imagined what was inside. He who brings kola brings life. He counted them. impotent ash." said Ekwefi.

As the smoke rose into the sky kites appeared from different directions and hovered over the burning field in silent valediction
As the smoke rose into the sky kites appeared from different directions and hovered over the burning field in silent valediction."Umuofia kwenu!" he roared. When Ekwefi had followed the priestess. which had been dutifully eating yam peelings. His visitor was amazed. Living fire begets cold. But after a while this custom was stopped because it spoiled the peace which it was meant to preserve."The birds gathered round to eat what was left and to peck at the bones he had thrown all about the floor. Mr. Inwardly. And then the locusts came. But after a while this custom was stopped because it spoiled the peace which it was meant to preserve. where they were guarded by a race of stunted men. she prayed a thousand times." said Ezinma. or playground."Yes. She was afraid of what might happen if Chielo suddenly turned round and saw her.""There is no story that is not true. His death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles. reappeared every year for seven years and then disappeared for another lifetime. The earth burned like hot coals and roasted all the yams that had been sown. It was even heard in the surrounding villages. A palm-oil lamp gave out yellowish light. And then one morning three white men led by a band of ordinary men like us came to the clan.The night was impenetrably dark. He told them that the true God lived on high and that all men when they died went before Him for judgment."Those who knew Amadi laughed.- Onwumbiko died in his fifteenth month.

It throbbed in the air."Who is that?" he growled. the god who cut a man down when his life was sweetest to him. or rather to his death. And so he was always happy when he heard him grumbling about women. Okonkwo and his wife followed at a respectful distance. Tortoise began to sniff aloud."Who are the young men with you?" he asked as he sat down again on his goatskin. As soon as he found one he would sing with his whole being.He went back to the church and told Mr. But in this case she ran away to save her life. It tried Okonkwo's patience beyond words. and sometimes two rainbows. he. His eldest brother broke the first one. there was no other way. without serious danger to his own health. He moved his hand over his white head and stroked his white beard. and then flew away. bringing the third dish. had asked Ear to marry him." she replied. Ezinma placed her mother's dish before him and sat with Obiageli. like a mother and her daughter. as when she first set out. Age was respected among his people. because an old man was very close to the ancestors."In her hut."But you said it was where they bury children?" asked the medicine man.

So I have brought the matter to the fathers of the clan. Every man can see it in his own compound. She put back the empty pot on the circular pad in the corner. She hurried through Okonkwo's hut and went outside. She looked straight ahead of her and walked back to the village.The youngest of Uchendu's five sons. He sat down again and called two witnesses."Tufia-al" the priestess cursed. and they began to go back the way they had come. He was like the man in the song who had ten and one wives and not enough soup for his foo-foo. Okonkwo got ready quickly and the party set out with Ikemefuna carrying the pot of wine." Okonkwo made a sound full of disgust." said one of the younger men. pushing the air with his raffia arms. she found her lying on the mat. There were also pots of yam pottage.""Very true. "Kill one of your sons for me.There were no stars in the sky because there was a rain-cloud. Cooking pots went up and down the tripods and foo-foo was pounded in a hundred wooden mortars Some of the women cooked the yams and the cassava. This happened in the rainy season."Yes. Some of them were accompanied by their sons bearing carved wooden stools.The night was very quiet. prophesying. and the children who sang songs of welcome to them. Chielo was not a woman that night. "I have felt it. how he had often wandered around looking for a kite sailing leisurely against the blue sky.

which was part of the night. It was as quick as the other two." At the same time the priestess also said." He waved at his sons and daughters. The rainbow began to appear. The first people who saw him ran away. "before i learned how to tap. They can steal your cloth from off your waist in that market.After the wine had been drunk Okonkwo laid his difficulties before Nwakibie.Okonkwo's head was bowed in sadness as Obierika told him these things. When they had gone round the circle they settled down in the center. We do not dispute it. it is play'. when Okonkwo's in-laws began to leave for their homes The second day of the new year was the day of the great wrestling match between Okonkwo's village and their neighbors. It was a fierce contest." And so they all went to help Obierika's wife??Nwoye's mother with her four children and Ojiugo with her two."Father. that my children do not resemble me. "There must be a reason for it."When nearly two years later Obierika paid another visit to his friend in exile the circumstances were less happy. bending very low at the eaves. There was a famine in those days and Tortoise had not eaten a good meal for two moons. But Chielo's voice was still a long way away. her face streaming with tears. when they came. the third highest in the land. in the same way as they would meet if a death occurred . He still thought about his mother and his three-year-old sister.The priestess' voice was already growing faint in the distance.

She shut her eyes for a while and opened them again in an effort to see. And it was not too hot either.And then the egwugwu appeared."The missionary ignored him and went on to talk about the Holy Trinity. How then could he have begotten a son like Nwoye. her voice cracking like the angry bark of thunder in the dry season.Three young men helped Obierika to slaughter the two goats with which the soup was made." A cold shiver ran down Okonkwo's back as he remembered the last time the old man had visited him.Everybody agreed that Igwelo should drink the dregs. skirting round the subject and then hitting it finally. The law of Umuofia is that if a woman runs away from her husband her bride-price is returned. and the hosts looked at each other as if to say. because her father had called her one evening and said to her: "There are many good and prosperous people here."It should be ready in four days or even three. feeling with her palm the wet.""You worry yourself for nothing. in spite of his failings in other directions. Those things a man built for himself or inherited from his father.As the broken kola nuts were passed round. He would speak to him after the isa-ifi ceremony. and we shall all perish. where he built his headquarters and from where he paid regular visits to Mr. when Ogbuefi Ezeudu came in. In the end Oduche died and Aneto was taken to Umuru and hanged. Then send him word to fight for us." replied Okonkwo. especially with the children. especially at festivals and also when an old man died. every man with his goatskin bag hung on one shoulder and a rolled goatskin mat under his arm.

Obierika. He made him feel grown-up. whose eyes. But you are still a child.Ezinma was an only child and the center of her mother's world. The imagery of an efulefu in the language of the clan was a man who sold his machete and wore the sheath to battle. and the elders of his family. Could he remember them all? He would tell her about Nwoye and his mother. Then something had given way inside him. He ran a few steps in the direction of the women. and filled the village with excitement."Yaa!" replied the thunderous crowd. because the cold and dry harmattan wind was blowing down Irom the north. Ezinma? You are older than Obiageli but she has more sense. Anasi was the first wife and the others could not drink before her. Unoka.Even in his first year in exile he had begun to plan for his return." he had said. I think. she thought. He looked terrible with the smoked raffia "body. and everyone filled his bags and pots with locusts. But it was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten. A bowl of pounded yams can throw him in a wrestling match. These people are daily pouring filth over us. Now and then a cold shiver descended on his head and spread down his body."Okonkwo brought the wine and they began to drink. and kill him there.

"You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. Then everything had been broken. self-assured and confident. and our clan can no longer act like one. The crime was of two kinds. It is the law of our fathers. her left palm closed on her fish and her eyes gleaming with tears. and it came floating on the wind. Evil Forest addressed the two groups of people facing them.His anger thus satisfied. turning to Obierika. The next child was a girl.""But he had no wings. She was called Crystal of Beauty.As the day wore on his in-laws arrived from three surrounding villages. the harvest of the previous year. She was used to Chielo calling her "my daughter. The other people were released. It was a little village called Mbanta. but they had never in all their lives heard of women being debarred from the stream. At any rate."Will you give Ezinma some fire to bring to me?" Her own children and Ikemefuna had gone to the stream. She rubbed each string downwards with her palms until it passed the buttocks and slipped down to the floor around her feet. and you are afraid. Early that morning as he offered a sacrifice of new yam and palm oil to his ancestors he asked them to protect him. There was a famine in those days and Tortoise had not eaten a good meal for two moons. It was a gay and airy kind of rain. His wives and children were very happy too. She would wait at the mouth.

and does not lose it even if he steals. 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. saluted the spirits and began his story.The elders of the clan had decided that Ikemefuna should be in Okonkwo's care for a while. He would stamp out the disquieting signs of laziness which he thought he already saw in him. And for many days this rare food was eaten with solid palm-oil. ivory spoon. But Ekwefi was not thinking about that. and each party brought with them a huge pot of palm-wine. Ekwefi broke into a run as though to stop them. because it had been inadvertent. and the elusive dance rose and fell with the wind.Some farmers had not planted their yams yet. he." Nwoye's mother said. I fear for you. At first Ekwefi accepted her. tall." She stood up and pulled out the fan which was fastened into one of the rafters. I have already spoken to you about him. They cross seven rivers to make their farms. blew into it to remove any dust that might be there. He had called the first child born to him in exile Nneka??"Mother is Supreme"??out of politeness to his mother's kinsmen. yams of the old year were all disposed of by those who still had them.The first cock had not crowed. and Ikemefuna. but she was held down." They offered them as much of the Evil Forest as they cared to take. who lived near the udala tree.

In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace. my friend. She will bear you nine sons like the mother of our town. and everyone filled his bags and pots with locusts. 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. the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves." said one of the cousins. and passed the disc over to his guest. the emanation of the god of water. and it could not be done later because harvesting would soon set in. 'Don't touch!'But when I hold her waist-beads she pretends not to know.The arrival of the missionaries had caused a considerable stir in the village of Mbanta. We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers."Have you slept enough?" asked her mother. sandy footway began to throw up the heat that lay buried in it. some alligator pepper and a lump of white chalk. It was also part of the night. and she said so. if they were stubborn." he said when Okonkwo had spoken. and she put all her being into it. a machete for cutting down the soft cassava stem. They were grieved by the indignity and mourned for their neglected farms.Ekwefi had suffered a good deal in her life. where he thought they must be. Near the barn was a small house."That is the strange part of it. The yams put on luxuriant green leaves. And what made it worse in Okonkwo's case was that he had to support his mother and two sisters from his meagre harvest.

Okonkwo's wives and children and those who came to help them with the cooking began to bring out the food. Today Okonkwo was not bringing his mother home to be buried with her people." he said. He warmed himself in the fire and ate the entrails. Now Ekwefi was a woman of forty-five who had suffered a great deal in her time. It was called a string. Tortoise began to sniff aloud. talking and laughing among themselves and with others who stood near them.""I think she has." replied Ekwefi. and they had been immediately thrown away. The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought there by their young sons or slaves. and most of them never did because they died too young - before they could be asked questions." roared Okonkwo. 'It just walked away. Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man." said Okagbue. "But if the Oracle said that my son should be killed I would neither dispute it nor be the one to do it. Okonkwo brought out l??s big horn from the goatskin bag. Ekwefi was reassured. but that year-had been enough to break the heart of a lion. women and children. unless it was one of the stubborn ones who returned. as husbands' wives were wont to. In the end Parrot. Obiako. Ezinma rushed out of the hut. The earth goddess whom you have insulted may refuse to give us her increase.As for the boy himself.

Obierika offered him a lobe of the kola nut he had broken with Okonkwo. and he was grateful." he said and cleared his throat. Nwakibie sent for his wives. Okonkwo was not a man of thought but of action." They were hard and painful on the body as they fell. The bride-price had been paid and all but the last ceremony had been performed." urged the other women"None?" asked Njide. the king of crops. Okonkwo's house was on the way to the stream. now desperate. Beyond that limit no man was suffered to go. As the elders said.When they had all gathered.' 'You must return the duckling. At the end. and the lad Ikemefuna. anxiety mounted in every heart that heaved on a bamboo bed that night. Children no longer stayed indoors but ran about singing:"The rain is falling. and offered prayers to them on behalf of himself. Everybody knew she was an ogbanje. No woman ever asked questions about the most powerful and the most secret cult in the clan. but the ekwe carried the news to all the nine villages and even beyond."Go to your in-laws with a pot of wine and beg your wife to return to you. they could see from his color and his language."Once upon a time. Ekwefi's mind went back to the days when they were young."You have all seen the great abomination of your brother. Work no longer had for him the pleasure it used to have.

An evil forest was. Uchendu."Ezinma's voice from the darkness warmed her mother's heart. These women never saw the inside of the hut. The pots of wine stood in their midst.At the beginning of their journey the men of Umuofia talked and laughed about the locusts. Nwoye's mother and Ojiugo would provide the other things like smoked fish. Kiaga restrained them." said Okonkwo.""I think it is good that our clan holds the ozo title in high esteem. had gained ground. and went into the village in the morning to preach the gospel." said Obierika to his son. and he gave to Vulture rain wrapped in leaves of coco-yam. she had said. Her brass anklets rattled as she danced and her body gleamed with cam wood in the soft yellow light. He asked Okagbue to come up and rest while he took a hand. Anyone who knew his grim struggle against poverty and misfortune could not say he had been lucky. and he owed every neighbor some money. Has he thrown a hundred Cats?He has thrown four hundred Cats. hung above the fireplace."Ezinma ran in the direction of the barn and brought back two yams from the dwarf wall. It was like a wedding feast. or with their father in his obi warming themselves from a log fire. Ekwefi had a feeling of spacious openness. The first cup went to Okonkwo. "that I shall bring many iron horses when we have settled down among them. The rain became lighter and lighter until it fell in slanting showers. or God's house.

It was the ekwe talking to the clan. They did not really want them near to the clan. she was in close communion with the departed fathers of the clan whose bodies had been committed to earth. The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought there by their young sons or slaves. the interpreter. he won his first three converts. though his dialect was different and harsh to the enrs of Mbanta. "Umuofia kwenu.In this way Akuke's bride-price was finally settled at twenty bags of cowries. he was repentant. Ekwefi hurried to the main footpath and turned left in the direction of the voice. a long."You do not know the answer? So you see that you are a child.He was a person dedicated to a god.All the umunna were invited to the feast."I do not know the answer. Our elders say that the sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them. And when a man is at peace with his gods and his ancestors. Every market day.""Do you think a thief can do that kind of thing single-handed?" asked Nwankwo. and allowed a murmur of suppressed anger to sweep the crowd. working feverishly from one drum to another. "1 thought you were going into the shrine with Chielo. A steady cloud of smoke rose from his head. slit its throat with a sharp knife and allowed some of the blood to fall on the ancestral staff. Somewhere a man was taking one of the titles of his clan. and did as you have been told."1 have told you to let her alone. She went on fanning it until it burst into flames.

The crime was of two kinds. Then the metal gong sounded and the flute was blown. and the other an old and faint shadow. the sky. She would die with her. She was Okonkwo's second wife Ekwefi. "It is not to pay you back for all you did for me in these seven years.""The only other person is Udenkwo. But all of a sudden she would go down again. and the hosts looked at each other as if to say."The next day a group of elders from all the nine villages of Umuofia came to Okonkwo's house early in the morning. She was the priestess of Agbala. We live in peace with our fellows to honor our great goddess of the earth without whose blessing our crops will not grow. Quick as the lightning of Amadiora. He heard the blow. He immediately rose and shook hands with Okoye. was a widely-traveled man who knew the customs of different peoples. just beyond the borders of Mbaino. Okonkwo was the greatest wrestler and warrior alive. Ezinma. by Okonkwo's brusqueness in dealing with less successful men. They only saw the red earth he threw up mounting higher and higher. Chielo passed by."You know what it is. Many people looked around."Answer me!" he roared again. but in doing so he would have taken something from the full penalty of seven years."Where else but in his house in the hills and the caves?" replied the priestess.Each of the nine egwugwu represented a village of the clan.

but he did not answer. each of them carrying a heavy bag on his head." And he did. and so they suffered.Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had. to sit with him in his obi. and the elders of his family. something felt in the marrow." said Ezinma. "I remember when I was a young boy there was a song about them. The goat was then led back to the inner compound. But when she lived on to her fourth.Everybody at the kindred meeting took sides with Osugo when Okonkwo called him a woman. "Tortoise and Cat went to wrestle against Yams??no. and men dashed about in frenzy. The daughters of Uehuiona were also there. Uchendu. He was afraid of being thought weak."Where is Mgbogo?" asked one of them. some of whom now stood enthralled. looking up from the yams she was peeling. and they closed in. But when she finally appeared holding a cock in her right hand. it said.The daughters of the family were all there. It was like the desire for woman. It was quiet and confident. Where is my daughter. let your sister go with him.

It was then uncertain whether the low rumbling of Amadiora's thunder came from above or below." he announced when he sat down. the owner of all land. they talked about everything except the thing for which they had gathered. But I think you ought to break it. He had not hoped to get more than four hundred seeds." He drank his palm-wine. She has the right spirit."Odukwe's body. A woman fled as soon as an egwugwu came in sight." said Obierika. and so the victim could not be buried in her bowels.The world was silent except for the shrill cry of insects. and stammered." she said. But although it had happened so long ago. It was called a string. Indeed he respected him for his industry and success.""That means you will see something. She was alive and well. and from the very first seemed to have kindled a new fire in the younger boy. the fear of the forest. As our fathers said. "We will allow three or four women to stay behind.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. speaking in a tremulous.""If we leave our gods and follow your god. returning. He sang.

""Why?" asked Obierika and Okonkwo together. and he knew that his father wanted him to be a man. and he sent his kotma to catch Aneto. Dazed with fear. who must taste his wine before anyone else. She must have heard a noise behind her and turned round sharply. The white man had gone back to Umuofia."Answer truthfully. Unoka was never happy when it came to wars. But the really exciting moments were when a man was thrown." A cold shiver ran down Okonkwo's back as he remembered the last time the old man had visited him. Has he thrown a hundred Cats?He has thrown four hundred Cats. some of whom now stood enthralled. who stood beside her. Nwoye's mother went to him and placed her hands on his chest and on his back.""They have paid for their foolishness."And it died this morning?"Okonkwo said yes. you can tell a ripe corn by its look. He was quite different." said Machi. He made him feel grown-up. and about some effeminate men who had refused to come with them. She just jogged along in a half-sleep.""All their customs are upside-down."It is here.Go-di-di-go-go-di-go. but she was held down."Where does Agbala want to see her?" Ekwefi asked." he said as he went.

skirting round the subject and then hitting it finally. and since he now had three wives his guests would make a fairly big crowd. "Kill one of your sons for me. But when a father beats his child." Okonkwo said to the lad. That also is true.Ezeudu had been the oldest man in his village. Now and again the cannon boomed."Evil Forest then turned to the other group and addressed the eldest of the three brothers.Okonkwo's family was astir like any other family in the neighborhood. She must have heard a noise behind her and turned round sharply. But if you allow sorrow to weigh you down and kill you they will all die in exile. but that they had many children to feed. When Okonkwo brought him home that day he called his most senior wife and handed him over to her. they said to themselves. Some of them were not at home and only four came in. which the first wife alone could wear.""Yes" said Obierika. and they had been immediately thrown away. He raised it carefully with the hoe and threw it to the surface. The wave struck the women and children and there was a backward stampede.Okonkwo knew she was not speaking the truth." he said. But almost immediately a shout of joy broke out in all directions. But two years later when a son was born he called him Nwofia??"Begotten in the Wilderness. or waist beads. dressed in garbs of war. which had been dutifully eating yam peelings."Don't you see the pot is full of yams?" Ekwefi asked.

Obierika had sent one of his relatives all the way to Umuike to buy that goat It was the one he would present alive to his in-laws. for as soon as the first rain came farming would begin. But Ekwefi was not thinking about that. But Chielo's voice was still a long way away. The people of the sky thought it must be their custom to leave all the food for their king. The conversation at once centered on him. The oldest member of this extensive family was Okonkwo's uncle. He had become wholly absorbed into his new family."Answer truthfully. But I want you to have nothing to do with it. And so heavily did it rain onVulture that he did not return to deliver his message but flew to a distant land. my hand has touched the ground. Neither of the other wives had. pulled out his staff and thrust it into the earth again. 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. They sat in a half-moon. The men were seized and beaten until they streamed with blood. and he said so with much threatening.Many years ago when Okonkwo was still a boy his father. Like all good farmers. "Let us hear Odukwe. A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland. "1 told you."Point at the spot with your finger. "Will you go?""Yes. away from the gates of God and from the tender shepherd's care." said Ekwefi. But all he said was: "When shall I go home?" When Okonkwo heard that he would not eat any food he came into the hut with a big stick in his hand and stood over him while he swallowed his yams. These sudden bouts of sickness and health were typical of her kind.

The women and children sent up a great shout and took to their heels. "So he must have a wife and all of them must have buttocks. That was in fact the reason why he had come to see Unoka. with love."There must be something behind it. The rainy season was approaching when they would go away until the dry season returned. Okonkwo came next and Ekwefi followed him. I know it as I look at you. And when she returned he beat her very heavily. She just jogged along in a half-sleep. If there is any one among you who thinks he knows more let him speak up. wiping the foam of wine from his mustache with the back of his left hand. But he has not come to wake me up in the morning for it. Okonkwo cleared his throat. but the fattest of all was tethered to a peg near the wall of the compound and was as big as a small cow. all the descendants of Okolo. It was very much like Obiageli. When they did. A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi. no matter how heavily the family ate or how many friends and relatives they invited from neighboring villages." said Ogbuefi Ezeudu. The white man was also their brother because they were all sons of God. 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. and even in the trees.Nneka had had four previous pregnancies and child-births. then. waiting for the women to finish their cooking."As they spoke Ezinma emerged from the hut. I have come to pay you my respects and also to ask a favor.

"and a thick mat. Mr. who had given much money to the white man's messengers and interpreter. "But you can explain to her. A man's life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors. He was greatly surprised. a loud cheer rose from the crowd.When they had harvested a sizable heap they carried it down in two trips to the stream. "I warned Nwankwo to keep a sharp eye and a sharp ear. and his children after him. gazing into a log fire. "Your friend Anene asked me to greet you. And there were indeed occasions when the Oracle had forbidden Umuofia to wage a war. On her arms were red and yellow bangles." Okonkwo said to the lad. They were merely cleansing the land which Okonkwo had polluted with the blood of a clansman. Neighbors sat around. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy. some of them having come a long way from their homes in distant villages. She went in and knocked at his door and he came out. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die." said Okonkwo. They haggle and bargain as if they were buying a goat or a cow in the market. But it was really a woman's ceremony and the central figures were the bride and her mother.The metal gong beat continuously now and the flute. machetes. He stepped forward. But before he could answer. Darkness was around the corner.

Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy - inwardly of course."Where do you sleep with your wife." He looked in the direction of Okonkwo. was a widely-traveled man who knew the customs of different peoples. the fear of failure and of weakness. Chielo was not a woman that night. into a healthy." Ezinma said. Ekwefi and her daughter." said Mr. "What we are eating is finished.The next morning the crazy men actually began to clear a part of the forest and to build their house. and it came floating on the wind. somewhat lamely.He went back to the church and told Mr. roots snapped below. during the last harvest season. Some of them did become tired of their evil rounds of birth and death. He warmed himself in the fire and ate the entrails." said Nwoye's mother. Okonkwo was still pleading that the girl had been ill of late and was asleep. Everybody had been invited??men. The locusts settled in the bushes for the night and their wings became wet with dew. Whenever the thought of his father's weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it by thinking about his own strength and success. consulting among themselves and with the leaders of the two wrestling teams. whom she called her daughter. and was about to say something when the old man continued:"Yes. and in the end they were received by them They asked for a plot of land to build on. It was a little village called Mbanta.

" he said. took a long broom and swept the ground in front of his father's obi. None of his converts was a man whose word was heeded in ihe assembly of the people. The sun breaking through their leaves and branches threw a pattern of light and shade on the sandy footway. Every woman in the neighborhood knew the sound of Nwayieke's mortar and pestle. saw clearly that Okonkwo had yielded to despair and he was greatly troubled." said Mgbogo's next-door neighbor. Then he took it away to bury in the Evil Forest."It was my husband's. so that he was full of food and drink and his body filled out in his shell. He had many friends here and came to see them quite often."Leave her to me. "Beware. they set off in a body. in the land of his fathers where men were bold and warlike.""Is he well?" asked Nwoye."I will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan."Although they were almost the same age. Sometimes it poured down in such thick sheets of water that earth and sky seemed merged in one gray wetness. Okonkwo. forty. and from morning till night warriors came and went in their age groups.Nwoye struggled to free himself from the choking grip. Three young men from the victorious boy's team ran forward. Ezinma. skirting round the subject and then hitting it finally. all of a sudden. He pressed the trigger and there was a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children. Kiaga was going to send into the village for his men-converts when he saw them coming on their own.

"My son has told me about you. but nothing came out. indeed. Sometimes Okonkwo gave them a few yams each to prepare. They had something to say for every man.The Christians had grown in number and were now a small community of men. She began to run. In fact he recovered from his illness only a few days before the Week of Peace began. And although she believed that the iyi-uwa which had been dug up was genuine. his wives and children in their houses could hear him breathe." Uzowulu replied. do you know me?" asked the spirit. which the first wife alone could wear. "and we want you all to come in every seventh day to worship the true God. Then there was perfect silence. rubbing her eyes and stretching her spare frame. "and her child is not twenty-eight days yet." said Machi. an old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb.And so Obierika went to Mbanta to see his friend.- instead of thirty there were now only fifteen. But at that very moment Chielo's voice rose again in her possessed chanting. Okonkwo decided to go out hunting. which was strengthened by such little conspiracies as eating eggs in the bedroom."Then kill yourself."But the leaves will be wet.After the singing the interpreter spoke about the Son of God whose name was Jesu Kristi. to sit with him in his obi. or old woman.

On receiving such a message through a younger brother or sister. Her heart beat violently and she stood still. working feverishly from one drum to another. Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man. and although ailing she seemed determined to live. Some women ran away in fear when it was thrown. If only he could find some work to do he would be able to forget. "Those that hear my words are my father and my mother. But as they drew near to the outskirts of Umuofia silence fell upon them too." said Obierika. Some of them were not at home and only four came in. But he now knew that they were for foolish women and children."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Chielo began once again to chant greetings to her god. and they nodded their heads. relaxed again. They had no hatred in their hearts against Okonkwo. The story was told in Umuofia. and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala. He searched his bag again and brought out a small. Why do the nations rage and the peoples imagine a vain thing? He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. "Thank you for calling us together. If the clan had disobeyed the Oracle they would surely have been beaten. his head pointing to the earth and his legs skywards. Some of these prisoners were men of title who should be above such mean occupation." He brought down his staff heavily on the floor. Yam. As for his converts. An evil forest was.Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna.

" A cold shiver ran down Okonkwo's back as he remembered the last time the old man had visited him. He can curse the gods of his fathers and his ancestors.""Is he staying long with us?" she asked. He would stamp out the disquieting signs of laziness which he thought he already saw in him. and they agreed about the beating. and earth and sky once again became separate. And if the clan did not exact punishment for an offense against the great goddess."Nwoye did not fully understand. But he was always uncomfortable sitting around for days waiting for a feast or getting over it. It was sudden and tremendous."Tortoise saw all these preparations and soon discovered what it all meant. "Where are you going?" he asked. they take new names for the occasion. No ogbanje would yield her secrets easily. Okonkwo's gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy's heart. Do not bear a hand in his death.Soon after Ofoedu left. And not only his chi but his clan too. There were little holes from one side to the other in the upper levels of the wall.He was by nature a very lively boy and he gradually became popular in Okonkwo's household. his mind would have been centered on his work. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic." he said. And he knew which trees made the strongest bows. Neither of the other wives dared to interfere beyond an occasional and tentative. how he had often wandered around looking for a kite sailing leisurely against the blue sky. Ekwefi then became defiant and called her next child Onwuma??"Death may please himself. The relationship between them was not only that of mother and child. He woke up once in the middle of the night and his mind went back to the past three days without making him feel uneasy.

and washed away the yam heaps. Does a man speak when a god speaks? Beware!"She walked through Okonkwo's hut into the circular compound and went straight toward Ekwefi's hut. his son's crime stood out in its stark enormity." he answered. Everyone looked in the direction of the egwugwu house. smiling. They came to discover what the future held for them or to consult the spirits of their departed fathers. degenerate and effeminate? Perhaps he was not his son. And what was more. And he found that Okonkwo did not wish to speak about Nwoye. I salute you." replied the white man. When his wife Ekwefi protested that two goats were sufficient for the feast he told her that it was not her affair." replied Nwoye. They were all fully dressed as if they were going to a big clan meeting or to pay a visit to a neighboring village. There is not a single clan in these parts that I do not know very well. machetes.'Ask my dead father if he ever had a fowl when he was alive." said another. "We do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. "It wounds my heart to see these young men killing palm trees in the name of tapping. The yams were then staked."Okonkwo was very lucky in his daughters.""But they are beating the drums.""Is he staying long with us?" she asked.""It was always said that Ndulue and Ozoemena had one mind. But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship."At last the hen was plucked clean. they say.

He could neither marry nor be married by the free-born. Almost immediately the women came in with a big bowl of foo-foo. and two others after her. And. Obierika had sent one of his relatives all the way to Umuike to buy that goat It was the one he would present alive to his in-laws. As for the boy."Our father. His body rattled like a piece of dry stick in his empty shell. They sang the latest song in the village:" If I hold her handShe says.""Your words are good. This one had only one hand and it carried a basket full of water. These women never saw the inside of the hut.And so Obierika went to Mbanta to see his friend. But let us ostracize these men. who was a prosperous farmer. The women began to talk excitedly. so his chi agreed. She had married Anene because Okonkwo was too poor then to marry. who was the priest of the earth goddess." Okonkwo thought within himself." he said. It was even said that they had hanged one man who killed a missionary. From a distance the noise was a deep rumble carried by the wind. They had the same style and one saw the other's plans beforehand. and when he recovered he seemed to have overcome his great fear and sadness. and sometimes two rainbows. and at the end of it beat his instrument again. each of them carrying a heavy bag on his head. I have learned to be stingy with my yams.

"before 1 put any crop in the earth. Her fear had vanished. women and children. We all know him. His wives and children were very happy too." said Ezinma to her mother. "it is this eyelid.That was the kind of story that Nwoye loved. floated on the chaos. And it began to shake and rattle.No work was done during the Week of Peace. "who will protect us from the anger of our neglected gods and ancestors?""Your gods are not alive and cannot do you any harm. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. his face beaming with blessedness and peace. of how his father. Are you deaf?" Okonkwo roared at her. "Life to all of us. Then he tried to settle the matter the way he used to settle such matters when he was a little boy.Ezeudu had taken three titles in his life. And what was more. And what made it worse in Okonkwo's case was that he had to support his mother and two sisters from his meagre harvest. 'You have taken back your sister."It will not be very long now before my in-laws come. and went back to her hut. If they imagined what was inside. He who brings kola brings life. He counted them. impotent ash." said Ekwefi.