calls you father. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. But he was not the man to go about telling his neighbors that he was in error.

" she said
" she said. he was terribly afraid. "It pleases me to see a young man like you these days when our youth has gone so soft."Why is Okonkwo with us today? This is not his clan.And so Obierika went to Mbanta to see his friend. pulled out his staff and thrust it into the earth again. he beat her until she miscarried."Nwoye did not fully understand. but he did not say it. Okonkwo ground his teeth in disgust. The women had come to the church with empty waterpots. trembling. Chielo's voice now came after long intervals. and she was greatly feared. They were among the best wrestlers in all the nine villages. She started to cry. they set off in a body."The birds gathered round to eat what was left and to peck at the bones he had thrown all about the floor. and thank Okonkwo for having looked after him so well and for bringing him back. the son of Obierika. or Evil Spirit.

tangled hair.Ikemefuna heard a whisper close behind him and turned round sharply. and he was not afraid of war. But when she finally appeared holding a cock in her right hand. as her mother had been called in her youth. But he had long learned how to lay that ghost. the distance they had covered."Evil Forest then turned to the other group and addressed the eldest of the three brothers. Without further argument Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping. She will bear you nine sons like the mother of our town.It was going to be Okonkwo's last harvest in Mbanta. Nwoye's mind had gone immediately to Nwayieke. of how his father. closely followed by Nwoye and his two younger brothers.""It is like the story of white men who. But he was not the man to go about telling his neighbors that he was in error.Then the missionaries burst into song. he won his first three converts. Mighty tree branches broke away under them. a light rain had fallen during the night and the soil would not be very hard. Her brass anklets rattled as she danced and her body gleamed with cam wood in the soft yellow light.

Okonkwo ate the food absent-mindedly. This year they were the wise ones. The crowd then shouted with ainger and thirst for blood. and it seldom did. "Let us give them a portion of the Evil Forest. Okonkwo's first son. When he died this morning. "she will bring you back very soon. Was it waiting to snap its teeth together? After passing and re-passing by the church. he beat her again so that if the neighbors had not gone in to save her she would have been killed." He was talking about Okonkwo."'We know you too well. and the women sat on a sisal mat spread on a raised bank of earth. let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him. "If you had been poor in your last life I would have asked you to be rich when you come again." He was talking about Okonkwo. many years." Ekwefi said to the woman who had stood shoulder to shoulder with her since the beginning of the matches. but when they went away Okonkwo sat still for a very long time supporting his chin in his palms.""Yes."Do what you are told.

The people of the sky thought it must be their custom to leave all the food for their king.The elders. indeed. 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. But it would be impolite to rush him.When the women retired. and asked Okonkwo to have a word with him outside. and it could not be done later because harvesting would soon set in. He would return with a flourish. as when she first set out. Every man can see it in his own compound. "1 want Okonkwo to answer me. the priestess of Agbala. I fear for you. It was only then that they exchanged greetings and shook hands over what was left of the food. He even remembered how he had laughed when Ikemefuna told him that the proper name for a corn cob with only a few scattered grains was eze-agadi-nwayi. who was the priest of the earth goddess. and his happiest moments were the two or three moons after the harvest when the village musicians brought down their instruments. the one young and beautiful. of all people. and he gave to Vulture rain wrapped in leaves of coco-yam.

" he said. Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing. The air. and scorched all the green that had appeared with the rains. She knew her daughter was safe.""Nwoye is old enough to impregnate a woman. and so they made them that offer which nobody in his right senses would accept. They seemed to forget all about him as soon as they had taken the decision. She knelt on her knees and hands at the threshold and called her husband. Sometimes he turned round and chased after those men. more fierce than it had ever been known." said Ekwefi. But on further thought he told himself that Nwoye was not worth fighting for. Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly.It was a long and weary journey and Ekwefi felt like a sleepwalker most of the way. some of them with their water-pots to the stream. The first rains were late. tangled and dirty hair.In the distance the drums continued to beat. They have a big market in Abame on every other Afo day and. The titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin.

On the second day Uchendu called together his sons and daughters and his nephew."At that moment Obierika's son. On receiving such a message through a younger brother or sister." Okonkwo was specially fond of Ezinma. "You are our teacher."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.The night was very quiet. "A child's fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm. and turned to his sons and daughters. He addressed Nwakibie. These court messengers were greatly hated in Umuofia because they were foreigners and also arrogant and high-handed. And what do you think the Oracle would do then?""You know very well. "Our duty is not to blame this man or to praise that. pointing at the far wall of his hut. Everybody was lean except Cat. and Nwakibie's two grown-up sons were also present in his obi. Ezinma.On a moonlight night it would be different. The spell of sunshine which always came in the middle of the wet season did not appear."That is the money from your yams.Okonkwo did as the priest said.

Obierika then presented to him a small bundle of short broomsticks. When he thought he had waited long enough he again returned to the shrine. Umuofia has decided to kill him. As they cut grass in the morning the younger men sang in time with the strokes of their machetes:"Kotma of the ashy buttocks."The village has outlawed us. had gone to consult Agbala. Then she suddenly turned round and began to walk back to the road. He asked Okagbue to come up and rest while he took a hand."Ezinma went outside and brought some sticks from a huge bundle of firewood. 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. blowing it with her breath."Okonkwo was very lucky in his daughters. because her father had called her one evening and said to her: "There are many good and prosperous people here.That was many years ago. male and female. I did not hang myself. He always said that whenever he saw a dead man's mouth he saw the folly of not eating what one had in one's lifetime. And so everybody came to see the white man. 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. His mother's kinsmen had been very kind to him. But he was happy to leave his father.

"Yes. New yams could not be eaten until some had first been offered to these powers. "Blessed is he who forsakes his father and his mother for my sake. pointing at the far wall of his hut."I am following Chielo. Machi. It was even heard in the surrounding villages. dug her teeth into the real thing. At last I went to my in-laws and said to them. Somebody was dead.""He has.But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through. Then he remembered that he had not taken out his snuff-spoon. cooking and eating. What she had seen was the shape of a man climbing a palm tree. who only stayed in the hope that it might come to chasing the men out of the village or whipping them. Early that morning as he offered a sacrifice of new yam and palm oil to his ancestors he asked them to protect him.""He tapped three of my best palm trees to death. Stories about these strange men had grown sim one of them had been killed in Abame and his iron horse tied to the sacred silk-cotton tree. "They had been warned that danger was ahead. He would be very much happier working on his farm.

- one could not have known where one's mouth was in the darkness of that night."You will blow your eyes out."Father. Okonkwo and the two boys were working on the red outer walls of the compound."I must go home to tap my palm trees for the afternoon. Everybody was killed. who had risen so suddenly from great poverty and misfortune to be one of the lords of the clan. stood near the edge of the pit because he wanted to take in all that happened. you have become a woman indeed. It was clear from his twinkling eyes that he had important news.Ezinma grew up in her father's exile and became one of the most beautiful girls in Mbanta. Mr. Evil Forest then stood up." said Obierika.""Too much of his grandfather. He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. 'Then we can eat the chick. Although they come from a village that is known for being closefisted.That night he collected his most valuable belongings into head-loads.The night was impenetrably dark. They were possessed by the spirit of the drums.

"Come and shake hands with me. took the lump of chalk. and earth rose. when she had seen Ogbu-agali-odu. "But I want all of you to note what 1 am going to say.As soon as his father walked in." continued Odukwe. called round his neighbors and made merry. male and female. "I will tell Obierika's wife that you are coming later. "Beware. Obiageli. "So he must have a wife and all of them must have buttocks. And then after another lifetime these men opened the caves again and the locusts came to Umuofia. "that he repeated over and over again a word that resembled Mbaino. But the third created a big sensation even among the elders who did not usually show their excitement so openly." said Okonkwo. Her mother consoled her and promised to buy her her another pot. Every market day. then." He pulled his staff from the hard earth and thrust it back.

suddenly found an outlet. and his children the while praying to the white man's god. Umuofia."1 am one of them. The birds were silenced in the forests. Ekwefi was reassured. Women and children returning from the stream with pots of water on their heads wondered what was happening until they saw Okagbue and guessed that it must be something to do with ogbanje. "People traveled more in those days. Obierika."We had meant to set out from my house before cockcrow. The hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and in fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul??the question of the twins crying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killed. "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. a long.The priestess' voice came at longer intervals now.Go-di-di-go-go-di-go.Then the tragedy of his first son had occurred. He remembered once when men had talked in low tones with his father. Only the really great men in the clan were able to do this. and she guessed they must be on the village ilo. He slapped the ear and hoped he had killed it. He had not hoped to get more than four hundred seeds.

But the really exciting moments were when a man was thrown. and the children who sang songs of welcome to them. In the end the fearless ones went near and even touched him. and what is good among one people is an abomination with others. had crawled out of the shrine on her belly like a snake.""Too much of his grandfather. Ekwefi and her only daughter.It was not yet noon on the second day of the New Yam Festival. Even those which Nwoye knew already were told with a new freshness and the local flavor of a different clan. He had lost the chance to lead his warlike clan against the new religion.""Ee-e-e!"The oldest man in the camp of the visitors replied: "It will be good for you and it will be good for us. Ojiugo." he answered. and the elusive dance rose and fell with the wind."Don't be foolish."Tortoise turned to the birds and said: 'You remember that my name is All of you. "That is the story. They called him the little bird nza who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his chi." said Ezinma. "They are pieces of wood and stone. But as he flew home his long talon pierced the leaves and the rain fell as it had never fallen before.

like the snapping of a tightened bow." said one of them." He paused for a long while. If they imagined what was inside. and the tuber was pulled out. His mother's kinsmen had been very kind to him." said Ibe. After the pot-bearers came Ibe. Nobody thought that such a thing could ever happen." said Ezinma. He fell and fell and fell until he began to fear that he would never stop falling. And he was afraid to look back." said Machi.""Yes. Nwoye. Sometimes he decided that a yam was too big to be sown as one seed and he split it deftly along its length with his sharp knife. They argued for a short while and fell into silence again. It had to be done slowly and carefully. Okonkwo and his family went to the farm with baskets of seed-yams. Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly.' 'You must return the duckling.

Okonkwo was among them."That will not be enough." said one of the cousins. There were only four titles in the clan." He waved his arm where most of the young men sat. He could not ask another man to build his own obi for him. She pulled again and it came off."Where else but in his house in the hills and the caves?" replied the priestess. "1 told you. Our elders say that the sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them. His enemies said his good fortune had gone to his head." he said. and at the end he had been taken out and handed over to a stranger." he said. ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn. Then the rain became less violent. trembling.One day a neighbor called Okoye came in to see him."Uzowulu's body. 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. But the Christians had told the white man about the accident.

A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it hatches. He knew that Nwakibie would not refuse him. and they had quickened their steps. The men stood outside the circle. It was clear from his twinkling eyes that he had important news.The whole village turned out on the ilo. And indeed he was possessed by the fear of his father's contemptible life and shameful death. But she picked her way easily on the sandy footpath hedged on either side by branches and damp leaves. His name was Okagbue Uyanwa. as if he was going to pounce on somebody. Last year neither of them had thrown the other even though the judges had allowed the contest to go on longer than was the custom. some were orators who spoke for the clan. tangled and dirty hair.Okonkwo returned when he felt the medicine had cooked long anough. touching the earth. 'It cried and raved and cursed me."On the following Sunday. But 1 thought you would need the money now and so I brought it. They were already far enough where they stood and there was room for running away if any of them should go towards them.Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son's development. now said"You told us with your own mouth that there was only one god.

They sat in a big circle on the ground and the young bride in the center with a hen in her right hand. and men dashed about in frenzy. The Lord shall have them in derision. "You fear that you will die."Remove your jigida first. His name was Okagbue Uyanwa. Uchendu. When Ekwefi had followed the priestess. All the family were there and some of the neighbors too." she replied and disappeared in the darkness. Sometimes he decided that a yam was too big to be sown as one seed and he split it deftly along its length with his sharp knife. Why do they always go for one's ears? When he was a child his mother had told him a story about it.The first cock had not crowed. "Where are you going?" he asked. The men were seized and beaten until they streamed with blood." said Okonkwo." Okonkwo asked himself. Onwumbiko??"Death. armed with sheathed machetes."At last the hen was plucked clean. She was the ultimate judge of morality and conduct.

Some kinsmen ate it with egusi soup and others with bitter-leaf soup." she began. you sow your yams on exhausted farms that take no labor to clear. There were only three such boys in each team.""Oho. because there was no humanity there.""It is like the story of white men who. I shall pay you.'"He began to eat and the birds grumbled angrily. It was like the market. he took with him his flute. I also kill a cock at the shrine of Ifejioku. But almost immediately a shout of joy broke out in all directions. "That boy calls you father. The pit was now so deep that they no longer saw the digger. Men stirred on their bamboo beds and listened anxiously.In spite of this incident the New Yam Festival was celebrated with great joy in Okonkwo's household. Nwoye would feign annoyance and grumble aloud about women and their troubles. The short trees and sparse undergrowth which surrounded the men's village began to give way to giant trees and climbers which perhaps had stood from the beginning of things. She could no longer think. Quick as the lightning of Amadiora.

Okonkwo worked on the outside of the wall and the boys worked from within." Obierika replied sharply. and hung their goatskin bags and sheathed machetes over their left shoulders. which was shaved in places."At last the hen was plucked clean. women and children left their work or their play and ran into the open to see the unfamiliar sight. As the Ibo say: "When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk.- the only thing worth demonstrating was strength. and so the victim could not be buried in her bowels. and no longer rebuked him or beat him. there was always a large quantity of food left over at the end of the day."I did not say He had a wife. The locusts settled in the bushes for the night and their wings became wet with dew. The Lord shall have them in derision. We are only his mother's kinsmen. unless it be the emotion of anger. They must have bypassed it long ago. and everybody agreed that he was as sharp as a razor." said Ofoedu. Although her husband's wives were saying that it was nothing more than iba. white foam rose and spilled over.

and with him were his father and uncle. broke into life and activity. you have become a woman indeed. Abame??I know them all. but they never brought them into the village. stood immediately behind the only gate in the red walls. it was in large. It was addressed as "Our Father. Her husband had brought out more yams than usual because the medicine man had to be fed. I implore you. This roasted yam soaked in red palm-oil and eaten in the open farm was sweeter than any meal at home. He wore a haggard and mournful look except when he was drinking or playing on his flute." came the voice like a sharp knife cutting through the night. "on an Eke market day a little band of fugitives came into our town.""If we leave our gods and follow your god.The daughters of the family were all there. was among them. just as he would not attempt to start it in the heart of the dry season." At the same time the priestess also said. full of power and beauty. Even the sacred fish in their mysterious lake have fled and the lake has turned the color of blood.

Why should that be? How are you different from other men who shave their hair? The same God created you and them. And so Nwoye was developing into a sad-faced youth."You will blow your eyes out. and after they had shaken hands he asked Okonkwo who they were. She shut her eyes for a while and opened them again in an effort to see. His own home had gradually become very faint and distant. When the will of the goddess had been done. They were very happy and began to prepare themselves for the great day. The yams put on luxuriant green leaves. they kept their imagination to themselves. twenty years or more. "Your wrestling the other day gave me much happiness. Why was that?"Okonkwo shook his head. but she must wait for Ezinma to wake."That is not the end of the story. afraid of your next-door neighbor. Darkness was around the corner." replied Odukwe. but never heard its voice."Who taps your tall trees for you?" asked Obierika. some alligator pepper and a lump of white chalk.

The heathen say you will die if you do this or that. armed with sheathed machetes. Obierika." said Ezinma. And before the cock crowed Okonkwo and his family were fleeing to his motherland.Just then the distant beating of drums began to reach them." he asked. "1 shall wait here. A young man from one team danced across the center to the other side and pointed at whomever he wanted to fight. do you know me?""How can I know you. "The children are still very young. forty-five. "Umuofia kwenu." said one man. and they closed in."Have you?" asked Obierika. Kiaga's joy was very great. But her love of wrestling contests was still as strong as it was thirty years ago. "That boy calls you father. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. But he was not the man to go about telling his neighbors that he was in error.