. "God will laugh at them on the judgment day."That was all he had said. for in spite of their worthlessness they still belonged to the clan.""It is so indeed. He raised it carefully with the hoe and threw it to the surface. But if they thought these things they kept them within themselves. As soon as the two boys closed in." He turned again to Okonkwo and said. We are better than animals because we have kinsmen. But there were some too who came because they had friends in our town. She went on fanning it until it burst into flames." said another woman. Everybody stood to let her pass and then filed after her.- it was either too early or too late.Ekwefi put a few live coals into a piece of broken pot and Ezinma carried it across the clean swept compound to Nwoye's mother. She beckons in front of her and behind her. He had been cast out of his clan like a fish onto a dry. His words may also be good.

There are only two of them. He asked them for health and children. Cooking pots went up and down the tripods and foo-foo was pounded in a hundred wooden mortars Some of the women cooked the yams and the cassava."When did you set out from home?" asked Okonkwo. the in-laws began to arrive. not even with broomsticks. or waist beads. Does a man speak when a god speaks? Beware!"She walked through Okonkwo's hut into the circular compound and went straight toward Ekwefi's hut. But the drought continued for eight market weeks and the yams were killed. Ikemefuna looked back. On ordinary days young women who desired children came to sit under its shade. Very often it was Ezinma who decided what food her mother should prepare. A steady cloud of smoke rose from his head. He had fallen ill on the previous night. and they. The personal dynamism required to counter the forces of these extremes of weather would be far too great for the human frame." she began. He told them that they worshipped false gods. Unoka loved the good hire and the good fellowship. and he was not afraid of war. He picked it up.Although Nwoye had been attracted to the new faith from the very first day. Ekwefi tried to pull out the horny beak but it was too hard.

" Nwoye's mother said. but many of them believed that the strange faith and the white man's god would not last. But the Hills and the Caves were as silent as death. Okonkwo saw clearly the high esteem in which he would be held." they said to the women. "that Abame is no more?""How is that?" asked Uchendu and Okonkwo together. Obierika's second wife followed with a pot of soup."It will not be very long now before my in-laws come. And what is the result? An abominable religion has settled among you. and it was his firmness that saved the young church." roared Okonkwo.Nneka had had four previous pregnancies and child-births.As the palm-wine was drunk one of the oldest members of the umunna rose to thank Okonkwo:"If I say that we did not expect such a big feast I will be suggesting that we did not know how openhanded our son. She had already walked so long that she began to feel a slight numbness in the limbs and in the head. "One of the young children had opened the gate of the cow-shed. went into an inner room and came back with a kola nut. And she realized too with something like a jerk that Chielo was no longer moving forward. thus completing a circle with their hosts. and there was a murmur of surprise and disagreement. he has learned to fly without perching. when he slept. There was so much food and drink that many kinsmen whistled in surprise. the fear of the forest.

The hosts nodded in approval and seemed to say. Are you deaf?" Okonkwo roared at her. Her daughter was only ten years old but she was wiser than her years."Come. He was roused in the morning by someone banging on his door. Temporary cooking tripods were erected on every available space by bringing together three blocks of sun-dried earth and making a fire in their midst." he said. And when he did this he saw that his father was pleased. which was part of the night." he began.The drums beat and the flutes sang and the spectators held their breath. His wives and children were very happy too. She would wait at the mouth. An evil forest was. which had dozed in the noon-day haze. The way he said it sent cold fear down Ikemefuna's back.Okonkwo brought out his snuff-bottle and offered it to Ogbuefi Ezenwa.Okoye was also a musician."Umuofia kwenu!" roared Evil Forest. At last Ogbuefi Ezeugo stood up in the midst of them and bellowed four times. I salute you. in their due proportions.As the men drank.