emanation of the god of water. He would speak to him after the isa-ifi ceremony. where his friend gave them out year by year to sharecroppers.

But they have cast you out like lepers
But they have cast you out like lepers. But when he reached Tortoise's house he told his wife to bring out all the hard things in the house. taking their bride home to spend seven market weeks with her suitor's family. and was about to say something when the old man continued:"Yes. as a sullen husband refuses his wife's food when they have quarrelled. But I think you ought to break it. 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. what do we do? Do we go and stop his mouth? No. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy. But in absence of work. His visitor was amazed. But it only lasted till the end of the service. After waiting in vain for her dish he went to her hut to see what she was doing. when they died. Although her husband's wives were saying that it was nothing more than iba. to inquire what was amiss. Even those which Nwoye knew already were told with a new freshness and the local flavor of a different clan. It was Nwoye's mother. Some were great farmers. who had taken two titles. A steady cloud of smoke rose from his head. and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. The suitor just goes on bringing bags of cowries until his in-laws tell him to stop. and terror seized her." replied the other. He pushed the thought out of his mind. it is for you.At last the young man who was pouring out the wine held up half a horn of the thick."1 don't know.

" He danced a few more steps and went away. they became the lords of the land. and his children the while praying to the white man's god." But before they went he whispered something to his first wife."At last the hen was plucked clean. One morning three of them came to my house. On the second day Uchendu called together his sons and daughters and his nephew. She buried her face in her lap and waited. forty."Two years ago. like coco-yams. Kiaga. And so Tortoise ate the best part of the food and then drank two pots of palm-wine." He waved at his sons and daughters. As our fathers said. She went in and knocked at his door and he came out." Nwoye's mother said. But almost immediately a shout of joy broke out in all directions. among the missionaries in Umuofia. I shall pay my big debts first. because it judged a man by the work or his hands.""That cannot be." said Okonkwo after a pause. When they were out of earshot.""It is so indeed. thought that it was possible that they would also be received." They were hard and painful on the body as they fell. He could not understand it until he looked back and saw that what he led at the end of the tether was not a goat but a heavy log of wood. Ezinma was crying loudly now.

Okonkwo and his family worked very hard to plant a new farm."Then listen to me.Okonkwo and his family worked very hard to plant a new farm. The whole church raised a protest and was about to drive these people out. The ill-fated lad was called Ikemefuna. and because of their ash-colored shorts they earned the additional name of Ashy Buttocks. And the other boy was flat on his back. thirty-five. It was a gay and airy kind of rain. and then you will know. They were all fully dressed as if they were going to a big clan meeting or to pay a visit to a neighboring village. suddenly found an outlet. Unoka went into an inner room and soon returned with a small wooden disc containing a kola nut. This one had only one hand and it carried a basket full of water. tall. their hoes and machetes.""Oho. He was the oldest man in Ire. But let us ostracize these men."That is very good. He accepted the half-full horn from his brother and drank it. They had built a court where the District Commissioner judged cases in ignorance. and none of them died. He asked the birds to take a message for his wife. His mother had wept bitterly. But a few years later she ran away from her husband and came to live with Okonkwo. Uzowulu should recover from his madness and come in the proper way to beg his wife to return she will do so on the understanding that if he ever beats her again we shall cut off his genitals for him. There were nine of them."There must be something behind it.

he was already one of the greatest men of his time. There were five groups. and no longer rebuked him or beat him. Okonkwo stood by the pit.Ekwefi was tired and sleepy from the exhausting experiences of the previous night. Some of them were not at home and only four came in. and her arms folded across her breasts. the distance they had covered. Kiaga restrained them. Children no longer stayed indoors but ran about singing:"The rain is falling. and of the bird eneke-nti-oba who challenged the whole world to a wrestling contest and was finally thrown by the cat.""He tapped three of my best palm trees to death." said Obierika.The night was very quiet. And so on this particular night as the crier's voice was gradually swallowed up in the distance. greeted Okonkwo and turned towards the compound. But she refused them all. It was as if water had been poured on the tightened skin of a drum." ';."I cannot understand why you refused to come with us to kill that boy. a large crowd of men from Ezeudu's quarter stormed Okonkwo's compound. conversing with his father in low tones. He had lost the chance to lead his warlike clan against the new religion. carrying his stool and his goatskin bag." he told her. Everybody was killed. which the first wife alone could wear. Iweka. 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.

in the same way as they would meet if a death occurred . and the man growled at him to go on and not stand looking back. as if that was paying the big debts first. The oldest man present said sternly that those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble."Ekwefi did as she was asked." he said."Ezeudu was a great man. he burst out laughing. She continually ran into the luxuriant weeds and creepers that walled in the path. The meat was then shared so that every member of the umunna had a portion. And in all the nine villages of Umuofia a town crier with his ogene asked every man to be present tomorrow morning. And for the first time they had a woman." said Uchendu to his peers when they consulted among themselves. It was clear that the bags were full of cowries." Ekwefi said firmly. and although ailing she seemed determined to live. During those years no single day passed in the sky without his beating the woman. who stood beside her. or the children of Eru. But although Okonkwo was a great man whose prowess was universally acknowledged. All the women shouted with joy because Ekwefi's troubles were at last ended. younger men gave way and the tumult subsided. If a gang of efulefu decided to live in the Evil Forest it was their own affair. Gome. And then suddenly she had begun to shiver in the night. "The evil you have done can ruin the whole clan.' said Tortoise. She determined to nurse her child to health. that the girl should go to Ogbuefi Udo to replace his murdered wife.

and went into the village in the morning to preach the gospel. who was now in charge of the infant congregation. She was Okonkwo's second wife Ekwefi. I would have asked you to get life. the people of the sky set before their guests the most delectable dishes Tortoise had even seen or dreamed of. Unoka would play with them. and she swore within her that if she heard Ezinma cry she would rush into the cave to defend her against all the gods in the world. "before I kill you!" He seized a heavy stick that lay on the dwarf wall and hit him two or three savage blows. Okonkwo had not bought snuff from him for a long time. If I had not seen the few survivors with my own eyes and heard their story with my own ears. He accepted the half-full horn from his brother and drank it. Because he had taken titles. And ten thousand men answered "Yaa!" each time. Ezinma struggled to escape from the choking and overpowering steam. His enemies said his good fortune had gone to his head. But the Hills and the Caves were as silent as death. and long stacks of yam stood out prosperously in it. Umuofia has decided to kill him. Kiaga."When he killed Oduche in the fight over the land. It was only when he had got there that it had occurred to him that the priestess might have chosen to go round the villages first. Even the oldest men could only remember one or two other occasions somewhere in the dim past. Mosquito. and about some effeminate men who had refused to come with them.The wrestlers were not there yet and the drummers held the field. The only work that men did at this time was covering the walls of their compound with new palm fronds. It was for this man that Okonkwo worked to earn his first seed yams." he swore. Obierika's son.

indeed. But the second time did not count. The men stood outside the circle." ';.""All their customs are upside-down. His name was Okagbue Uyanwa. ignorant of the love of God. The sickness was an abomination to the earth. We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers. "And he was riding an iron horse. 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. You know his first wife who walks with a stick?""Yes. the men returned with a pot of wine."I must go home to tap my palm trees for the afternoon. It was Okonkwo's uncle. who had joined in plucking the feathers.Ekwefi still had some cassava left on her farm from the previous year. anxiety. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women's stories.- he was full of cunning. and the cannon shattered the silence. Even Mgbafo took to her heels and had to be restrained by her brothers. They had not thought about that. The other people were released. He laughed loud and long and his voice rang out clear as the ogene. Uzowulu. and his relatives.- they all fled in terror. There was so much food and drink that many kinsmen whistled in surprise.

Some of them will even ride the iron horse themselves. He was light in complexion and his eyes were red and fiery. She would die with her.What moved Obierika to visit Okonkwo was the sudden appearance of the latter's son. and the crowd yelled in answer. He was like the man in the song who had ten and one wives and not enough soup for his foo-foo. She buried her face in her lap and waited." said Okonkwo. It was always quiet except on moonlight nights." said Obierika. This was about eight days after the fight. Some of them were too angry to eat. until crops withered and the dead could not be buried because the hoes broke on the stony Earth. It was not very long since they had returned. go in peace. the son of Obierika. Our hosts in the sky will expect us to honor this age-old custom. Could he remember them all? He would tell her about Nwoye and his mother. Nothing that happened in the world of the animals ever escaped his notice. And so he killed her.She wore a coiffure which was done up into a crest in the middle of the head. "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. "I have even heard that in some tribes a man's children belong to his wife and her family. Chielo passed by." said Mgbogo's next-door neighbor. and on the other the offer of a young man and a virgin as compensation.The night was impenetrably dark. He heard the blow. a man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness.

carrying the stamp of their mutilation??a missing finger or perhaps a dark line where the medicine man's razor had cut them. The clan was worried. it is play'. malevolent." said the interpreter. There were also pots of yam pottage."Your buttocks understand our language. The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did." said Obierika. It was said that when such a spirit appeared. The air. Then he tried to settle the matter the way he used to settle such matters when he was a little boy. The wailing of the women would not be heard beyond the village." said Okagbue. We pray for life. There was a light wind blowing. thus completing a circle with their hosts. It was full of meat and fish. The younger of his sons. The suitor just goes on bringing bags of cowries until his in-laws tell him to stop. It was the justice of the earth goddess. and he saw himself taking the highest title in the land. the one young and beautiful. degenerate and effeminate? Perhaps he was not his son. It was then uncertain whether the low rumbling of Amadiora's thunder came from above or below. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut. for he knew certainly that something was amiss. leaving what we are cooking to burn in the fire." said the interpreter.

Throughout that day Nwoye sat in his mother's hut and tears stood in his eyes. When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt. All was silent. Nwoye's mother went to him and placed her hands on his chest and on his back. meanwhile. Obierika presented kola nuts to his in-laws. when he saw Nwoye among the Christians. women and children. pushed back the bolt on his door and ran into Ekwefi's hut. He told them that they worshipped false gods. The first thing he would do would be to rebuild his compound on a more magnificent scale. She then went down on one knee." replied her mother.""An albino." said Obierika. That is a wise action. who was then an ailing man. During those years no single day passed in the sky without his beating the woman. go home before Agbala does you harm." she called. Njide.The woman with whom she talked was called Chielo." Ezinma said. asked her""Remember that if you do not answer truthfully you will suffer or even die at childbirth. But good men who worshipped the true God lived forever in His happy kingdom. and asking it if it had brought home any lengths of cloth. no matter how heavily the family ate or how many friends and relatives they invited from neighboring villages. Every nerve and every muscle stood out on their arms. If you give me some yam seeds I shall not fail you.

" said Obierika. And then after another lifetime these men opened the caves again and the locusts came to Umuofia. full of power and beauty. His name was Maduka. 'If I fall down for you and you fall down for me. His greatest friend. A sudden hush had fallen on the women."Ah.He took a pot of palm-wine and a cock to Nwakibie. was the wife of Ogbuefi Udo. despite his madness.Okonkwo knew she was not speaking the truth. Obierika's second wife followed with a pot of soup."Okoli was not there to answer." he said. I have come to pay you my respects and also to ask a favor. but that year-had been enough to break the heart of a lion. for you people. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. a long. If we put ourselves between the god and his victim we may receive blows intended for the offender. "He hardly ever walks.The priestess' voice was already growing faint in the distance. It was such a forest that. with a full beard and a bald head. She saw the other children with their water-pots and remembered that they were going to fetch water for Obierika's wife. His eldest brother broke the first one."I do not know the answer. I forgot to tell you another thing which the Oracle said.

"How can I know?" Ekwefi wanted her to work it out herself. which was shaved in beautiful patterns.Okonkwo sprang from his bed. The people surged forward."When your wife becomes pregnant again.One day a neighbor called Okoye came in to see him. We are better than animals because we have kinsmen. She knelt on her knees and hands at the threshold and called her husband. The youngest of them was four years old.Ezinma was still sleeping when everyone else was astir. When Okonkwo brought him home that day he called his most senior wife and handed him over to her. It was like the pulsation of its heart. I cannot yet find a mouth with which to tell the story. The earth burned like hot coals and roasted all the yams that had been sown. He always gnashed his teeth as he listened to those who came to consult him.Ezinma lay shivering on a mat beside a huge fire that her mother had kept burning all night."We have now built a church. Then it went nearer and named the village: " Iguedo of the yellow grinding-stone!" It was Okonkwo's village. long way from home. Every woman immediately abandoned whatever she was doing and rushed out in the direction of the cry. who must taste his wine before anyone else. and asked Okonkwo to have a word with him outside. But Chielo's voice was still a long way away. in the other hand. But no one thought It would be as long as three years. and the crowd followed her.The wrestlers were now almost still in each other's grip. There was foo-foo and yam pottage.""And so everybody comes.

There were nine of them. They were possessed by the spirit of the drums." he said. "and her child is not twenty-eight days yet. It was evening and the sun was settingUchendu's eldest daughter. Kiaga. 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. Why do the nations rage and the peoples imagine a vain thing? He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh." he said. The lad's name was Ikemefuna." said Obierika to his son." answered his first wife. and the smell of burning hair blended with the smell of cooking. Not long after. No matter how prosperous a man was. Ezinma turned left as if she was going to the stream."Ekwefi came out from her hut carrying her oil lamp in her left hand." He got up painfully. He was in fact a coward and could not bear the sight of blood. A few moments later he went behind the hut and began to vomit painfully. As the rains became heavier the women planted maize. the owner of all land." said the priestess.' Those men of Abame were fools. rubbed his left palm on his body to dry it before tipping a little snuff into it.'"'You do not know me. The youngest of them was four years old." said Okonkwo. But no one was sure where it was coming from.

Nwoye's mind had gone immediately to Nwayieke. An animal rubs its itching flank against a tree." asked Obierika.One morning Okonkwo's cousin. The suitor just goes on bringing bags of cowries until his in-laws tell him to stop. who was now in charge of the infant congregation.""It is already too late. He had cracked them himself. what do we do? Do we go and stop his mouth? No. and asked no questions. Violent deaths were frequent." Obierika said to Nwoye. Akueni.Ikemefuna had begun to feel like a member of Okonkwo's family. too busy to argue. "All the gods you have named are not gods at all. and Okonkwo filled his horn again. was celebrating his daughter's uri."It was in the second year of Okonkwo's exile that his friend. At last the man was named and people sighed "E-u-u. It was a rare achievement. They were silent for a long time. How could she know that Ekwefi's bitterness did not flow outwards to others but inwards into her own soul.When they had all gathered. He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. All that he required was something to occupy his mind. I shall do that every year until you return. Okonkwo. except his priestess.

on the other hand. Clearly his personal god or chi was not made for great things. As the Ibo say: "When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk. Okonkwo!" she warned. The troublesome nanny-goat sniffed about. and his relatives. But the boy was afraid of him and slipped out of the hut as soon as he noticed him dozing. and only one or two men in any generation ever achieved the fourth and highest." And so they all went to help Obierika's wife??Nwoye's mother with her four children and Ojiugo with her two. How could such a man be a follower of Christ?"He needs Christ more than you and I. "If you split another yam of this size. 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. A deathly silence descended on Okonkwo's compound. will not understand me."No. I shall pay my big debts first."It is false.""Does the white man understand our custom about land?""How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are bad.As soon as the day broke. I owe them no yams. How could she know that Ekwefi's bitterness did not flow outwards to others but inwards into her own soul. somewhat indulgently. Then the crier gave his message. and asked no questions. and about the locusts?? Then quite suddenly a thought came upon him. And he knew which trees made the strongest bows."Is it well?" Okonkwo asked. How old is she now?""She is about ten years old.""But someone had to do it.

You have committed a great evil. But the Christians had told the white man about the accident. 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. it would not be done. He would build a bigger barn than he had had before and he would build huts for two new wives. which was shaved in places. But I think you ought to break it. a machete for cutting down the soft cassava stem. "I shall tell them my mind if they do."That will not be enough. And let me tell you one thing. The children stood in the darkness outside their hut watching the strange event."The weeping was now quite close and soon the children filed in. And they were right. and by then he had become gravely worried. There is only one true God and He has the earth." said Obierika. called round his neighbors and made merry. "they killed him and tied up his iron horse. And before the cock crowed Okonkwo and his family were fleeing to his motherland. They throw away large numbers of men and women without burial. No punishment was prescribed for a man who killed the python knowingly. The bride's mother led the way. the old man supporting himself with his stick. He played on the ogene. May all you took out return again tenfold. They have said so. The lad's name was Ikemefuna. "Tortoise and Cat went to wrestle against Yams??no.

and the dry. and brought back a duckling. and even now he could still hear it as it grew dimmer and dimmer in the distance. It contained other things apart from his snuff-bottle. saw clearly that Okonkwo had yielded to despair and he was greatly troubled. Okonkwo sprang to his feet and quickly sat down again. "He hardly ever walks. It was very much like Obiageli. which were passed round for all to see and then returned to him. What would she do when they got to the cave? She would not dare to enter. "do you not grow yams where you come from?"Inwardly Okonkwo knew that the boys were still too young to understand fully the difficult art of preparing seed-yams. All others stood except those who came early enough to secure places on the few stands which had been built by placing smooth logs on forked pillars. The heathen speak nothing but falsehood. was a man's crop. But Ekwefi and Ezinma had heard the noise and run out to see what it was.A hush fell on the compound immediately."Remove your jigida first. Many young men have come to me to ask for yams but I have refused because I knew they would just dump them in the earth and leave them to be choked by weeds. It was like a man wondering in broad daylight why a dream had appeared so terrible to him at night. to harvest cassava tubers. Soon it covered half the sky. She must have heard a noise behind her and turned round sharply. "on an Eke market day a little band of fugitives came into our town. Nwoye's mother swore at her and settled down again to her peeling. That was in fact the reason why he had come to see Unoka. Soon it covered half the sky. "Let us go. and in its place a sort of smile hovered. away from the crowd.

He was tall and huge. Okonkwo had slaughtered a goat for her. away from the gates of God and from the tender shepherd's care.""If we leave our gods and follow your god.""They have indeed soiled the name of ozo.Sometimes a man came to consult the spirit of his dead father or relative. And there was eating and drinking till night. and Umuofia was still swallowed up in sleep and silence when the ekwe began to talk. They haggle and bargain as if they were buying a goat or a cow in the market." he mocked. my daughter."Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?" Okagbue had asked Ezinma.Uzowulu stepped forward and presented his case. fire does not burn them?" Ezinma. And what was more. white dregs and said. The suitor just goes on bringing bags of cowries until his in-laws tell him to stop. No ogbanje would yield her secrets easily.Large crowds began to gather on the village ilo as soon as the edge had worn off the sun's heat and it was no longer painful on the body. 1 know how to deal with them. You see. He tried not to think about Ikemefuna. the white missionary."Nwoye did not fully understand. His death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles. and the little children to visit their playmates in the neighboring compounds.""Oho. and the crowd yelled in answer. roots and barks of medicinal trees and shrubs.

We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas."Akueke moved to the other end of the hut and began to remove the waist-beads.'"Parrot promised to deliver the message. and in a basket beside her were green vegetables and beans.With a father like Unoka. Then he burst out:"Never kill a man who says nothing. It came from the direction of the ilo." said Idigo. She slowed down her pace so as to increase the distance between them. 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 we would be like Abame. The next morning they were roasted in clay pots and then spread in the sun until they became dry and brittle. Ekwefi hurried to the main footpath and turned left in the direction of the voice. for his father's relatives to see. it was true. it is for you. They did not stay very long."Tufia-al" the priestess cursed. And there was eating and drinking till night. and offered prayers to them on behalf of himself.Ekwefi did not answer. Obierika. It was a cry in the distance: oji odu aru ijiji-o-o! (The one that uses its tail to drive flies away!). and the quiet spectators murmured to themselves. She went. and allowed a brief pause. And that was also the year Okonkwo broke the peace. It was unheard of to beat somebody during the sacred week. He remembered once when men had talked in low tones with his father.

The bride-price had been paid and all but the last ceremony had been performed." He went away to his hut and Ekwefi began to tend the medicine pot almost as if it was itself a sick child. very much shaken and frightened but quite unhurt. And he told them about this new God."Where are her children? Did she take them?" he asked with unusual coolness and restraint." said Mr. Okonkwo brought out l??s big horn from the goatskin bag." pleaded from a reasonable distance.That was years ago. you can tell a ripe corn by its look. he took with him his flute. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. But he left hold of Nwoye. He died of the swelling which was an abomination to the earth goddess. Njide. There must have been about ten thousand men there.""In future call her into your obi." replied Okonkwo. Only the really great men in the clan were able to do this. broke into life and activity.But somehow Okonkwo could never become as enthusiastic over feasts as most people. which was strengthened by such little conspiracies as eating eggs in the bedroom. They also said I would die if I built my church on this ground. for you people. nine wives and thirty children."Those who knew Amadi laughed. carrying a basket full of water. Then she suddenly turned round and began to walk back to the road." said Uchendu after a long silence.

It is a bad custom because it always leads to a quarrel. Kiaga. In fact he recovered from his illness only a few days before the Week of Peace began. It was a rare achievement. Okonkwo did not know at first that she was not at home. one saw that there was sorrow and grief there. and they no longer spent the evenings in his mother's hut while she cooked. Obierika. On her arms were red and yellow bangles. cutting down every tree or animal they saw. It had not happened for many a long year. Your mother is there to protect you. Many years ago another egwugwu had dared to stand his ground before him and had been transfixed to the spot for two days. a place which was already becoming remote and vague in his imagination."Remove your jigida first. one of those wicked children who. all strong and healthy." He was talking about Okonkwo." he said. The seven wasted and weary years were at last dragging to a close. The daughters of the clan did not return to their homes immediately but spent two more days with their kinsmen." said Ezinma. stood near the edge of the pit because he wanted to take in all that happened. When the women had exacted the penalty they checked among themselves to see if any woman had failed to come out when the cry had been raised. Once he got up from bed and walked about his compound. Obierika sent word that the two huts had been built and Okonkwo began to prepare for his return. followed by the bride and the other women."Yes. in their proper order.

"Ee-e-e!""We are giving you our daughter today. It was the justice of the earth goddess.' Everybody laughed heartily except Okonkwo. But Ezinma had seen clearly all the thought and hidden meaning behind the few words. And perhaps those not so young would be playing in pairs in less open places.During the planting season Okonkwo worked daily on his farms from cock-crow until the chickens went to roost. In ordinary life Chielo was a widow with two children. I did not hang myself. burning forehead. and even now he could still hear it as it grew dimmer and dimmer in the distance."He was not an albino. It was called a string. In the end Parrot. and the smell of burning hair blended with the smell of cooking. and he spoke as he performed them:"1 hope our in-laws will bring many pots of wine. If they imagined what was inside. The crowd roared and clapped and for a while drowned the frenzied drums. roasting and eating maize. But it went from day to day without a pause. How could she know that Ekwefi's bitterness did not flow outwards to others but inwards into her own soul. "That is the story. I greet you. The interpreter explained each verse to the audience. If you give me some yam seeds I shall not fail you. "But what is good in one place is bad in another place. Obiako.One of the men behind him cleared his throat. You know as well as I do that our forefathers ordained that before we plant any crops in the earth we should observe a week in which a man does not say a harsh word to his neighbor. As for the boy.

It is almost dawn. and asking it if it had brought home any lengths of cloth. As the elders said. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. "You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the children. Why is it that when a woman dies she is taken home to be buried with her own kinsmen? She is not buried with her husband's kinsmen. That is why Tortoise's shell is not smooth."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o-o. impotent ash. be cursed with such a son? He saw clearly in it the finger of his personal god or chi."Why is Okonkwo with us today? This is not his clan. The younger of his sons. sang for mercy. Evil Forest addressed the two groups of people facing them. and earth and sky once again became separate.Onwumbiko was not given proper burial when he died."No. children. "His shell broke into pieces. Unoka loved it all. Nobody knew how old. Kiaga that he had decided to go to Umuofia where the white missionary had set up a school to teach young Christians to read and write. It all began over the question of admitting outcasts." He waved at his sons and daughters. and was full of the sap of life.One of the men behind him cleared his throat. "She must have broken her waterpot.Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. rubbing off the grains of sand that clung to his thighs.

From then on. "You are already a skeleton. Ikemefuna looked back. waving their palm fronds. he was not afraid now." said Machi. It was a rare achievement. when he was young. He is always in a hurry. Even in those days he was not a man of many words."I must go home to tap my palm trees for the afternoon. but nothing came out. or pounding food.When they had all gathered. and it was said that. and the cannon shattered the silence. Smoke poured out of his head. But the song spread in Umuofia. which was now surrounded by spectators. children sat around their mother's cooking fire telling stories."Will you give Ezinma some fire to bring to me?" Her own children and Ikemefuna had gone to the stream. Even the few kinsmen who had not been able to come had their shares taken out for them in due term. twenty-five. love returned once more to her mother. people said it was refusing food. He would speak to him after the isa-ifi ceremony. At the opposite end of the compound was a shed for the goats. They boast about victory over death. and saw those who stood or sat next to them.

He pressed the trigger and there was a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children. eating the peelings. Unoka went into an inner room and soon returned with a small wooden disc containing a kola nut."Unoka was like that in his last days." They laughed and agreed. The story had arisen among the Christians themselves.""Why?" asked Obierika and Okonkwo together. and on her waist four or five rows of jigida. Okonkwo. And so for three years Ikemefuna lived in Okonkwo's household. Okonkwo ate the food absent-mindedly. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. away from the gates of God and from the tender shepherd's care. But it is not our custom to debar anyone from the stream or the quarry. Their hosts took him as the king of the birds. and she swore within her that if she heard Ezinma cry she would rush into the cave to defend her against all the gods in the world. Surely the earth goddess would not visit the sins of the missionaries on the innocent villagers?But on one occasion the missionaries had tried to over step the bounds. It was like a wedding feast."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Chielo began once again to chant greetings to her god.' he thought as he looked at his ten-year-old daughter. The crowd roared and clapped and for a while drowned the frenzied drums. Obierika pointed at the two heavy bags. Of all his children she alone understood his every mood. As for Ikemefuna. On the last night before the festival.Share-cropping was a very slow way of building up a barn of one's own. 'Don't touch!'But when I hold her waist-beads she pretends not to know. afraid to go in. in spite of his failings in other directions.

"That is the story.When they had harvested a sizable heap they carried it down in two trips to the stream."This is Obierika. Okagbue was a very striking figure." he said. "Somebody is walking behind me!" she said. 'Don't touch!'But when I hold her waist-beads she pretends not to know.Ikemefuna heard a whisper close behind him and turned round sharply. It was an occasion for giving thanks to Ani. He died and rotted away above the earth. And so they walked out together. Some said Okafo was the better man. deeply. But it is not our custom to debar anyone from the stream or the quarry.Large crowds began to gather on the village ilo as soon as the edge had worn off the sun's heat and it was no longer painful on the body. In these seven years he would have climbed to the utmost heights. Even the few kinsmen who had not been able to come had their shares taken out for them in due term. 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. who went to plait her hair at her friend's house and did not return early enough to cook the afternoon meal. The air was cool and damp with dew. Nwoye stood looking at him and did not say a word." said Obierika. There were twenty-two of them. They throw away large numbers of men and women without burial. "and we want you all to come in every seventh day to worship the true God. and he had moments of sadness and depression But he and Nwoye had become so deeply attached to each other that such moments became less frequent and less poignant. "We should do something. She determined to nurse her child to health. dressed in garbs of war.

moved to the center. There was no question of killing a missionary here.Ikemefuna heard a whisper close behind him and turned round sharply. The people of the sky thought it must be their custom to leave all the food for their king.""There is no story that is not true. and he sent his kotma to catch Aneto. After such treatment it would think twice before coming again. and the cannon shattered the silence. "These are now your kinsmen. When they carried him away. He thought of his mother and his three-year-old sister and wept bitterly. fantastic figures that dissolved under her steady gaze and then formed again in new shapes. Their sound was no longer a separate thing from the living village."The medicine man then ordered that there should be no mourning for the dead child."I am following Chielo. You think you are still a child. Obierika. Groups of four or five men sat round with a pot in their midst. and in a basket beside her were green vegetables and beans." he said. Okonkwo told him. which together formed a half moon behind the obi. my friend. The suitor was a young man of about twenty-five."Ah. and they beat the men. The woman was Mgbafo and the three men with her were her brothers. Okonkwo was still pleading that the girl had been ill of late and was asleep. Okonkwo's gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy's heart.

"That is very good."That is very good. 'You have taken back your sister. And he did pounce on people quite often. they say. and none of them died. and ate up all the wild grass in the fields." shouted Chielo. was telling two other men who came to visit him that the punishment for breaking the Peace of Ani had become very mild in their clan." replied Okonkwo. a debtor. Her mother always took her into their bedroom and shut the door. There were also pots of yam pottage. "But I want all of you to note what 1 am going to say."Agbala do-o-o-o! Umuachi! Agbala ekene unuo-o-ol" It was just as Ekwefi had thought. And in a clear unemotional voice he told Umuofia how their daughter had gone to market at Mbaino and had been killed. Okonkwo's first son. they could see from his color and his language. These people are daily pouring filth over us."Uzowulu's body. The women had come to the church with empty waterpots. And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion - to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. tapped it on his kneecap. as on that day." he said when Okonkwo had spoken.""I do not. Ezinma. Everybody soon knew who the boy was. burning forehead.

"We do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. Some said Ezimili. Three men beat them with sticks." said Obierika. and others who could think of nowhere else open to escape. the tumult increased tenfold.One morning Okonkwo's cousin.Okonkwo was well received by his mother's kinsmen in Mbanta. the king of crops. The three women talked excitedly about the relations who had been invited. Abame??I know them all."I shall return very soon. And supporting his mother also meant supporting his father. whereupon Ear fell on the floor in uncontrollable laughter. and the children who sang songs of welcome to them. He could neither marry nor be married by the free-born.""Yes. For many market weeks nothing else happened. Such was Unoka's fate. Ikemefuna called him father. and he saw himself taking the highest title in the land." said Akukalia. else it would break and the thousand tiny rings would have to be strung together again. raised the pot on his left knee and began to pour out the wine. He did not inherit a barn from his father. 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. the emanation of the god of water. He would speak to him after the isa-ifi ceremony. where his friend gave them out year by year to sharecroppers.