long. Another one was wailing near his right ear. But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship. The clan was like a lizard. my sons.

"The next day
"The next day. I think." said one of them." said Obierika. But as they drew near to the outskirts of Umuofia silence fell upon them too. They argued for a short while and fell into silence again. everybody knew by instinct that they were very good to eat." answered his first wife. and prayed that the rain might fall in the night. Of all his children she alone understood his every mood." Okonkwo was specially fond of Ezinma. carrying his stool and his goatskin bag. She is called Ozoemena. the wife who had just been beaten murmured something about guns that never shot. and did as you have been told. He passed her a piece of fish. It was always quiet except on moonlight nights. "my eyelid is twitching.In the distance the drums continued to beat. He was very good on his flute. But the song spread in Umuofia. It was evening and the sun was settingUchendu's eldest daughter. She put back the empty pot on the circular pad in the corner. The men were seized and beaten until they streamed with blood. and by then he had become gravely worried. 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. but no one thought the stories were true. especially at festivals and also when an old man died.It was going to be Okonkwo's last harvest in Mbanta.

and each party brought with them a huge pot of palm-wine. His own home had gradually become very faint and distant. whereupon Ear fell on the floor in uncontrollable laughter. She had balanced it on her head. "We are going directly. more fierce than it had ever been known. Yam foo-foo and vegetable soup was the chief food in the celebration. because their dreaded agadi-nwayi would never fight what the Ibo call a fight of blame. Her fear had vanished. "You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. Palm trees swayed as the wind combed their leaves into flying crests like strange and fantastic coiffure. 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.As soon as his father walked in. Anyone seeing Chielo in ordinary life would hardly believe she was the same person who prophesied when the spirit of Agbala was upon her. but offered to use his teeth." said Evil Forest."On what market-day was it born?" he asked."She has gone to plait her hair. But he had long learned how to lay that ghost. rubbing off the grains of sand that clung to his thighs. the wife who had just been beaten murmured something about guns that never shot. cooking and eating. He had a large barn full of yams and he had three wives. waiting for the women to finish their cooking. Tortoise was very happy and voluble as he flew among the birds. Is it true that Okonkwo nearly killed you with his gun?""It is true indeed. We have tried to settle their quarrels time without number and on each occasion Uzowulu was guilty??""It is a lie!" Uzowulu shouted. quietly and deliberately. and terror seized her.

They seemed to forget all about him as soon as they had taken the decision. The cut bush was left to dry and fire was then set to it. "and leave the child alone.Ekwefi peeled the yams quickly."Mr." Ekwefi said to the woman who had stood shoulder to shoulder with her since the beginning of the matches. He immediately set to work digging a pit where Ezinma had indicated. or playground. Ikemefuna had an endless stock of folk tales. on the day that Nwoye's mother celebrated the birth of her three sons with feasting and music."Ekwefi did as she was asked. And then Nkechi came in."After kola nuts had been presented and eaten. "Life to you. He was ill for three market weeks.There were seven drums and they were arranged according to their sizes in a long wooden basket."Okonkwo had just blown out the palm-oil lamp and stretched himself on his bamboo bed when he heard the ogene of the town crier piercing the still night air. He drank palm-wine from morning till night."They say that Okoli killed the sacred python. who had lived about two hundred years before. and then he continued: "Each group there represents a debt to someone. I shall give you some fish to eat. they have killed me!" as he ran towards him."Our father. You see." said Nwakibie. and all the tragedy and sorrow of her life were packed in those words." He paused for a long time and then said: "I told you on my last visit to Mbanta how they hanged Aneto. "Are you afraid you may dissolve?"The harvesting was easy.

She beckons in front of her and behind her. "But you can explain to her. "What about you? Can you answer my question?"They all shook their heads. Why had Okonkwo withdrawn to the rear? Ikemefuna felt his legs melting under him.""But he had no wings. In the end Oduche died and Aneto was taken to Umuru and hanged. smiled broadly and said to his father: "Do you hear that?" He then said to the others: "He will never admit that I am a good tapper. You have committed a great evil. He would return with a flourish. The moon had been rising later and later every night until now it was seen only at dawn.He brought with him two young men. met to hear a report of Okonkwo's mission.Ekwefi had suffered a good deal in her life.As the broken kola nuts were passed round."Don't cry."Come. younger men gave way and the tumult subsided. and the sands felt like live coals to the feet.""Your chi is very much awake. 'There is nothing to fear from someone who shouts. With this magic fan she beckons to the market all the neighboring clans. afraid to go in. Some of these prisoners were men of title who should be above such mean occupation. drank a little and handed back the horn. He could not ask another man to build his own obi for him. Unoka loved the good hire and the good fellowship."I will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan. Here we say he cannot climb the tall tree but he can tap the short ones standing on the ground. Okonkwo's first wife.

It was Chielo. They would go to such hosts for as long as three or four markets. but that they had many children to feed. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut."And so three goats were slaughtered and a number of fowls. endless space in the presence of Agbala. At such times."Ekwefi. to her right and to her left. Then it went nearer and named the village: " Iguedo of the yellow grinding-stone!" It was Okonkwo's village. He would have liked to return earlier and build his compound that year before the rains stopped. And he went." replied the white man."Yes. The elders of the clan replied.As soon as the priestess stepped into this ring of hills her voice was not only doubled in strength but was thrown back on all sides. Ikemefuna was equally excited. "But I cannot understand these things you tell me. broke into life and activity. Unoka. All that is true. He had had no patience with his father. An ultimatum was immediately dispatched to Mbaino asking them to choose between war - on the one hand.."A little more?? I said a little." At the same time the priestess also said. was a widely-traveled man who knew the customs of different peoples. And in a clear unemotional voice he told Umuofia how their daughter had gone to market at Mbaino and had been killed. But before they left each took back the feather he had lent to Tortoise.

Ekwefi had nothing but good wishes for her. and Odukwe bent down and touched the earth. At first the bride was not among them. "I remember when I was a young boy there was a song about them. It filled him with fire as it had always done from his youth. 'What did the mother of this chick do?' asked the old kite. When they did." Okonkwo said. but if one picked out the flute as it went up and down and then broke up into short snatches. When everyone had drunk two or three horns. Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly. waiting for him. 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. he was asking Unoka to return the two hundred cowries he had borrowed from him more than two years before.But it was really not true that Okonkwo's palm-kernels had been cracked for him by a benevolent spirit. You yourselves took her. for although nobody else knew it."Ee-e-e!"The kola was eaten and the drinking of palm-wine began."He belongs to the clan. He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams. he was terribly afraid. But now she found the half-light of the incipient moon more terrifying than darkness. she thought. So I have brought the matter to the fathers of the clan."My in-law has told you that we went to his house. when Mr.Okonkwo brought out his snuff-bottle and offered it to Ogbuefi Ezenwa." She died in her eleventh month."Ezeudu was a great man.

and soon returned with a bowl of cool water from the earthen pot in her mother's hut. They had something to say for every man. another group with hoes and baskets to the village earth pit. ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn. Tortoise stood up in his many-colored plumage and thanked them for their invitation.The arrival of the missionaries had caused a considerable stir in the village of Mbanta. "One of the young children had opened the gate of the cow-shed.Obierika's compound was as busy as an anthill. Nwoye remembered this period very vividly till the end of his life."Ekwefi."Yes. palm-oil and pepper for the soup. 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. The white man has no sense. Nwoye. Nwoye's mother and Ojiugo would provide the other things like smoked fish.""What will I see?" she asked. But each time she had borne twins. "They are young tubers. After that they began to eat and to drink the wine. now said"You told us with your own mouth that there was only one god." Okonkwo and Obierika said together."It will not take us long to harvest as much as we like.""You were very much like that yourself." said Idigo. When one came to think of it. If a clansman killed a royal python accidentally. and about some effeminate men who had refused to come with them. Chielo's voice now came after long intervals.

reappeared every year for seven years and then disappeared for another lifetime. That was the way people answered calls from outside. Those who found themselves nearest to them merely moved to another seat. what do I do? Do i shut my eyes? No! I take a stick and break his head That is what a man does. The women were screaming outside. spears. But he has not come to wake me up in the morning for it. my friend."Who killed this tree? Or are you all deaf and dumb?"As a matter of fact the tree was very much alive. I would have asked you to get life. They sang his praise and the young women clapped their hands:"Who will wrestle for our village?Okafo will wrestle for our village. took a long broom and swept the ground in front of his father's obi. It would not be long before the suitors came. Once in a while Chielo was possessed by the spirit of her god and she began to prophesy." said Ofoedu." He danced a few more steps and went away." he said.'When Ekwefi brought the hoe.Umuofia was feared by all its neighbors. and within a short time all the birds agreed that he was a changed man. also carrying an oil lamp.""It is so indeed. They are gods of deceit who tell you to kill your fellows and destroy innocent children.""That is true. unlike the deep and liquid rumbling of the rainy season. "Tortoise and Cat went to wrestle against Yams??no. His eldest brother broke the first one." said Mgbogo's next-door neighbor. or playground.

""Have you heard. Unoka was never happy when it came to wars.""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. A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland. I cannot live on the bank of a river and wash my hands with spittle. "lest Agbala be angry with you. Two elderly neighbors were sent for. they kept their imagination to themselves.But Mr. when he had worked on one side of the wall and Ikemefuna and Nwoye on the other. and the hosts looked at each other as if to say. Obierika offered him a lobe of the kola nut he had broken with Okonkwo.'"None of the birds had heard of this custom but they knew that Tortoise. clay and metal instruments went from song to song.Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life. which had been dutifully eating yam peelings."But the leaves will be wet. It descended on him again. and the elders of his family. every man with his goatskin bag hung on one shoulder and a rolled goatskin mat under his arm. i have only a short while to live. the whole clan gathers there. Di-go-go-di-go-di-di-go-go floated in the message-laden night air. for he had no grave." And he told him what an osu was. Guns fired the last salute and the cannon rent the sky. deeply.Ekwefi was tired and sleepy from the exhausting experiences of the previous night. Hisspeech was so eloquent that all the birds were glad they had brought him.

Many years ago when she was the village beauty Okonkwo had won her heart by throwing the Cat in the greatest contest within living memory."Ekwefi came out from her hut carrying her oil lamp in her left hand. He hit the bottle against his knee to shake up the tobacco.""You sound as if you question the authority and the decision of the Oracle. And not only his chi but his clan too. Three converts had gone into the village and boasted openly that all the gods were dead and impotent and that they were prepared to defy them by burning all their shrines. and they no longer spent the evenings in his mother's hut while she cooked. Nwoye's mother was very kind to him and treated him as one of her own children. some of whom now stood enthralled. He put them in the pot and Ekwefi poured in some water."The market of Umuike is a wonderful place.""I think she has. Sometimes the sun shone through the rain and a light breeze blew. And what is the result? An abominable religion has settled among you. He was light in complexion and his eyes were red and fiery. her left palm closed on her fish and her eyes gleaming with tears. Okonkwo. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut."Don't be foolish. but six. if they were stubborn. The fowl Ekwefi had just killed was in the wooden mortar. and brought out his snuff-bottle from the goatskin bag by his side. He asked Okonkwo a few questions about the dead child. they have killed me!" as he ran towards him. or what?"The interpreter spoke to the white man and he immediately gave his answer."Ekwefi did as she was asked. He never stopped regretting that Ezinma was a girl.""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.

""Somebody told me yesterday. In the end Oduche died and Aneto was taken to Umuru and hanged. Di-go-go-di-go-di-di-go-go floated in the message-laden night air. confident voice. he would use his fists. a debtor.Ezinma took the dish in one hand and the empty water bowl in the other and went back to her mother's hut. "If I had a son like him I should be happy. Then the group drank. The spell of sunshine which always came in the middle of the wet season did not appear. which was fastened to the rafters. Young men pounded the foo-foo or split firewood. and the elusive dance rose and fell with the wind. Her name was Nneka. The titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin. He always gnashed his teeth as he listened to those who came to consult him. young and old. He would return later to his mother and his brothers and sisters and convert them to the new faith." he said.On the third day he asked his second wife. and so did his little children. We have albinos among us.' said her mother. You buried it in the ground somewhere so that you can die and return again to torment your mother. was expected to invite large numbers of guests from far and wide. "He seemed to speak through his nose. I do not owe my inlaws anything. they could see from his color and his language. I did not send her away.

"The court messengers did not like to be called Ashy-Buttocks. The spell of sunshine which always came in the middle of the wet season did not appear. So he would make a fresh start. Whenever the thought of his father's weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it by thinking about his own strength and success. who will hold his head up among my people. and it could not be done later because harvesting would soon set in. boomed the hollow metal. Twenty. egusi soup and bitter-leaf soup and pots and pots of palm-wine. the interpreter." said Obierika. and. and the women sat on a sisal mat spread on a raised bank of earth. We did not see it. Her arms were folded across her bare breasts. Obierika and half a dozen other friends came to help and to console him. Chielo passed by. the god of yams." said Nwakibie. As she stood gazing at the circular darkness which had swallowed them. The women weeded the farm three times at definite periods in the life of the yams. But a few years later she ran away from her husband and came to live with Okonkwo. She went on fanning it until it burst into flames. He held out his hands to them when they came into his obi. Mgbafo. Nwoye. she did not hear them. "Ozoemena was. It was a day old.

"I will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan. It always surprised him when he thought of it later that he did not sink under the load of despair." They offered them as much of the Evil Forest as they cared to take."Go to your in-laws with a pot of wine and beg your wife to return to you. He had a bad chi or personal god. When a man was afflicted with swelling in the stomach and the limbs he was not allowed to die in the house. Nwoye's callow mind was greatly puzzled. looked left and right and turned right.""It is like the story of white men who. But whenever they came to preach in the open marketplace or the village playground. but every farmer knew that without sunshine the tubers would not grow. He had therefore put his drinking-horn into his goatskin bag for the occasion. They then set about painting themselves with cam wood and drawing beautiful black patterns on their stomachs and on their backs."Yes. She could not see beyond her nose."No. Her name was Nneka. and something seemed to give way inside him. They danced back to the center together and then closed in."Okonkwo had just blown out the palm-oil lamp and stretched himself on his bamboo bed when he heard the ogene of the town crier piercing the still night air. She had. tangled and dirty hair. They scrubbed and painted the outside walls under the supervision of men. But by the end of the day the sisal rings were burned dry and gray."I have come to you for help. When she came to the main road. At last I went to my in-laws and said to them."I am Evil Forest.And so Obierika went to Mbanta to see his friend.

cooking and eating."He was not an albino. rubbing her eyes and stretching her spare frame.Ezeudu had taken three titles in his life. She was rewarded by occasional spells of health during which Ezinma bubbled with energy like fresh palm-wine.""They dare not bring fewer than thirty pots.His father.Some farmers had not planted their yams yet. How old is she now?""She is about ten years old. and her arms folded across her breasts.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. As soon as the two boys closed in.'"He began to eat and the birds grumbled angrily. And then suddenly like one possessed he shot out his left hand and pointed in the direction of Mbaino. the priest of the earth goddess. whose name was Ibe. "she will bring you back very soon. seeing that the new religion welcomed twins and such abominations. Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. and people came from far and near to consult it. because it had been inadvertent. machetes. Sometimes another village would ask Unoka's band and their dancing egwugwu to come and stay with them and teach them their tunes. He was a great man. when he slept.As night fell. 'You have taken back your sister. The child was called Onwumbiko. They argued for a short while and fell into silence again.

Onwumbiko??"Death. You will have what is good for you and I will have what is good for me. and old men and women would remember their youth." said Nwoye's mother.""That is so. And so people said he had no respect for the gods of the clan. Obiageli took the first dish and returned to her mother's hut. Some of them had been heavily whipped.But Ezinma's iyi-uwa had looked real enough. His mother's kinsmen had been very kind to him. He wore a haggard and mournful look except when he was drinking or playing on his flute. Evergreen trees wore a dusty coat of brown. There were twenty-two of them. "honest men and thieves. Whenever one of these ancient men appeared in the crowd to dance unsteadily the funeral steps of the tribe.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. like leprosy and smallpox. And there was eating and drinking till night. Okonkwo. like coco-yams."Ekwefi turned the hen over in the mortar and began to pluck the feathers. overpowered him and obtained his first human head. These court messengers were greatly hated in Umuofia because they were foreigners and also arrogant and high-handed. But in spite of these disadvantages. Nwoye. He would teach her! But Nwoye resembled his grandfather. a thing set apart??a taboo for ever.'"Parrot promised to deliver the message. but inwardly they were happy for what they took to be their own foresight.

He knew the names of all the birds and could set clever traps for the little bush rodents." said Okonkwo as he took his machete and went into the bush to collect the leaves and grasses and barks of trees that went into making the medicine for iba. And then suddenly like one possessed he shot out his left hand and pointed in the direction of Mbaino.""I don't know how we got that law. you and me and all of us." said the leader of the ecjwucjwu. But if a man caused it. "It is a strange and terrible story. These court messengers were greatly hated in Umuofia because they were foreigners and also arrogant and high-handed. He still missed his mother and his sister and would be very glad to see them.Uchendu took the hen from her. a thing set apart??a taboo for ever. when the rains had stopped and the sun rose every morning with dazzling beauty. refreshed and thankful. Okonkwo had clearly washed his hands and so he ate with kings and elders.Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy - inwardly of course. Then something had given way inside him. In her hand was the cloth pad on which the pot should have rested on her head. young and old. Ekwefi. 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. The law of the clan is that you should return her bride-price. 'Don't touch!' If i hold her footShe says. It had to be done slowly and carefully. They had built their church there. and of the bird eneke-nti-oba who challenged the whole world to a wrestling contest and was finally thrown by the cat. He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's return. "We do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. They called him the little bird nza who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his chi.

He took a pot of palm-wine and a cock to Nwakibie. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. pointing with his finger.The world was silent except for the shrill cry of insects. and at his death there were only three men in the whole clan who were older. At the most one could say that his chi or personal god was good. They were talking excitedly among themselves because the white man had said he was going to live among them. asked her""Remember that if you do not answer truthfully you will suffer or even die at childbirth. Why had Okonkwo withdrawn to the rear? Ikemefuna felt his legs melting under him." He waved his arm where most of the young men sat."Let me make the fire for you. Living fire begets cold." and Okoye saw groups of short perpendicular lines drawn in chalk. A bowl of pounded yams can throw him in a wrestling match. It was powerful in war and in magic. 'If I fall down for you and you fall down for me. He grew rapidly like a yam tendril in the rainy 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."When your wife becomes pregnant again. Their church stood on a circular clearing that looked like the open mouth of the Evil Forest. You have a manly and a proud heart." And he arranged the requisite rites and sacrifices." was joyfully chanted everywhere. A woman fled as soon as an egwugwu came in sight." said Obierika. But it would be impolite to rush him."Odukwe's body.- they merely set the scene. It was Nwoye's mother.

How old is she now?""She is about ten years old. Nwoye's callow mind was greatly puzzled. egusi soup and bitter-leaf soup and pots and pots of palm-wine."He said nothing. I have done my best to make Nwoye grow into a man. came first. Nwoye's sister. They sang the latest song in the village:" If I hold her handShe says. Ekwefi tried to pull out the horny beak but it was too hard. He drank palm-wine from morning till night.Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had." said Akukalia. were whispering together. And that is why we say that mother is supreme. But she had got worse and worse. He does not belong here." He threw his head down and gnashed his teeth. She is called Ozoemena. Ikezue strove to dig in his right heel behind Okafo so as to pitch him backwards in the clever ege style. Okagbue's voice was unchanged. "They are pieces of wood and stone. and a man who committed it must flee from the land." he said. Obierika's relatives counted the pots as they came. Now and then a cold shiver descended on his head and spread down his body. long way from home.Uzowulu stepped forward and presented his case. said Ezeugo. At one stage Ekwefi was so afraid that she nearly called out to Chielo for companionship and human sympathy.

And then appeared on the horizon a slowly-moving mass like a boundless sheet of black cloud drifting towards Umuofia.""I think she will stay. dead. afraid to go in. I have learned to be stingy with my yams. The kola nut was given him to break.'When Ekwefi brought the hoe. carrying a pot of palm-wine on his head. Ezinma rushed out of the hut. I began to fend for myself at an age when most people still suck at their mothers' breasts." said Evil Forest. but not overmuch. It was like a man wondering in broad daylight why a dream had appeared so terrible to him at night. An evil forest was. that my children do not resemble me. Akueni."Do what you are told."Outside the obi Okagbue and Okonkwo were digging the pit to find where Ezinma had buried her iyi-uwa." he said. "You are not a stranger in Umuofia. Even as a little boy he had resented his father's failure and weakness. Her name was Nneka. 'but tell me. He asked Okonkwo a few questions about the dead child." She died in her eleventh month. If you are sending him on an errand he flies away before he has heard half of the message. Okonkwo would take care of meat and yams. quietly and deliberately. Okonkwo sprang to his feet and quickly sat down again.

all its metal taken out of it by the vast emptiness of the cave. indeed. But you are still a child. Kiaga. If you are sending him on an errand he flies away before he has heard half of the message. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy. and it ended on the left. 'When mother-cow is chewing grass its young ones watch its mouth." And so they all went to help Obierika's wife??Nwoye's mother with her four children and Ojiugo with her two. and the other an old and faint shadow. Unoka prayed to their ancestors for life and health." he said. The men stood outside the circle. 1 owe them no cocoyams. and the new faith was a mad dog that had come to eat it up." He paused. As the smoke rose into the sky kites appeared from different directions and hovered over the burning field in silent valediction. returning." said one man. He ordered the outcasts to shave off their long. It was not very long since they had returned. facing the elders and grandees of the clan.""Don't cry."Okonkwo had just blown out the palm-oil lamp and stretched himself on his bamboo bed when he heard the ogene of the town crier piercing the still night air. Her husband's first wife had already had three sons. His future sons-in-law would be men of authority in the clan.The last big rains of the year were falling. guns and cannon were fired. was expected to invite large numbers of guests from far and wide.

pulled out his staff and thrust it into the earth again. I know it as I look at you. Many years ago when she was the village beauty Okonkwo had won her heart by throwing the Cat in the greatest contest within living memory. And so. and the elusive dance rose and fell with the wind. He shrugged his shoulders and went away to tap his afternoon palm-wine.Yam." he said. They too sat just in front of the huge circle of spectators." said Okonkwo as he took his machete and went into the bush to collect the leaves and grasses and barks of trees that went into making the medicine for iba. It was unheard of to beat somebody during the sacred week. Ekwefi was the only person in the happy company who went about with a cloud on her brow. I salute you. The men brought their goatskin mats. She was afraid of what might happen if Chielo suddenly turned round and saw her. Sometimes he turned round and chased after those men. the beating of drums and the brandishing and clanging of machetes increased. An osu could not attend an assembly of the free-born. but six.Okonkwo sprang from his bed.""Yes" said Obierika. Then he burst out:"Never kill a man who says nothing. astride the steaming pot. But I can tell you."Obiako has always been a strange one. they could gather firewood together for roasting the ones that would be eaten there on the farm. These moods descended on her suddenly and for no apparent reason. If you had been a coward. as Ekwefi had said.

then. If any money came his way. and so all the clan was at his funeral. it would have been impossible to eat. Di-go-go-di-go-di-di-go-go floated in the message-laden night air. rubbed his left palm on his body to dry it before tipping a little snuff into it.Ezeudu had taken three titles in his life. Okoye was a great talker and he spoke for a long time. Obiako. It was the first time for many years that a man had broken the sacred peace. She put back the empty pot on the circular pad in the corner."Evil Forest then turned to the other group and addressed the eldest of the three brothers. It was not external but lay deep within himself. perhaps for the first time. Everybody was killed. He said he was one of them. It was not very easy getting the men of high title and the elders together after the excitement of the first day. Okonkwo took up his goatskin bag to go. Then the group drank. carrying a basket full of water. Ekwefi trudged along between two fears. and Okonkwo filled his horn again.- they must be going towards Umuachi. butwhenever she thought she saw their shape it immediately dissolved like a melting lump of darkness. His wife had played him false.Ekwefi rose early on the following morning and went to her farm with her daughter. which should be a woman's crowning glory. Cam wood was rubbed lightly into her skin. some of whom now stood enthralled.

The elders said locusts came once in a generation."One of them passes here frequently. She immediately dropped her pestle with which she was grinding pepper. and only one or two men in any generation ever achieved the fourth and highest. egusi soup and bitter-leaf soup and pots and pots of palm-wine. in their proper order. She had about three teeth and was always smoking her pipe. They usually stay if they do not die before the age of six."No. and regain the seven wasted years. alive with sinister forces and powers of darkness. the priestess of Agbala. His own hut." He sipped his wine. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women's stories."They want a piece of land to build their shrine. skirting round the subject and then hitting it finally. his face beaming with blessedness and peace. whose frantic rhythm was no longer a mere disembodied sound but the very heartbeat of the people. during the last harvest season. "You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. He danced a few steps to the funeral drums and then went to see the corpse.In spite of this incident the New Yam Festival was celebrated with great joy in Okonkwo's household. He would remember his own childhood. as if that was paying the big debts first. the men returned with a pot of wine. and the crowd answered." said someone light-heartedly and the crowd laughed. She shut her eyes for a while and opened them again in an effort to see.

"Ee-e-e!""We are giving you our daughter today. Then there was perfect silence. No. How his mother would weep for joy. And for the first time they had a woman. 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.Ekwefi still had some cassava left on her farm from the previous year. It was not done earlier because the rains were too heavy and would have washed away the heap of trodden earth. He was always alone and was shaped like a coffin. woman. 1 know how to deal with them. In front of them was a row of stools on which nobody sat. But it is not so." He danced a few more steps and went away. and the women had formed themselves into three groups for this purpose. They were both Uzowulu's neighbors.The drummers took up their sticks and the air shivered and grew tense like a tightened bow."For three years Ikemefuna lived in Okonkwo's household and the elders of Umuofia seemed to have forgotten about him." said Obierika. among the missionaries in Umuofia. Obiageli brought up the rear. The ill-fated lad was called Ikemefuna."Remove your jigida first. but they grew women's crops. So he waited impatiently for the dry season to come. asked her""Remember that if you do not answer truthfully you will suffer or even die at childbirth. with her suitor and his relatives. It was as quick as the other two. whose feeling of importance was manifest in her sprightly walk.

but I shall be happy if you marry in Umuofia when we return home."Yes. They set fire to his houses. Ekwefi tried to pull out the horny beak but it was too hard. and flies went with him. especially at festivals and also when an old man died. which had dozed in the noon-day haze."Ezinma began to cry. cooking and eating. and so were his cousins and their wives when he sent for them and told them who his guest was. He called his son.At first. but they had never in all their lives heard of women being debarred from the stream. As the elders said. It had been early in the morning. But on further thought he told himself that Nwoye was not worth fighting for. But the second time did not count. i have only a short while to live. 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. Ezinma's fire was now sending up thick clouds of smoke. But the Ibo people have a proverb that when a man says yes his chi says yes also. who had begun to play a part in the affairs of his motherland. go in peace. Two judges walked around the wrestlers and when they thought they were equally matched. At last Sky was moved to pity. Okonkwo and his family went to the farm with baskets of seed-yams. and the polite name for leprosy was "the white skin. were whispering together. malevolent.

The daughters of Uehuiona were also there. And although she believed that the iyi-uwa which had been dug up was genuine. took out two leaves and began to chew them. It was only then that they exchanged greetings and shook hands over what was left of the food. and something seemed to give way inside him. The old man bore no ill will towards Okonkwo. A bowl of pounded yams can throw him in a wrestling match. guns and cannon were fired. blew into it to remove any dust that might be there.The royal python was the most revered animal in Mbanta and all the surrounding clans. "It pleases me to see a young man like you these days when our youth has gone so soft."Okonkwo had just blown out the palm-oil lamp and stretched himself on his bamboo bed when he heard the ogene of the town crier piercing the still night air. whom he nearly shot. tangled and dirty hair."Although they were almost the same age. He had become wholly absorbed into his new family. From a distance the noise was a deep rumble carried by the wind. Neither of the other wives had. self-assured and confident. She thought they must be going towards the sacred cave. It is almost dawn."Oho. And when a man is at peace with his gods and his ancestors. just beyond the borders of Mbaino.He was tall but very thin and had a slight stoop." they said. We have albinos among us. like a solitary walker at night who passes an evil spirit an the way. "We should do something.

talking was the next best. which should be a woman's crowning glory. vibrating heat. The wailing of the women would not be heard beyond the village. Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly."Do what you are told. She greeted her god in a multitude of names??the owner of the future. But that was only to be expected. and they agreed about the beating. How then could he have begotten a son like Nwoye. whom she called her daughter." He turned to Odukwe. and the tuber was pulled out. The fact was that Obiageli had been making inyanga with her pot. But when she finally appeared holding a cock in her right hand. Nma. into a healthy. He had an old rusty gun made by a clever blacksmith who had come to live in Umuofta long ago. And so they each took a new name.But Ekwefi did not hear these consolations. And. Clearly his personal god or chi was not made for great things."Yes.Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life. but he went to the birds and asked to be allowed to go with them. younger men gave way and the tumult subsided. They also said I would die if I built my church on this ground. Nwayieke lived four compounds away." He turned again to Okonkwo and said.

very shyly. in the land of his fathers where men were bold and warlike. Whenever Nwoye's mother sang this song he felt carried away to the distant scene in the sky where Vulture. But when she lived on to her fourth. But they have cast you out like lepers." said the interpreter.Ekwefi was tired and sleepy from the exhausting experiences of the previous night. I would sooner strangle him with my own hands."Ekwefi. It was also part of the night. the wife of Amadi. The drums and the dancing began again and reached fever-heat. who was laid on a mat.There was a wealthy man in Okonkwo's village who had three huge barns. There was coming and going between them.Onwumbiko was not given proper burial when he died. Okonkwo's wives had scrubbed the walls and the huts with red earth until they reflected light. and at his death there were only three men in the whole clan who were older. Amikwu and his people had taken palm-wine to the bride's kinsmen about two moons before Okonkwo's arrival in Mbanta. And." the convert maintained. He." he said.Ezinma was an only child and the center of her mother's world. But they were still alive. Unoka. She went on fanning it until it burst into flames. He was a very strong man and rarely felt fatigue. Ogbuefi Ezeugo was a powerful orator and was always chosen to speak on such occasions.

But it went from day to day without a pause. who was also the youngest man in the group. "lest Agbala be angry with you.' said Mother Kite. Later on I sold some of the seed-yams and gave out others to sharecroppers.""Anyway. and flies went with him. They all admired it and said that that was the way things should be done. "on an Eke market day a little band of fugitives came into our town. Her mother always took her into their bedroom and shut the door. After that nothing happened for a long time between the church and the clan. He was quite different.' But my wife's brothers said they had nothing to tell me. As for the boy.Just then the distant beating of drums began to reach them. Violent deaths were frequent. and since he now had three wives his guests would make a fairly big crowd." ';. have no toes. The egwugwu house into which they emerged faced the forest. If it ended on his left. It was evening and the sun was settingUchendu's eldest daughter. and was full of the sap of life. Work no longer had for him the pleasure it used to have. a long. Another one was wailing near his right ear. But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship. The clan was like a lizard. my sons.