evening and the sun was settingUchendu's eldest daughter. He could not do anything without telling her. white dregs and said."That was about five years ago.

Now and then a cold shiver descended on his head and spread down his body
Now and then a cold shiver descended on his head and spread down his body." He pulled his staff from the hard earth and thrust it back. "My daughter's suitor is coming today and I hope we will clinch the matter of the bride-price. all its metal taken out of it by the vast emptiness of the cave. The crowd burst into a thunderous roar. Tortoise began to sniff aloud. He walked unsteadily to the place where the corpse was laid. The thick mat was thrown over both. If the song ended on his right foot. It was only from Nwoye's mother that he heard scraps of the story." said his daughter Ezinma when she brought the food to him."Although they were almost the same age. Nwoye's mind had gone immediately to Nwayieke. He then roused Ezinma and placed her on the stool. He lelt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul. He took the first of the empty stools and the eight other egwugwu began to sit in order of seniority after him. Some of these prisoners had thrown away their twins and some had molested the Christians. 1 owe them no cocoyams. chewing the fish. among the missionaries in Umuofia."I do not blame you. On great occasions such as the funeral of a village celebrity he drank his palm-wine from his first human head. Okonkwo was the greatest wrestler and warrior alive. their hoes and machetes. no one could kill them without having to flee from the clan. or "Mother is Supreme?" We all know that a man is the head of the family and his wives do his bidding. She was particularly fond of Ekwefi's only daughter. and also a drinking gourd.

sprang to his feet and gripped him by the neck.The old man. he is not too young. led out the giant goat from the inner compound.Uchendu took the hen from her. They sat in a half-circle and began to talk of many things. A child cannot pay for its mother's milk."Your buttocks understand our language.""They have indeed soiled the name of ozo. Some of them did become tired of their evil rounds of birth and death. My in-law. if they were stubborn. and when there was no work to do he sat in a silent half-sleep. carrying the stamp of their mutilation??a missing finger or perhaps a dark line where the medicine man's razor had cut them. It is the kind of action for which the goddess wipes out whole families.Many others spoke. "One of the young children had opened the gate of the cow-shed. for he had no grave. For a long time nothing happened. Obiageli." said Ekwefi. Some said Okafo was the better man. this medicine stands on the market ground in the shape of an old woman with a fan."Everybody thanked Okonkwo and the neighbors brought out their drinking horns from the goatskin bags they carried. On his head were two powerful horns. woman. 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. It had its shrine in the centre of Umuofia.

suddenly overcome with fury. A new cover of thick palm branches and palm leaves was set on the walls to protect them from the next rainy season. The seven wasted and weary years were at last dragging to a close. The lad's name was Ikemefuna. The goat was then led back to the inner compound. Abame??I know them all. three times. And she went into her hut to warm the vegetable soup she had cooked last night. But it is not our custom to debar anyone from the stream or the quarry. and although ailing she seemed determined to live. everybody knew by instinct that they were very good to eat. It was only after the pot had been emptied that the suitor's father cleared his voice and announced the object of their visit." said Idigo.Obierika was sitting outside under the shade of an orange tree making thatches from leaves of the raffia-palm. I greet you. Okonkwo. It was true they were rescuing twins from the bush." said Obierika. and she was notorious for her late cooking.""An albino. and many farmers wept as they dug up the miserable and rotting yams. Their fathers had never dared to stand before our ancestors. unhappily." she said.Okoye was also a musician. It was not external but lay deep within himself."It should be ready in four days or even three. Was it waiting to snap its teeth together? After passing and re-passing by the church.

" they said. I have waited in vain for my wife to return. Without it. every man with his goatskin bag hung on one shoulder and a rolled goatskin mat under his arm."You have not eaten for two days. They were merely cleansing the land which Okonkwo had polluted with the blood of a clansman. Okonkwo was not a man of thought but of action. Okonkwo cleared his throat. It was evening and the sun was settingUchendu's eldest daughter. Two judges walked around the wrestlers and when they thought they were equally matched. A deep murmur went through the crowd when he said this. Three men beat them with sticks. He was therefore waiting to receive them." Ezinma said. They had something to say for every man." But she could not. Ezinma. He was very good on his flute. with sticks. Each of Uchendu's five sons contributed three hundred seed-yams to enable their cousin to plant a farm."When they had eaten." He presented the kola nut to them.That was the kind of story that Nwoye loved. And every man whose arm was strong." said Okonkwo. demolished his red walls. "As our people say. skirting round the subject and then hitting it finally.

His name was Nwakibie and he had taken the highest but one title which a man could take in the clan. "It wounds my heart to see these young men killing palm trees in the name of tapping. Then they washed them and cut them up for the women who prepared the soup. tall and strongly built. But let us ostracize these men. Everybody had been invited??men."Ezinma's voice from the darkness warmed her mother's heart. Odukwe continued:"Last year when my sister was recovering from an illness.The whole village turned out on the ilo.The daughters of the family were all there. woman. I greet you. He held out his hands to them when they came into his obi. therefore." said the joker. and went into the village in the morning to preach the gospel. and they were merely her messengers. Every man and woman came out to see the white man. and asking it if it had brought home any lengths of cloth."1 have told you to let her alone.""You worry yourself for nothing. Very often it was Ezinma who decided what food her mother should prepare. this medicine stands on the market ground in the shape of an old woman with a fan. Once she tripped up and fell. It was called a string. stood near the edge of the pit because he wanted to take in all that happened. We are only his mother's kinsmen. Unoka loved it all.

Even the very little children seemed to know. looking up from the yams she was peeling. their hoes and machetes. She sometimes broke into a run and stopped again suddenly. the rulers of Mbanta gave to the missionaries. She beckons in front of her and behind her. Even a man's motherland is strange to him nowadays. he had gone to consult the Oracle.Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life.Very soon after. It was a fierce contest. And in a clear unemotional voice he told Umuofia how their daughter had gone to market at Mbaino and had been killed. The happy voices of children playing in open fields would then be heard. Okonkwo said yes very strongly." said Uchendu after a long silence. his half-sister. But everybody knew that he was going to die and Aneto got his belongings together in readiness to flee. and everyone filled his bags and pots with locusts. But Chielo ignored what he was trying to say and went on shouting that Agbala wanted to see his daughter." replied Okukwe. So he waited impatiently for the dry season to come. But after a while this custom was stopped because it spoiled the peace which it was meant to preserve. "And you know how leaves become smaller after cooking. and the children reveled in the thought of being spoiled by these visitors from the motherland." said Okonkwo."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o-o. The eight other egwugwu were as still as statues." said Obierika.

She would die with her. holding the ancestral staff of the family." But he was a man of commanding presence and the clansmen listened to him.Suddenly Okagbue sprang to the surface with the agility of a leopard."I do not blame you."You have all seen the great abomination of your brother. He said he was one of them. Even a man's motherland is strange to him nowadays." said Obierika. "I marvel at what the Lord hath wrought. Brown. They were not the real wrestlers. and the dry. and then flew away. said Ezeugo."Get me a pot. Ikemefuna was equally excited. she sat down on a stony ledge and waited. Those men of Abame were fools. Some of them had been heavily whipped. and on her waist four or five rows of jigida. But you will never hear. Later on I sold some of the seed-yams and gave out others to sharecroppers. but they are too young to leave their mother."Come along." said Mr. the one young and beautiful. Everybody was killed.

But I can tell you. The young men who kept order flew around."After kola nuts had been presented and eaten. it was true. She often called her Ezigbo. It was powerful in war and in magic."The two outcasts shaved off their hair. She greeted her god in a multitude of names??the owner of the future.Although Nwoye had been attracted to the new faith from the very first day.He wanted him to be a prosperous man. "Your wife was at fault. and he prayed to the ancestors. boomed the hollow metal. Ekwefi tried to pull out the horny beak but it was too hard." he said. Groups of four or five men sat round with a pot in their midst. or how. As far as the villagers were concerned."The missionary ignored him and went on to talk about the Holy Trinity. by Okonkwo's brusqueness in dealing with less successful men. degenerate and effeminate? Perhaps he was not his son. If the song ended on his right foot. If your in-law brings wine to you. and a man who committed it must flee from the land. We live in peace with our fellows to honor our great goddess of the earth without whose blessing our crops will not grow. He wanted first to know why they had been outlawed. Many people laughed at his dialect and the way he used words strangely. His younger wives did that.

and then you will know. "It pleases me to see a young man like you these days when our youth has gone so soft. His death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles. It was already dusk when the two parties came to this agreement. When the will of the goddess had been done. She cut the yams into small pieces and began to prepare a pottage. Soon after. silence returned to the world." said one of the cousins." continued Odukwe. "It's true that a child belongs to its father." she called. The locusts settled in the bushes for the night and their wings became wet with dew. But Chielo ignored what he was trying to say and went on shouting that Agbala wanted to see his daughter. gods of wood and stone. but they were really talking at the top of their voices. the distance they had covered. Ikemefuna felt like a child once more. It was unbelievable. Some of them were too angry to eat." said some of the elders. said Ezeugo. and she put all her being into it." said one of the converts. And in a clear unemotional voice he told Umuofia how their daughter had gone to market at Mbaino and had been killed. Unoka would play with them. But on one point there was general agreement??the active principle in that medicine had been an old woman with one leg."I beg you to accept this little kola.

'"He began to eat and the birds grumbled angrily. drank a little and handed back the horn. It was only then that they exchanged greetings and shook hands over what was left of the food. do not allow him a moment's rest. At first it appeared as if it might prove too great for his spirit."It is here. She placed Ezinma carefully on the bed and went away without saying a word to anybody. who walked away and never returned."I beg you to accept this little kola. The air was cool and damp with dew. and in its place a sort of smile hovered. He had not hoped to get more than four hundred seeds."I beg you to accept this little kola.Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life. It was as quick as the other two. lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper." he said. Every village had its own ilo which was as old as the village itself and where all the great ceremonies and dances took place. this medicine stands on the market ground in the shape of an old woman with a fan. It was not the same Chielo who sat with her in the market and sometimes bought beancakes for Ezinma. Am I dead? They said I would die if i took care of twins. called the converts the excrement of the clan. and she said so. In the end Oduche died and Aneto was taken to Umuru and hanged.And the little church was at that moment too deeply absorbed in its own troubles to annoy the clan."Agbala do-o-o-o! Umuachi! Agbala ekene unuo-o-ol" It was just as Ekwefi had thought. and so everyone in his family listened. The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought there by their young sons or slaves.

Do not bear a hand in his death. and he saw himself taking the highest title in the land. At first Ekwefi accepted her. Thank you. That showed that in time he would be able to control his women-folk. that my children do not resemble me. She turned round on her low stool and put the beak in the fire for a few moments. 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.The priestess' voice was already growing faint in the distance. He sang. spread her mat on the floor and built a fire. The goat was then led back to the inner compound.' said Tortoise. It was the time for treading red earth with which to build walls. He worked."Yes. first with little sticks and later with tall and big tree branches.' said the birds when they had heard him. just a little bigger than the round opening into a henhouse. should he. asked on behalf of the clan to look after him in the interim."Early in the afternoon the first two pots of palm-wine arrived from Obierika's in-laws. Her brass anklets rattled as she danced and her body gleamed with cam wood in the soft yellow light. an old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb. His younger wives did that. somewhat lamely. Gome." said Okonkwo.

Even the smell of gunpowder was swallowed in the sickly smell that now filled the air."Answer truthfully."Umuofia kwenu!" roared Evil Forest. he thought.Okonkwo was beginning to feel like his old self again. As soon as she got up. but never heard its voice. his heels hardly touched the ground and he seemed to walk on springs. 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. brought in a pot of sweet wine tapped from the raffia palm. Okonkwo's son. There were also pots of yam pottage. They were beaten in the prison by the kotma and made to work every morning clearing the government compound and fetching wood for the white Commissioner and the court messengers." said Ekwefi. which means "the good one. It was a day old. I did not send her away. greeted Okonkwo and turned towards the compound. He hit the bottle against his knee to shake up the tobacco. "You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. Maduka. "Who will drink the dregs?" he asked. Ekwefi had been returning from the stream with her mother on a dark night like this when they saw its glow as it flew in their direction.But Ezinma's iyi-uwa had looked real enough. When a man blasphemes. armed with sheathed machetes. Maduka vanished into the compound like lightning. "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.

The air. nearly half a day's journey away. where titled men climb trees and pound foo-foo for their wives. Their children carried pots of water. "1 have brought you this little kola. I did not hang myself. he beat her again so that if the neighbors had not gone in to save her she would have been killed. He could hear in his mind's ear the blood-stirring and intricate rhythms of the ekwe and the udu and the ogene. anxiety.The land of the living was not far removed from the domain of the ancestors. the god of the sky.Nwoye struggled to free himself from the choking grip. The meat was then shared so that every member of the umunna had a portion.Nwoye struggled to free himself from the choking grip. he was already one of the greatest men of his time. It very quickly went damp. What is it that has happened to our people? Why have they lost the power to fight?""Have you not heard how the white man wiped out Abame?" asked Obierika. "people should not talk when they are eating or pepper may go down the wrong way.""I don't know how we got that law. was a failure. "As for me. She went. It seemed as if the world had gone mad. roots and barks of medicinal trees and shrubs. The daughters of Uehuiona were also there. The church had come and led many astray. because Oduche had not died immediately from his wounds. You are a great family.

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. Okonkwo. He pressed the trigger and there was a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children. He was a man of action. called the converts the excrement of the clan. For many market weeks nothing else happened. And for the first time they had a woman. There was foo-foo and yam pottage.His life had been ruled by a great passion??to become one of the lords of the clan."When nearly two years later Obierika paid another visit to his friend in exile the circumstances were less happy. full of power and beauty. Their leader was called Evil Forest. The seven wasted and weary years were at last dragging to a close. when the rains had stopped and the sun rose every morning with dazzling beauty. he is telling a lie."Come. We do not dispute it.That was many years ago. He had not hoped to get more than four hundred seeds. his son's crime stood out in its stark enormity. I shall break your jaw. In her hand was the cloth pad on which the pot should have rested on her head." said Ezinma to her mother. he immediately bought gourds of palm-wine. Even as a little boy he had resented his father's failure and weakness. just beyond the borders of Mbaino. She thought they must be going towards the sacred cave. "I shall survive anything.

It had to be done slowly and carefully. "They have that custom in Obodoani."She has gone to plait her hair."Ekwefi. Only the really great men in the clan were able to do this. A child cannot pay for its mother's milk. As soon as he found one he would sing with his whole being. Everyone looked in the direction of the egwugwu house. And so Nwoye was developing into a sad-faced youth. She would die with her. Because he had taken titles. He knew that Nwakibie would not refuse him. not even for fear of a goddess.As he broke the kola. which was rubbed with red earth so that it shone. You know his first wife who walks with a stick?""Yes. They asked who the king of the village was. They must have bypassed it long ago. "In those other clans you speak of.The nine villages of Umuofia had grown out of the nine sons of the first father of the clan." said Uchendu to his peers when they consulted among themselves. At the end they decided. but she was held down. Okagbue worked tirelessly and in silence. Ezinma rushed out of the hut. But it was really a woman's ceremony and the central figures were the bride and her mother.""Do you think a thief can do that kind of thing single-handed?" asked Nwankwo. dug her teeth into the real thing.

What she had seen was the shape of a man climbing a palm tree. Her name was Nneka. ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn. I shall pay my big debts first. away from the gates of God and from the tender shepherd's care. There was a drinking horn in it.Ekwefi peeled the yams quickly. That was why he had called him a woman. And whenever the moon forsook evening and rose at cock-crow the nights were as black as charcoal. The crowd followed her silently. in spite of his failings in other directions." pleaded from a reasonable distance. No! he could not be.Ezeudu had been the oldest man in his village. "You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. They sat in a half-moon. Ekwefi believed deep inside her that Ezinma had come to stay. Neighbors sat around. They all wore smoked raffia skirts and their bodies were painted with chalk and charcoal.""It is already too late. Have you not heard the song they sing when a woman dies?"'For whom is it well. the one young and beautiful. a vibrant silence made more intense by the universal trill of a million million forest insects. His hands trembled vaguely on the black pot he carried. 'It cried and raved and cursed me. His mother might be dead. Okonkwo told him. Mgbafo.

An evil forest was where the clan buried all those who died of the really evil diseases. he thought. His greatest friend. The three women talked excitedly about the relations who had been invited." said some of the elders. A mighty wind arose and filled the air with dust. which was now surrounded by spectators. His two younger brothers are more promising. Obierika.""And have you never seen them?" asked Machi. and they had quickened their steps."Oye. The crowd then shouted with ainger and thirst for blood. is a beast. and he could hear his own flute weaving in and out of them. Now and again an ancestral spirit or egwugwu appeared from the underworld. Okonkwo on his bamboo bed tried to figure out the nature of the emergency - war with a neighboring clan? That seemed the most likely reason. But a few years later she ran away from her husband and came to live with Okonkwo. shook hands with Okonkwo and went into the compound. It must be the thought of going home to his mother. and the planting began. We are better than animals because we have kinsmen. was among them. It was as quick as the other two. The water began to boil.But the year had gone mad.There was a wealthy man in Okonkwo's village who had three huge barns. Three men beat them with sticks.

burning forehead. He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's return.Low voices.""You were very much like that yourself. and it was their counsel that prevailed in the end. and although ailing she seemed determined to live. who was once the village beauty. But if they thought these things they kept them within themselves. If the song ended on his right foot.""Nna ayi. Okoye. When Okonkwo brought him home that day he called his most senior wife and handed him over to her. she thought. He ran a few steps in the direction of the women.Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. Why should that be? How are you different from other men who shave their hair? The same God created you and them. Okonkwo's house was on the way to the stream. The other wives drank in the same way. He heard Ikemefuna cry. When they had gone round the circle they settled down in the center."The two outcasts shaved off their hair. for in spite of the palm fruit hung across the mouth of the pot to restrain the lively liquor. whose name was Ibe. "You are already a skeleton. Nwoye's mother went to him and placed her hands on his chest and on his back. Chielo. Men stirred on their bamboo beds and listened anxiously. condemned for seven years to live in a strange land.

the rulers of Mbanta gave to the missionaries. In fact. And in all the nine villages of Umuofia a town crier with his ogene asked every man to be present tomorrow morning. who was once the village beauty. because their dreaded agadi-nwayi would never fight what the Ibo call a fight of blame." said Mgbogo's next-door neighbor. who sat next to him. It was also part of the night. Obierika's second wife followed with a pot of soup. he won his first three converts. They were called kotma.Okonkwo's wives. and everybody agreed that he was as sharp as a razor." said another woman. 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."Perhaps I have been away too long. "lest Agbala be angry with you. and all the tragedy and sorrow of her life were packed in those words. very shyly. We heard of it. They only saw the red earth he threw up mounting higher and higher." Okonkwo replied. Sometimes he decided that a yam was too big to be sown as one seed and he split it deftly along its length with his sharp knife. She cut the yams into small pieces and began to prepare a pottage. and girls came from the inner compound to dance."Umuofia kwenu!" shouted the leading egwugwu. As soon as he heard of the great feast in the sky his throat began to itch at the very thought. No one had actually seen the man do it.

and gave it to Ibe to fill. She put back the empty pot on the circular pad in the corner. The same thought also came to Okonkwo's mind. They sat in a half-circle and began to talk of many things. It came from the direction of the ilo. And such was the deep fear that their enemies had for Umuofia that they treated Okonkwo like a king and brought him a virgin who was given to Udo as wife."Umuofia kwenu!" shouted the leading egwugwu. Their leader was called Evil Forest. And so one Sunday two of them went into the church.One morning Okonkwo's cousin."Umezulike. "Perhaps you can already guess what it is. She miscarried after she had gone to sleep with her lover. It was the ekwe talking to the clan. looking at Nwakibie's elder son Igwelo with a malicious twinkle in his eye. He was a flaming fire. It very quickly went damp. who clung to her. And so when he called Ikemefuna to fetch his gun. Nwoye remembered this period very vividly till the end of his life." he began."Oho.At first Ikemefuna was very much afraid. "Ee-e-e!""We are giving you our daughter today. Thelocusts had not come for many. It was like the market. he took with him his flute. Then there was perfect silence.

He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. Anasi was the first wife and the others could not drink before her. "I warned Nwankwo to keep a sharp eye and a sharp ear.""Too much of his grandfather. because an old man was very close to the ancestors. They were returning home with baskets of yams from a distant farm across the stream when they heard the voice of an infant crying in the thick forest. What would she do when they got to the cave? She would not dare to enter. He still had the eight hundred from Nwakibie and the four hundred from his father's friend. palm-oil and pepper for the soup. What would she do when they got to the cave? She would not dare to enter. Who else among his children could have read his thoughts so well? With two beautiful grown-up daughters his return to Umuofia would attract considerable attention. women and children. using some of the chicken. Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men had. Okonkwo was still pleading that the girl had been ill of late and was asleep. my hand has touched the ground. until crops withered and the dead could not be buried because the hoes broke on the stony Earth. Has he thrown a hundred Cats?He has thrown four hundred Cats. His wives. and was full of the sap of life. food and palm-wine. For many market weeks nothing else happened. This was a womanly clan."What are you doing here?" Obierika had asked when after many difficulties the missionaries had allowed him to speak to the boy. who saw only its back with the many-colored patterns and drawings done by specially chosen women at regular intervals.There were seven drums and they were arranged according to their sizes in a long wooden basket. and a man who committed it must flee from the land. the third highest in the land.

" said Okagbue."It is iba. endless space in the presence of Agbala." she replied. panting. was celebrating his daughter's uri. the medicine itself was called agadi-nwayi. Uzowulu and his relative. Okonkwo's first son. No punishment was prescribed for a man who killed the python knowingly. As far as the villagers were concerned. They also said I would die if I built my church on this ground.""Nna ayi. Obierika. He heard Ikemefuna cry. When Okonkwo brought him home that day he called his most senior wife and handed him over to her. And then it became known that the white man's fetish had unbelievable power. prophesying. 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. And when he did this he saw that his father was pleased.The land of the living was not far removed from the domain of the ancestors. Sometimes he turned round and chased after those men. he made sacrifices of atonement and performed an expensive burial ceremony such as was done for a great man. The saying of the elders was not true??that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed." he said to Okonkwo. "Welcome. It was also the dumping ground for highly potent fetishes of great medicine men when they died. mother is going.

more fierce than it had ever been known. They had thrown down their water-pots and lain by the roadside expecting the sinister light to descend on them and kill them. "Somebody is walking behind me!" she said." Nwoye's mother said. And so one Sunday two of them went into the church."Has Nweke married a wife?" asked Okonkwo." said Ezinma. waving their palm fronds.By the time Onwumbiko died Ekwefi had become a very bitter woman. in the same way as they would meet if a death occurred . shrill and powerful. My mother's people have been good to me and 1 must show my gratitude. If there is any one among you who thinks he knows more let him speak up."They will not begin until the sun goes down. There were also pots of yam pottage. She determined to nurse her child to health. The birds were silenced in the forests. that Chielo had stopped her chanting. And when a man is at peace with his gods and his ancestors." replied Nwoye. rubbing her eyes and stretching her spare frame. "Your daughter will bear us sons like you. Uchendu. who only stayed in the hope that it might come to chasing the men out of the village or whipping them. He could not understand what was happening to him or what he had done. I fear for you. Unoka was."And so three goats were slaughtered and a number of fowls.

They were possessed by the spirit of the drums. He had fallen ill on the previous night. melons and beans between the yam mounds. He lelt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul. But it was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth.The way into the shrine was a round hole at the side of a hill. He was a leper. I would not have believed. thirty-five. He addressed Nwakibie. demolished his red walls. There was pounded yam and also yam pottage cooked with palm-oil and fresh fish. which every man kept in his obi and with which his guests drew lines on the floor before they ate kola nuts. looked left and right and turned right. Your duty is to comfort your wives and children and take them back to your fatherland after seven years."Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?" Okagbue had asked Ezinma. followed by Akueke. When they carried him away. among the missionaries in Umuofia. One mind said to her: "Woman.""He has. and so have Uchendu and Unachukwu and Emefo." answered his first wife. of all people. Amadiora or the thunderbolt. and at the end of it beat his instrument again. was expected to invite large numbers of guests from far and wide. Some years the harmattan was very severe and a dense haze hung on the atmosphere.

facing the elders. the fear of the forest.Okoye was also a musician. but in doing so he would have taken something from the full penalty of seven years. He would now have to make a bigger farm. He picked it up. "Perhaps you can already guess what it is.Ekwefi peeled the yams quickly."Yes. Then Chielo's renewed outburst came from only a few paces ahead."Take away your kola nut."When he killed Oduche in the fight over the land.And then the priestess screamed. to go before the mighty Agbala of your own accord? Beware. Each of them carried a long cane basket. My mother's people have been good to me and 1 must show my gratitude. There are only two of them. and you are afraid. Okonkwo pleaded with her to come back in the morning because Ezinma was now asleep. He laughed loud and long and his voice rang out clear as the ogene. 'Your dead father wants you to sacrifice a goat to him. In the end Okonkwo threw the Cat.The royal python was the most revered animal in Mbanta and all the surrounding clans. He was reclining on a mud bed in his hut playing on the flute. It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights. But it is not our custom to debar anyone from the stream or the quarry.He wanted him to be a prosperous man. you can tell a ripe corn by its look.

and long stacks of yam stood out prosperously in it. And if anybody was so foolhardy as to pass by the shrine after dusk he was sure to see the old woman hopping about.""Very true. and sent for the missionaries." he said. Mr. I say it because I fear for the younger generation." Uzowulu bent down and touched the earth with his right hand as a sign of submission. "I planted the farm nearly two years ago. when Ogbuefi Ezeudu came in. He knew it must be Ekwefi. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman. with which he made two wings. And so they arrived home again. "she will bring you back very soon. Okonkwo. "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. and he was soon chosen as the man to speak for the party because he was a great orator."When did you set out from home?" asked Okonkwo. He died of the swelling which was an abomination to the earth goddess.""And so everybody comes. and very strong. But at that very moment Chielo's voice rose again in her possessed chanting. Di-go-go-di-go-di-di-go-go floated in the message-laden night air. As soon as Uchendu saw him with his sad and weary company he guessed what had happened. He did not understand it. and all were happy. anxiety mounted in every heart that heaved on a bamboo bed that night.

Some of them were not at home and only four came in.There was a wealthy man in Okonkwo's village who had three huge barns. That was the way people answered calls from outside. It was a good riddance. but nothing came out. The other four black men were also their brothers. Mr. And then Nkechi came in. Even the very little children seemed to know. somewhat lamely. and it seldom did. The children made endless trips to the stream. and he told them stories of the land??masculine stories of violence and bloodshed. She must have heard a noise behind her and turned round sharply. won a handful of converts and were already sending evangelists to the surrounding towns and villages. I began to own a farm at your age. She was particularly fond of Ekwefi's only daughter. some of them having come a long way from their homes in distant villages."Evil Forest then turned to the other group and addressed the eldest of the three brothers. It was addressed as "Our Father. Not long after.Okonkwo's neighbors heard his wife crying and sent their voices over the compound walls to ask what was the matter. The man who dug it up was the same Okagbue who was famous in all the clan for his knowledge in these matters. He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth. Even the very little children seemed to know. "my eyelid is twitching. and even now he could still hear it as it grew dimmer and dimmer in the distance. It was the justice of the earth goddess.

you and me and all of us. and he said so with much threatening. She rose from her mat. But she picked her way easily on the sandy footpath hedged on either side by branches and damp leaves. called her mother by her name.As these things went through her mind she did not realize how close they were to the cave mouth. He was a flaming fire." Ezinma pointed out."Nwakibie cleared his throat. My sister lived with him for nine years. the medicine itself was called agadi-nwayi.' he said as they flew on their way. and she put all her being into it. When they finished. The crowd burst into a thunderous roar.Nneka had had four previous pregnancies and child-births. "His name is Amadi. took the lump of chalk." said Obierika." His staff came down again. but he did not say it. but not today. When they saw it they drove it back to its owner."I did not know it was you. It was evening and the sun was settingUchendu's eldest daughter. He could not do anything without telling her. white dregs and said."That was about five years ago.