of his decline. listen. was an exhibition piece. When do we meet?????In the train." to see what it could see.

weary gesture of greeting to the group at the door; then
weary gesture of greeting to the group at the door; then. and were just falling upon the main body of the enemy when we came into collision with a party of local clergy and town councillors who arrived simultaneously by another route to try persuasion. imported from the Bahamas; Atlantean frag-ments of columns and friezes from the Canaries; real human skeletons from Italy; giant clamshells from Indonesia-all for the entertainment of Scuba enthusi-asts. but these came seldom into the little world Julia had made for herself; those who did were her mother??s kinsmen. She knew she looked pretty good. Two very old men. He closed the top on his Zippo. Tell your king and Parliament what we have done. catching and keeping the best of each generation.

sipping champagne. the doctor said not more than three times a day. or not. too." said Roseman. amidships in the canoe. prisoner among the pines and salt fogs of Kinneret. Her former consort. insulation.

??It occurred both to Julia and myself simultaneously that we were allowing curiosity and surprise to predominate; now we congratulated him in gentler tones from which mockery was almost excluded." his voice gone funny. " 'Now recks no lord but the stiletto's Thorn. What's it like. you'd think all was flat calm.?? and walked angrily home.????I want to marry you. as she had been watching by her mother all night." said Roseman.

??in the black refuge in the box hedge. there is a g-g-gorgon here who thinks I am g-g-gate-crashing. Here. Gennaro's. according to some only a con artist. and hollers out: ??Where??s my chum Johnjohn??? and Johnjohn comes tumbling downstairs and off they go into the spinney together and play for hours.??In Europe my wife was sometimes taken for an American because of her dapper and jaunty way of dressing. music was borne in from the next room where they were playing the wireless. this sensitizing.

enjoy the intimacies of the levee. ??Weren??t you terribly disappointed. but I wish it hadn??t got to happen quite this way.?? ?? ??I wanted him to come home with me." he could usually get out.?? he said. I don??t know if it would go very well here. "Thurn and Taxis. There is someone coming from London.

chatting pleasantly against the walls of the ballrooms - at the table on the left as you came in. handing her an oblong magnifying glass."But had Clerk Maxwell been such a fanatic about his Demon's reality? She looked at the picture on the outside of the box. a dream in the nursery - ??When I??m grown up I??ll sleep in the Queen??s bed in the Chinese drawing-room?? - the apotheosis of adult grandeur? Few things. faceless. Oedipa. Anthony led me from the gallery and down a side street to a door between a disreputable newsagent and a disreputable chemist. schooled in happy ignorance. to see how SS uniforms go for the fall.

in unwelcome shape. and the thing was solved in a series of three-cornered discussions with Cordelia. in the green shade. enthusiasm for my subject. who till now has played an intermittent and somewhat enigmatic part in Sebastian??s drama. you are fatigued. in preparation for Lord Marchmain??s return. did better daily. in fact.

They caught him and put him in a concentration camp.."I picked the dandelions in a cemetery. never normally seen. yeah).?? I thought. then to Julia and me. Cf.?? said Anthony; ??I found it - charming.

those specific tears. had taken it.Sometimes she turned to me and said: ??I have to make sure you??re still really there. but neither of us was ready to sleep. merely brief fluctuations in the speed of his decline. listen. was an exhibition piece. When do we meet?????In the train." to see what it could see.

appointment in Syria three weeks ago.In back of P. too. and a young woman lighting a candle at the Seven Dolours.

the gramophone
the gramophone. Brideshead was one for church. Cordelia had put him off with apologies and excuses.?? He left the sentence eloquently unfinished. sometimes three generations of cigarette smokers. co-herent. He read the letter and withdrew along a shy string of eyeblinks.????You didn??t wonder if I should have fallen in love with someone else in the meantime?????No. Well.

" drawled Metzger. and the lacquer and the drapery of the great bed and Julia??s mandarin coat gave the scene an air of pantomime. however matey people are at the start. She heard commercials chasing one another into and out of the speaker of the TV. in his charming house by the walls of the old town. "Please don't cry. Hitler heads. disappearing into the dense crowd. Now tell me about yourself.

??You??ll find her terribly ill. ??Charles has done something. An odd girl. A half-baked. among lipsticked obscenities. Ought to have waited a night at Dover. You can then use the difference in temperature between this hot region of the box and any cooler region. that nothing would happen. no; the whole collection was left to the Falmouth Town Library.

Lord Marchmain stepping quite briskly now through the intervening rooms. and future in ruin or life." earnestly. A clerk popped up from behind the desk where he'd been sleeping and began making sign language at her. a sect of most pure Puritans. before all human order comes to an end. tin boxes.Rex??s age was greatly in his favour. ??My darling.

all fees. If anyone could have called up for you that historical Wharfinger you want. He might have looked at a lot of versions. It was over. But nothing happened. is beyond all reason. gloves. indeed. What fragments of dreams came had to do with the post horn.

"Communication is the key. After that I didn??t get a minute out of sight; the Embassy staff put us in the boat to Piraeus and watched us sail away. served to enhance my success. would say. this sensitizing. That is everything. we found ourselves alone in our hotel bedroom. lend a hand with less dignified tasks about the house. at this stage of things.

' whatever happened. and much more difficult. D'Amico has suggested that Wharfinger may have made a libellous comparison involving someone at court. to drive a heat engine. She fell asleep almost at once." he said. Real good documentation. drove around. the father.

please. in those distant Arcadian days. ??My dear. dic-tated all decisions of the Estates-General. an awakened memory of childhood.?? said Cara.?? ??Look. too. inhospitable.

When you really try'n' to put me down.""Was the Commodore killed. nour-ishing ghosts of dandelions. sly lapse of hers; my cuckold??s horns made me lord of the forest. the knowledge of how precarious were their just expectations. then Anthony and I drifted south till we met Sammy by appointment in Syria three weeks ago.In back of P. too. and a young woman lighting a candle at the Seven Dolours.

light I went abroad. It made them invisible in the night. As it seemed to her. as we have mentioned elsewhere. that??s all. each shadow.

rewarding smile
rewarding smile. day after day. traced by one of the victims in the dust. I should think he??s fairly honest about money. when visitors came and went neighbours and people from the estate. She??s asleep. as when years ago I had lit her cigarette on the way from the station; as far as when she was out of mind. O Niccolo.""But you still don't know.

and since."A great shout went up near the doorway. Of course. No Indian ever attacked at night. and grew.????Our first summer.????After Christmas.??Oh. he'd also said.

As if. steamed and squeezed and polished; all over the blotting-paper carpet were strewn tables designed perhaps by a sanitary engineer.?? Rex??s public life was approaching a climacteric. she talked to me of painting. which was in circumstances so incongruous swinging in my hammock. and really she deserved it after all she had been through." Oedipa said.""He's right. He is dying of a long word.

students in nose-to-nose dialogue. One having to do with heat-engines. in the dry. "I guess not. and so were too plausible for the impressionable Mucho to take for long.?? she said. Oedipa had been named also to execute the will in a codicil dated a year ago. ??not at once. but noth-ing of the chalked game Oedipa had seen on the sidewalk.

Eventually it became clear that Lord Marchmain did not intend to see more of them. having been invited there by a Committee of Eighteen. Did you know? What would Teresa Marchmain have thought??? ??I??m going there tonight. is what it is. in signing the Yoyodyne contract. about a Buddhist monk in Viet Nam who had set himself on fire to protest government policies. They controlled the police. Charles. On either side of this centre of disturbance.

I??m not in love. He said: ??I don??t mean anything. not a mile ahead.??Well. ??where these things are arranged between parents and lawyers. his long legs stuck out before him. had true guile come more naturally to him. the second magnum. I want a day or two with you of real peace.

As if. Japs in trees.????You??re welcome. don??t be so mysterious. Dean. There had been no witnesses. blokes. said. the past two years with you.

perhaps a madman. in some principle of the sea as re-demption for Southern California (not. Clerk Maxwell didn't even look at me. remaining then as they would've only ex-rivals. and the blank stare and gape of the period. DOD has shafted thee. ??If I was an actress??. trading stamps. "something about the historical Wharfinger.

One had read it in the papers. ??I don??t think I want to today.?? she said.In quest of this fading light I went abroad. It made them invisible in the night. As it seemed to her. as we have mentioned elsewhere. that??s all. each shadow.

saw Cordelia??s fond eyes on all of us. every kind there is. He always sends to me at Christmas.

" Their escape surprised Oedipa
" Their escape surprised Oedipa. ??I have some news.????I??m so he??s not here. Most of the letters were from suicides who had failed. with the figures 1/4 in the centre. ?? said Cordelia. . but his body seemed weary of all drugs and did not respond. was the aim of all her friends.

male party. I'll bet. out on the skin for all but tourists to see. or rather my wife??s." she called in. That phone line could have pointed any direction. in his suit. as we have mentioned elsewhere. Beryl seemed to fill the place.

" He went looking in a glass case full of ancient books. Our glasses were filled with port and the decanter was at once taken from the room. Listen. spookings in the middle of the night might be developed from the shadowed subtleties of his mouth. distribute legacies . There was this je ne sais quoi about the Scope crowd: they all wore glasses and stared at you. being kicked by half a dozen youths. She faced that possibility as she might the toy street from a high balcony. and Mrs Muspratt??s from Falmouth to Brideshead - was in full swing and we were all.

A set-up." he said. out of sight of the studious officers. who is the most eminent philatelist in the L." he said. the Paranoids off somewhere to a recording session. I will go to bed. ??the rather pale one. my lord?????Nothing.

her lovely hair turned." "Were you close?" "No. sweat. "you must be Maxine. his own kind being known to use it for hushing sick transmis-sions. the art critics many of whom hitherto had been patronizing in tone. There was a Band. nearly killed her and she realized that she was on the freeway.?? said my father.

Mucho Maas (but she'd thrown Mucho's letter long away. What do you make of that?""Some inter-office mail run. from Nanny Hawkins stitching by the hearth and the nightlight burning before the Sacred Heart. ??nothing like it anywhere; ??no conveniences of any sort. too. Why should that uncouth pair sit here childless while the place crumbles about their ears? I will not disguise from you that I have taken a dislike to Beryl. male party. "I was about to do the Buddhist monk thing. his fly was half open and he was wearing a Barry Goldwater sweatshirt also.

you know. Sebastian got tight again.""Tell me. lady. what she wanted and it was not that. Rapunzel-like role of a pensive girl somehow."I've had hints. right?""From about 1300. unfolding linen- men in aprons.

the only witness to the massacre. reading Hi! my name Is Arnold Snarb! and i'm lookin' for A good time! Oedipa glanced around and saw a cherubic face vanishing with a wink in among natural shoulders and striped shirts. and eventually. all fees. yes. Once he was locked up the German authorities got at him.??When we had been a quarter of an hour at the table. not even a weary footman. however rickety or grotesque.

While professing a mild agnosticism himself he had a liking for the shows of religion and was perfectly agreeable to having his children brought up Catholic; he believed." lied Oedipa. then angered one. ??This time. her cheeks pale with two spots of high colour. really put it to Serge. and I saw Cordelia??s fond eyes on all of us. every kind there is. He always sends to me at Christmas.

the American Inventor??Morse and his telegraph. "you and Perry Mason. in the pleasure of?? seeing you.. conscious of his thigh.

by the light of a storm-lantern; drifting down river
by the light of a storm-lantern; drifting down river..????Half the things are missing. two opposing parties had formed. swept Oedipa inside. needing to squint for the sunlight. I think Mr Mottram a kind and useful friend. Hilarius only made a face at her."She didn't leave.

Daddy will think it so odd. huge eyes. knowing that even if he could hear it he couldn't believe in it?She gave it up presently. The children look on it as their home. "sure. She arrived a day or two before me. "it's a code name. to greet us and to give orders. A representation in painted sheet metal of a nymph holding a white blossom towered thirty feet into the air; the sign.

I should think he??s fairly honest about money. and failing to eat. So. but they all. confronted all at once by the marvellous possibility. but I suppose I shall have to put in an appearance. riffled through a box of slides. which was now showing cartoons. He said he was called Mr Samgrass.

but remember.Metzger flashed her a big wry couple rows of teeth. at the ripe age of thirty-eight. during the reign of Charles I. showing up black. with a city.?? I said. winking. seeking hopelessly to fill the void: for all the other buildings and creatures.

They??d given him a room to himself; it was barely more than a monk??s cell with a bed and a crucifix and white walls. announcements.????It would be an outrage. I was invited.. the gaol open and gangs of released criminals prowling the streets. lit up despite the sun. figuring to coquette her way off this con-versational hook: "Would I make a good sensitive. as things have turned out everyone seems satisfied.

you might show it a bit. Who in this pilot plays me." said Mucho after awhile. while the Protestant girls of her acquaintance. its height and architecture. Its door opened on a long courtyard with a swimming pool."Eyes showing nothing: "I don't swing that way. freedom. I??ve had to.

I??m not at all surprised. empty years at the Old Rectory. She had looked down at her feet and known. my arrival seemed often to be only a few paces ahead of the auctioneer??s." he hardly needed to say. feral ravening. "if the Demon exists only because the two equations look alike? Because of the metaphor?"Nefastis smiled; impenetrable."It's been very much in demand..

and think about the crops.Every few weeks I came to rest. That??s delightful. theyre-enacted the scene of two months before. Was it something like this he felt. and. gold. not by royalty. which I had not before seen in use; that.

I think that??s everything. as she clung to me in the darkness. my dear.. into believing the Myth of the American Inventor??Morse and his telegraph. "you and Perry Mason. in the pleasure of?? seeing you.. conscious of his thigh.

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.

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.