length of cloth and a hundred cowries. who was now the eldest surviving member of that family." replied Odukwe.' replied the man.

Ezinma
Ezinma."Then I shall go back to the clan. "Perhaps you can already guess what it is. she could bear no other person but her father. And if the clan did not exact punishment for an offense against the great goddess. Then there was perfect silence. She had married Anene because Okonkwo was too poor then to marry. At his age I was already fending for myself. "She has iba. tangled hair. scooped out two mouthfuls and fled from the hut to chew the cud in the goats' shed. Okonkwo had called in another medicine man who was famous in the clan for his great knowledge about ogbanje children.The contest began with boys of fifteen or sixteen. There was nothing new in that. Her eyes were useless to her in the darkness. Some of them did become tired of their evil rounds of birth and death. and he spoke as he performed them:"1 hope our in-laws will bring many pots of wine. Nwoye's mother and Okonkwo's youngest wife were ready to set out for Obierika's compound with all their children. I am Dry-meat-that-fills-the-mouth. He then broke the kola nut and threw one of the lobes on the ground for the ancestors. he beat her until she miscarried. some of whom now stood enthralled. Some of them came over to see for themselves.

Okonkwo. Okonkwo and his wife followed at a respectful distance." He looked in the direction of Okonkwo. like the snapping of a tightened bow. hungry to do harm to the living.Okonkwo returned from the bush carrying on his left shoulder a large bundle of grasses and leaves.Okonkwo was popularly called the "Roaring Flame. the beating of drums and the brandishing and clanging of machetes increased. They went back to their caves in a distant land. "We do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. 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. On the last night before the festival. was quite harmless. So he began to plan how he would go to the sky.As the day wore on his in-laws arrived from three surrounding villages. and at the end he had been taken out and handed over to a stranger. He called his son. the priestess. It had to be done slowly and carefully.Uzowulu stepped forward and presented his case. Uzowulu." He rose and left the hut. "1 shall think of another one with a song.

"Ozoemena was.""That is so. She was alive and well.""Your words are good. and Nwakibie's two grown-up sons were also present in his obi. some of whom now stood enthralled. But on further thought he told himself that Nwoye was not worth fighting for. And then appeared on the horizon a slowly-moving mass like a boundless sheet of black cloud drifting towards Umuofia."Leave her to me. And what made it worse in Okonkwo's case was that he had to support his mother and two sisters from his meagre harvest. 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. Of all his children she alone understood his every mood. and we expected a big feast. Obierika. The yams were then staked. Everyone looked in the direction of the egwugwu house."And why did you not say so.The drummers stopped for a brief rest before the real matches.At that moment they heard someone crying just outside their compound. "and we want you all to come in every seventh day to worship the true God. He had been cast out of his clan like a fish onto a dry. 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. Indeed he respected him for his industry and success.

She greeted her god in a multitude of names??the owner of the future. and he spoke as he performed them:"1 hope our in-laws will bring many pots of wine. her face streaming with tears.The moon was now up and she could see Chielo and Ezinma clearly.The next morning the crazy men actually began to clear a part of the forest and to build their house." Okonkwo said. Who knows what may happen tomorrow? Perhaps green men will come to our clan and shoot us. But there is one more question I shall ask you.Of his three wives Ekwefi was the only one who would have the audacity to bang on his door. He tried in vain to force the thought out of his mind. They thought the priestess might be going to her house. food was presented to the guests.""But they are beating the drums. She was particularly fond of Ekwefi's only daughter. Thirty."Go into that room. "I do not blame you for not hearing the cock crow. It descended on him again. where his friend gave them out year by year to sharecroppers."Tell them. watching. An evil forest was." said the priestess.

Di-go-go-di-go-di-di-go-go floated in the message-laden night air. talking excitedly and praying that the locusts should camp in Umuofia for the night.Okonkwo had eaten from his wives' dishes and was nowreclining with his back against the wall. They were very happy and began to prepare themselves for the great day. But he was not a failure like Unoka. There was foo-foo and yam pottage. We should have waited for the sun to rise and dry the leaves. Neither of the other wives dared to interfere beyond an occasional and tentative. If a man dies at this time he is not buried but cast into the Evil Forest. It would not be long before the suitors came. They will take him outside Umuofia as is the custom. Okoye. But it was a resilient spirit." he said. not even for fear of a goddess."Ekwefi went into her hut and came out again with Ezinma. Spirits always addressed humans as "bodies."Have you?" asked Obierika. Your mother is there to protect you."I wish she were a boy. He fell and fell and fell until he began to fear that he would never stop falling." said some of the elders. "that in some clans it is an abomination for a man to die during the Week of Peace.

"Bring me my bag. Darkness held a vague terror for these people. reappeared every year for seven years and then disappeared for another lifetime. and then flew away. Ogbuefi Idigo was talking about the palm-wine tapper. But they were very rare and short-lived. Uchendu's eldest daughter had come from Obodo. But the song spread in Umuofia. And as he told them of the past they sat in darkness or the dim glow of logs. his harvest will be good or bad according to the strength of his arm. There was an immediate stir. The children were also decorated. That week they won a handful more converts."Swear on this staff of my fathers. the white missionary. And then like the sound of his cannon he crashed on the compound. he was told. It was not that they had been lazy." said Ezelagbo. Igwelo had a job in hand because he had married his first wife a month or two before."The night was already far spent when the guests rose to go. holding her breasts with her hands to stop them flapping noisily against her body. Okonkwo.

It is good in these days when the younger generation consider themselves wiser than their sires to see a man doing things in the grand. And then the locusts came.As they spoke two other groups of people had replaced the first before the egwugwu. and two or three pieces of land on which tofarm during the coming planting season. Where are the young suckers that will grow when the old banana tree dies? If Ezinma had been a boy I would have been happier. The moon had been rising later and later every night until now it was seen only at dawn. Like all good farmers. He was greatly shocked and swore to beat Ekwefi if she dared to give the child eggs again. The yams were then staked. or what?"The interpreter spoke to the white man and he immediately gave his answer. and they knocked against each other as he searched. I also kill a cock at the shrine of Ifejioku.Ezinma was an only child and the center of her mother's world. but now sat with Okonkwo in his obi."Ezeudu was a great man." Okonkwo said."Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?" asked Okagbue when Ezinma finally stopped outside her father's obi. At first it appeared as if it might prove too great for his spirit. Am I dead? They said I would die if i took care of twins. And perhaps those not so young would be playing in pairs in less open places. where he thought they must be. They argued for a short while and fell into silence again. The rains had come and yams had been sown.

At the end they decided. In the other group were her husband. A bond of sympathy had grown between them as the years had passed. emerged from her hut. The Oracle of the Hills and the Caves has pronounced it. How his mother would weep for joy. with a start. he is not too young. everybody knew by instinct that they were very good to eat." he intoned. She had about three teeth and was always smoking her pipe. When one came to think of it. like a mother and her daughter." said Ofoedu. forty. and looked at her palms. Nwoye. roots and barks of medicinal trees and shrubs."Okonkwo brought the wine and they began to drink. without serious danger to his own health. asked on behalf of the clan to look after him in the interim. He was ill for three market weeks. and also a drinking gourd.

The whole church raised a protest and was about to drive these people out. and although ailing she seemed determined to live. He still remembered the song:Eze elina. scooped out two mouthfuls and fled from the hut to chew the cud in the goats' shed. Each of his three wives had her own hut. I forgot to tell you another thing which the Oracle said." They laughed and agreed. And when. took out two leaves and began to chew them.The nine villages of Umuofia had grown out of the nine sons of the first father of the clan. If we were all afraid of blood. And then Nkechi came in. It was said that they had built a place of judgment in Umuofia to protect the followers of their religion. more terrible and more sinister than the anger."I did not say He had a wife." said Ofoedu. stopped them. a cake of salt and smoked fish which she would present to Obierika's wife. floated on the chaos. and. even the bravest among them. Violent deaths were frequent. "They want to ruin us.

Even Mgbafo took to her heels and had to be restrained by her brothers. The women and children sent up a great shout and took to their heels.At last they took a turning and began to head for the caves. She explained to her why they should not marry yet. and sat speechless.""I did not know that.As the men drank. "Our duty is not to blame this man or to praise that. But two years later when a son was born he called him Nwofia??"Begotten in the Wilderness. Okonkwo ate the food absent-mindedly. mother. And this was the message. Okonkwo got ready quickly and the party set out with Ikemefuna carrying the pot of wine." he said. a large crowd of men from Ezeudu's quarter stormed Okonkwo's compound. "Who will drink the dregs?" he asked. and allowed a brief pause."The two men sat in silence for a long while afterwards. who had been walking about aimlessly in his compound in suppressed anger. he was at a loss. And there were again only three. Nwoye's mother went to him and placed her hands on his chest and on his back. They were merely cleansing the land which Okonkwo had polluted with the blood of a clansman.

He lelt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul. He searched his bag and brought out his snuff-bottle. The naming ceremony after seven market weeks became an empty ritual. The two voices disappeared into the thick darkness. which was full of men who had offended against the white man's law. He was a man of action. The crowd then shouted with ainger and thirst for blood. Tortoise began to sniff aloud. He had therefore put his drinking-horn into his goatskin bag for the occasion." said Uchendu after a long silence."It is an ozo dance."Ekwefi did as she was asked. Near the barn was a small house.At that moment they heard someone crying just outside their compound. The other people were released. especially with the children. came into the obi from outside."What is iyi-uwa?" she asked in return. An evil forest was where the clan buried all those who died of the really evil diseases. The old man bore no ill will towards Okonkwo. and then he continued: "Each group there represents a debt to someone. "Welcome. The old man bore no ill will towards Okonkwo.

passed through his obi and into Ekwefi's hut and walked into her bedroom. "1 have brought you this little kola. he burst out laughing. The ancient drums of death beat."Okonkwo bit his lips as anger welled up within him. On Obierika's side were his two elder brothers and Maduka. It was such a forest that. But you are still a child. called round his neighbors and made merry."Thank you."He led Umuofia to war in those days. and from the very first seemed to have kindled a new fire in the younger boy. where they were guarded by a race of stunted men. let your sister go with him. For how else could he explain his great misfortune and exile and now his despicable son's behavior? Now that he had time to think of it."Swear on this staff of my fathers."But the leaves will be wet. go home before Agbala does you harm. And so for three years Ikemefuna lived in Okonkwo's household." Okonkwo was surprised. and Okonkwo's women and children heard from their huts all that she said. Her arms were folded across her bare breasts. So he began to plan how he would go to the sky.

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.At last the day came by which all the missionaries should have died. And every man whose arm was strong. elina!SalaEze ilikwa ya Ikwaba akwa ogholi Ebe Danda nechi eze Ebe Uzuzu nete egwuSalaHe sang it in his mind. He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages. the farthest village in the clan. and there was a murmur of surprise and disagreement. Unoka. Okonkwo was not a man of thought but of action. and as it dwelt on it. So he waited impatiently for the dry season to come. It was such a forest that. waving their palm fronds." said Okonkwo as he rose to go. His two younger brothers are more promising. a length of cloth and a hundred cowries."Your half-sister. If you think you are the greatest sufferer in the world ask my daughter." said Obierika.Ezinma did not call her mother Nne like all children. He pushed the thought out of his mind. there was no other way. in silence.

you can tell a ripe corn by its look.As for the boy himself. Okonkwo's first wife. but nothing came out. in which he took a pinch of snuff and sneezed noisily. tall. Nothing that happened in the world of the animals ever escaped his notice. And he knew which trees made the strongest bows. Dew fell heavily and the air was cold. but even now they have not found the mouth with which to tell of their suffering. But it had gone on living and gradually becoming stronger. the king of crops. and Okonkwo's women and children heard from their huts all that she said. And that was how he came to look after the doomed lad who was sacrificed to the village of Umuofia by their neighbors to avoid war and bloodshed."They would have gone on arguing had Ofoedu not come in just then. At the end they decided. And that was how he came to look after the doomed lad who was sacrificed to the village of Umuofia by their neighbors to avoid war and bloodshed. Some of it also went to the bride and her attendant maidens. After waiting in vain for her dish he went to her hut to see what she was doing.The nine villages of Umuofia had grown out of the nine sons of the first father of the clan. He searched his bag again and brought out a small. and sent for the missionaries.""It was always said that Ndulue and Ozoemena had one mind.

Nothing wouldhappen to Ezinma. Obierika." said Ezelagbo. Whenever the thought of his father's weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it by thinking about his own strength and success."I have heard. and only the old people had seen them before. decorating them with a colorful and plaintive tune. with music and dancing and a great feast. indeed. He moved his hand over his white head and stroked his white beard. "They have that custom in Obodoani.Nneka had had four previous pregnancies and child-births. its sullenness over. Okonkwo's son."That is not strange. That is a wise action. Okonkwo had returned home and sat waiting. There was foo-foo and yam pottage. talking excitedly and praying that the locusts should camp in Umuofia for the night. Uchendu. Dum! Dum! Dum! boomed the cannon at intervals. The meat was then shared so that every member of the umunna had a portion. She felt cold.

' said Tortoise. Everybody was killed. Nwoye's mother carried a basket of coco-yams. The bush was alive with the tread of feet on dry leaves and sticks and the moving aside of tree branches. spread her mat on the floor and built a fire. If a gang of efulefu decided to live in the Evil Forest it was their own affair. At last Vulture was sent to plead with Sky. my daughter. Gome. The earth burned like hot coals and roasted all the yams that had been sown. At last Sky was moved to pity. "all the birds were invited to a feast in the sky. It was one of those gay and rollicking tunes of evangelism which had the power of plucking at silent and dusty chords in the heart of an Ibo man. that was how it looked to his father. Unoka was." said Obierika. His mind went to his latest show of manliness. how many twins she has borne and thrown away. You know his first wife who walks with a stick?""Yes." said her mother."Three moons ago. her mother and half a dozen other women and girls emerged from the inner compound. But when a father beats his child.

The young men who kept order flew around. The thick dregs of palm-wine were supposed to be good for men who were going in to their wives. A man's life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors." he said. young and old. They then set about painting themselves with cam wood and drawing beautiful black patterns on their stomachs and on their backs. But the song spread in Umuofia. Of all his children she alone understood his every mood. and Obiageli told her mournful story. calling on her mother. be cursed with such a son? He saw clearly in it the finger of his personal god or chi. her blood still ran cold whenever she remembered that night.""That is true.""They are not all that young. But no one was sure where it was coming from. because there was no humanity there. He called his son. and they began to go back the way they had come. And he went. In the end Okonkwo threw the Cat. The neighbors and Okonkwo's wives were now talking. the messenger of earth. he was not afraid now.

He then invited the birds to eat. or Holy Feast as it was called in Ibo."Early in the afternoon the first two pots of palm-wine arrived from Obierika's in-laws."Go and tell Akueke's mother that we have finished. could not shelter under his roof. It was a tremendous sight. Okonkwo was one of them. and he loved the first kites that returned with the dry season. The muscles on their arms and their thighs and on their backs stood out and twitched. The neighbors and Okonkwo's wives were now talking. Its most potent war-medicine was as old as the clan itself.At last they took a turning and began to head for the caves."They will not begin until the sun goes down. Okonkwo's first son. He heard the voice of singing and although it came from a handful of men it was loud and confident. He pushed the thought out of his mind. as husbands' wives were wont to. and she guessed they must be on the village ilo. She rubbed each string downwards with her palms until it passed the buttocks and slipped down to the floor around her feet. There was no question of killing a missionary here." she answered simply. but I shall be happy if you marry in Umuofia when we return home. He threw down the gun and jumped into the barn and there lay the woman.

The priestess was now saluting the village of Umuachi." he said when Okonkwo had spoken. The wailing of the women would not be heard beyond the village. dead. holding it by the ankle and dragging it on the ground behind him. It was a rare achievement."Bring me my bag. And if anybody was so foolhardy as to pass by the shrine after dusk he was sure to see the old woman hopping about. in their due proportions. he had allowed what he regarded as a reasonable and manly interval to pass and then gone with his machete to the shrine. and Okonkwo's women and children heard from their huts all that she said." Okonkwo threatened. They had then drawn patterns on them in white. they kept their imagination to themselves.Umuofia was feared by all its neighbors. father? You are beyond our knowledge. and it was he who had received Okonkwo's mother twenty and ten years before when she had been brought home Irom Umuofia to be buried with her people. At first the clan had assumed that it would not survive. and she agreed also. They haggle and bargain as if they were buying a goat or a cow in the market. because you understand us and we understand you. one of those evil essences loosed upon the world by the potent "medicines" which the tribe had made in the distant past against its enemies but had now forgotten how to control. They all have food in their own homes.

You may have heard of the title I intend to take shortly. He had tried to protect them from the smoldering earth by making rings of thick sisal leaves around them."Everybody thanked Okonkwo and the neighbors brought out their drinking horns from the goatskin bags they carried. It very quickly went damp. but there is too much of his mother in him. then. its sullenness over. Such a man was Ogbuefi Ugonna."No. Okonkwo brought out kola nut and placed it before the priest."I shall return very soon. My mother's people have been good to me and 1 must show my gratitude. Now you talk about his son. and the whole country became the brown-earth color of the vast. he thought. not knowing what else to say. Three men beat them with sticks.But the most dreaded of all was yet to come. He had called the first child born to him in exile Nneka??"Mother is Supreme"??out of politeness to his mother's kinsmen. Rain fell as it had never fallen before.- they must be going towards Umuachi.' she called. They also said I would die if I built my church on this ground.

They were mostly the kind of people that were called efulefu." and was allowed to go wherever it chose. This year they were the wise ones. and he spoke as he performed them:"1 hope our in-laws will bring many pots of wine. "So you must finish this. In the center of the crowd a boy lay in a pool of blood." he said.As the men ate and drank palm-wine they talked about the customs of their neighbors. 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. And then appeared on the horizon a slowly-moving mass like a boundless sheet of black cloud drifting towards Umuofia. Kiaga was praying in the church when he heard the women talking excitedly." he intoned.""I pray she stays. rubbing her eyes and stretching her spare frame.The drums were still beating."I beg you to accept this little kola.As the men ate and drank palm-wine they talked about the customs of their neighbors. who had begun to play a part in the affairs of his motherland. "What we are eating is finished. It is almost dawn. She could not be expected to cook and eat while her husband starved." said Obierika. He ordered the outcasts to shave off their long.

There were also pots of yam pottage." came the voice like a sharp knife cutting through the night." he swore. She was rewarded by occasional spells of health during which Ezinma bubbled with energy like fresh palm-wine. He stepped forward. Then the rain became less violent."That is very good."We have heard both sides of the case. i have only a short while to live. The men stood outside the circle. It was a great feast. We do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen."Who taps your tall trees for you?" asked Obierika." Uzowulu replied. They sang songs as they went." said Ekwefi. As for Ikemefuna.""Anyway. if they were stubborn."Yes. It was a sad miscalculation." said Obierika. The folk stories stopped.

"As they spoke Ezinma emerged from the hut. pushed back the bolt on his door and ran into Ekwefi's hut. But that was only to be expected. the shouting and the firing of guns. As they emerged into the open village from the narrow forest track the darkness was softened and it became possible to see the vague shape of trees. He had become wholly absorbed into his new family."Agbala do-o-o-o!?? Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Ekwefi trudged behind.""Is he staying long with us?" she asked. She placed Ezinma carefully on the bed and went away without saying a word to anybody. because an old man was very close to the ancestors."Everybody in the assembly spoke. At such times. She gave the dish to her father's eldest brother and then shook hands. After waiting in vain for her dish he went to her hut to see what she was doing. only to return to their places almost immediately.Uchendu took the hen from her." she said when they got to the tree. The barn was built against one end of the red walls. Nwoye's mind had gone immediately to Nwayieke. a length of cloth and a hundred cowries. who was now the eldest surviving member of that family." replied Odukwe.' replied the man.