evening wore on.Obierika was a man who thought about things. "If a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor. It was a tremendous sight." Ofoedu agreed.

The air was full of dust and the smell of gunpowder
The air was full of dust and the smell of gunpowder. Today Okonkwo was not bringing his mother home to be buried with her people. She was going to the stream to fetch water."The next day a group of elders from all the nine villages of Umuofia came to Okonkwo's house early in the morning."Yes." Okonkwo said between mouthfuls." She died in her eleventh month. Okonkwo ate the food absent-mindedly.The only course open to Okonkwo was to flee from the clan. a man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness." he said. Her voice was as clear as metal." he announced when he sat down. 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.- then silence descended from the sky and swallowed the noise. and the crowd followed her. but ill. His mother had wept bitterly. So Nwoye and Ikemefuna would listen to Okonkwo's stories about tribal wars. The goat was then led back to the inner compound. who was the oldest man in the village.

and as if in sympathy the smoldering log also sighed. in a cleared spot." he said. I say it because I fear for the younger generation." replied the white man. They told the white man and he smiled benevolently. confident voice. was called a flaming fire." The boy smiled. But very few people had ever seen that kind of wrestling before. Neighbors sat around." A cold shiver ran down Okonkwo's back as he remembered the last time the old man had visited him."At last the party arrived in the sky and their hosts were very happy to see them. and turned to his sons and daughters. Even Mgbafo took to her heels and had to be restrained by her brothers. "Every day I tell you that jigida and fire are not friends.One day a neighbor called Okoye came in to see him."Who killed this banana tree?" he asked. In ordinary life Chielo was a widow with two children. "I do not blame you for not hearing the cock crow."Is Anasi not in?" he asked them.

There was a long break. For three or four moons it demanded hard work and constant attention from cock-crow till the chickens went back to roost.""Does the white man understand our custom about land?""How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are bad. waving their palm fronds. Ikemefuna called him father. therefore." But Death took no notice. another man asked a question: "Where is the white man's horse?" he asked. Ezinma shook every tree violently with a long stick before she bent down to cut the stem and dig out the tuber. and what is good among one people is an abomination with others. In short. He knew the names of all the birds and could set clever traps for the little bush rodents. he was repentant. also had a basket of plantains and coco-yams and a small pot of palm-oil. It rose and faded with the wind??a peaceful dance from a distant clan. and each hut seen from the others looked like a soft eye of yellow half-light set in the solid massiveness of night. like something agitating with a metallic life. Ogbuefi Ugonna had thought of the Feast in terms of eating and drinking."He belongs to the clan. or playground."I sometimes think he is too sharp.

" they said.From that day Amikwu took the young bride and she became his wife. and each hut seen from the others looked like a soft eye of yellow half-light set in the solid massiveness of night. She presented the cock to the musicians and began to dance.""Go and bring our own.""It is the result of a great medicine."That was all he had said. But her love of wrestling contests was still as strong as it was thirty years ago. he kept it secret. a vibrant silence made more intense by the universal trill of a million million forest insects. But all he said was: "When shall I go home?" When Okonkwo heard that he would not eat any food he came into the hut with a big stick in his hand and stood over him while he swallowed his yams. Unoka was never happy when it came to wars. In fact he recovered from his illness only a few days before the Week of Peace began. Okonkwo was the greatest wrestler and warrior alive. where he thought they must be. Kiaga. When the youngest wife went to call her again to be present at the washing of the body. That was always the trouble with Okeke's snuff.All this had happened more than a year ago and Ezinma had not been ill since. He then invited the birds to eat. And what is the result? Their clan is full of the evil spirits of these unburied dead.

and only then realized for the first time that the child had died on the same market-day as it had been born.The drums were still beating. with a full beard and a bald head. but they grew women's crops. Because he had taken titles. At the end they decided." said Idigo. slanting showers through sunshine and quiet breeze. After her father's rebuke she developed an even keener appetite for eggs. Mgbafo and her brothers were as still as statues into whose faces the artist has molded defiance."Umuofia kwenu. Okonkwo pleaded with her to come back in the morning because Ezinma was now asleep. And in a clear unemotional voice he told Umuofia how their daughter had gone to market at Mbaino and had been killed. building a new red-earth and thatch house for their teacher. The three white men and a very large number of other men surrounded the market. But I think you ought to break it.Umuofia was feared by all its neighbors. But she had grown so bitter about her own chi that she could not rejoice with others over their good fortune. with Ezinma sleeping on her back." said Okonkwo." he answered.

"Early in the afternoon the first two pots of palm-wine arrived from Obierika's in-laws. children sought for shelter. I have come to pay you my respects and also to ask a favor."Ekwefi." replied Okukwe. Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offense he had committed inadvertently? But although he thought for a long time he found no answer. And as he told them of the past they sat in darkness or the dim glow of logs. "I shall carry you on my back.He went back to the church and told Mr.Many years ago when Okonkwo was still a boy his father. "We should do something. before they finally left for their village.Ekwefi went into her hut to cook yams."The next day. There were three men in one group and three men and one woman in the other. Many of them spoke at great length and in fury. and girls came from the inner compound to dance. I did not send her away. Every man of Umuofia was asked to gather at the market place tomorrow morning. He immediately rose and shook hands with Okoye. Was it not on an Eke day that they fled into Umuofia?" he asked his two companions.

It throbbed in the air. and so have Uchendu and Unachukwu and Emefo.""Is he staying long with us?" she asked.She set the pot on the fire and Okonkwo took up his machete to return to his obi. he was not afraid now. That was the way people answered calls from outside. and went back to her hut. food was presented to the guests. But such was her anxiety for her daughter that she could not rid herself completely of her fear. There was coming and going between them. even the bravest among them. let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him." ';.The footway had now become a narrow line in the heart of the forest."Looking at a king's mouth. Nwoye returned home. and only then realized for the first time that the child had died on the same market-day as it had been born. They were duly presented to the women. Nma. He knew the names of all the birds and could set clever traps for the little bush rodents. In the center of the crowd a boy lay in a pool of blood.

An evil forest was where the clan buried all those who died of the really evil diseases. Neither of the other wives had. "That boy calls you father. But even in such cases they set their limit at seven market weeks or twenty-eight days. not even for fear of a goddess. rubbed his left palm on his body to dry it before tipping a little snuff into it.'"None of the birds had heard of this custom but they knew that Tortoise. Unoka. were whispering together. Okonkwo's wives and children and those who came to help them with the cooking began to bring out the food."He has married Okadigbo's second daughter. They also said I would die if I built my church on this ground. and then flew away. the third highest in the land. Ogbuefi Idigo was talking about the palm-wine tapper. There is not a single clan in these parts that I do not know very well. Everyone was puzzled. She then went down on one knee. which was rubbed with red earth so that it shone. The same thought also came to Okonkwo's mind."Ezinma went outside and brought some sticks from a huge bundle of firewood.

""He was indeed. but he did not know where to begin. He had five other sons and he would bring them up in the way of the clan. Okonkwo told him. 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."Umuofia kwenu!" roared Evil Forest. And there he stood in his hard shell full of food and wine but without any wings to fly home. Evil Forest addressed the two groups of people facing them. his face beaming with blessedness and peace. "I thought he was a strong man in his youth.The earth quickly came to life and the birds in the forests fluttered around and chirped merrily.""Very true. and the solid mass was now broken by tiny eyes of light like shining star dust. The faint and distant wailing of women settled like a sediment of sorrow on the earth. The elders sat in a big circle and the singers went round singing each man's praise as they came before him." Okonkwo asked himself. It was like the pulsation of its heart. who clung to her. and his children after him. thus completing a circle with their hosts. the rulers and elders of Mbanta assembled to decide on their action.

" But he was a man of commanding presence and the clansmen listened to him. Chielo never ceased in her chanting. but he went to the birds and asked to be allowed to go with them. And what do you think the Oracle would do then?""You know very well. Her back was turned on the footpath that led out of the hills. drank a little and handed back the horn. that is a boy's job. whose frantic rhythm was no longer a mere disembodied sound but the very heartbeat of the people.Go-di-di-go-go-di-go. And then like the sound of his cannon he crashed on the compound. had gained ground." roared Okonkwo." replied Uzowulu. my child. Hisspeech was so eloquent that all the birds were glad they had brought him."Go into that room. as her father and other grownup people did. and very strong. but many of them believed that the strange faith and the white man's god would not last. with which he carried the brown snuff to his nostrils. who will hold his head up among my people.

with which they sat on the floor. and in the end it was decided to ostracize the Christians. do you know me?""How can I know you. "Those that hear my words are my father and my mother." she said. all the same. quietly and deliberately. and prayed that the rain might fall in the night. "the goddess of the earth."I wish she were a boy. pulled out his staff and thrust it into the earth again. too. Nwoye passed and repassed the little red-earth and thatch building without summoning enough courage to enter.That was years ago. Ekwefi brought her to the fireplace." said Okonkwo.The Christians had grown in number and were now a small community of men."The two men sat in silence for a long while afterwards. Odukwe continued:"Last year when my sister was recovering from an illness. "But the law of the land must be obeyed." She died in her eleventh month.

Umuofia was feared by all its neighbors." said the young man Who had been sent by Obierika to buy the giant goat "There are so many people on it that if you threw up a grain of sand it would not find a way to fall to earth again. Only the word of our God is true. took the lump of chalk. And so he is bowed with grief. All cooking pots. But if you allow sorrow to weigh you down and kill you they will all die in exile. "It is enough. Nothing wouldhappen to Ezinma. In the end Oduche died and Aneto was taken to Umuru and hanged."The body of Odukwe. She had borne ten children and nine of them had died in infancy. Many of them spoke at great length and in fury. She had not as much as looked at Okonkwo and Ekwefi or shown any surprise at finding them at the mouth of the cave."Leave her to me. and they ran for their lives." and was allowed to go wherever it chose. "How much longer do you think you will live?" she asked." said Ekwefi. And they began to shoot. all its metal taken out of it by the vast emptiness of the cave.

and others prepared vegetable soup. and the elusive dance rose and fell with the wind. and from the very first seemed to have kindled a new fire in the younger boy. People laughed at him because he was a loafer." said Okagbue. But Ekwefi was not thinking about that. A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it hatches." Okonkwo agreed. "You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. They were possessed by the spirit of the drums. And he was afraid to look back. therefore. There were only four titles in the clan. And perhaps those not so young would be playing in pairs in less open places. Nwoye. occasionally feeling with her palm the wet." came her voice. so that he was full of food and drink and his body filled out in his shell. Tortoise looked down from the sky and saw his wife bringing things out. "and yet he is full of sorrow because he has come to live in his motherland for a few years." they said.

twenty-five."Be patient. And what made it worse in Okonkwo's case was that he had to support his mother and two sisters from his meagre harvest. met to hear a report of Okonkwo's mission. if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings. and so did his little children.As soon as his father walked in. the king of crops."Do you know Ogbuefi Ndulue?" Ofoedu asked. The people of the sky thought it must be their custom to leave all the food for their king. The crowd roared and clapped and for a while drowned the frenzied drums. And so they each took a new name. Anyone who knew his grim struggle against poverty and misfortune could not say he had been lucky. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic. He picked it up. setting up a wave of expectation in the crowd. They were locusts." said Obierika."We had meant to set out from my house before cockcrow. It began by naming the clan: Umuofia obodo dike! "the land of the brave. At the end of it Okonkwo was fully convinced that the man was mad.

It was a warrior's funeral. They set fire to his houses. who was the eldest of the nine sons. He counted them. Not long after. When his wife Ekwefi protested that two goats were sufficient for the feast he told her that it was not her affair."Okonkwo never did things by halves. "that I shall bring many iron horses when we have settled down among them. He laughed loud and long and his voice rang out clear as the ogene. Why did they not fight back? Had they no guns and machetes? We would be cowards lo compare ourselves with the men of Abame. and also a drinking gourd. Some of them will even ride the iron horse themselves."You need some sleep yourself. He wanted first to know why they had been outlawed. He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's return. It was like the pulsation of its heart. It all began over the question of admitting outcasts.""Your chi is very much awake. and would not go to war against it without first trying a peaceful settlement.It came slowly. and stayed.

These sudden bouts of sickness and health were typical of her kind. and people came from far and near to consult it. "I shall survive anything."Look at that wall. except his priestess." They laughed and agreed. It was the ekwe talking to the clan. among the missionaries in Umuofia. so she cupped her right hand to shelter the flame. Kiaga. which had been stretched taut with excitement. His yams grew abundantly. In ordinary life Chielo was a widow with two children.The moon was now up and she could see Chielo and Ezinma clearly. and would not go to war against it without first trying a peaceful settlement. After the pot-bearers came Ibe. pointing at the far wall of his hut. He was light in complexion and his eyes were red and fiery. Fireflies went about with their tiny green lamps. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. When a man blasphemes.

"The birds gathered round to eat what was left and to peck at the bones he had thrown all about the floor. was marrying a new wife.""But they are beating the drums. burning forehead. It is not bravery when a man fights with a woman. endless space in the presence of Agbala. when the rains had stopped and the sun rose every morning with dazzling beauty. I shall break your jaw."The village has outlawed us." said the priestess." They were hard and painful on the body as they fell. and each hut seen from the others looked like a soft eye of yellow half-light set in the solid massiveness of night."No. about their women. My mother was one of you. But the arrivees persevered." said Obierika. forty. They saluted one another and then reappeared on the ilo. "Okonkwo! Agbala ekme gio-o-o-o! Agbala cholu ifu ada ya Ezinmao-o-o-oi"At the mention of Ezinma's name Ekwefi jerked her head sharply like an animal that had sniffed death in the air. They saw the iron horse and went away again.

A hush fell on the compound immediately. But if you allow sorrow to weigh you down and kill you they will all die in exile. and Ezinma brought his goatskin bag from the far end of the hut. "You are our teacher. It was a little village called Mbanta. Tortoise had no wings. She knelt on her knees and hands at the threshold and called her husband. He continued:"During the last planting season a white man had appeared in their clan. But it was useless.""I don't know how we got that law. and Okonkwo's women and children heard from their huts all that she said. Another one was wailing near his right ear. There was no barn to inherit. How could she know that Ekwefi's bitterness did not flow outwards to others but inwards into her own soul. but the ekwe carried the news to all the nine villages and even beyond." Okonkwo thundered."I shall return very soon. When he had swallowed them. during the last harvest season. Okonkwo helped them put down their loads."I am following Chielo.

She went in and knocked at his door and he came out. But it was really a woman's ceremony and the central figures were the bride and her mother. so heavy and persistent that even the village rain-maker no longer claimed to be able to intervene. But no one thought It would be as long as three years. Quick as the lightning of Amadiora. light and gay."They do not understand. Maduka. He warmed himself in the fire and ate the entrails. The old man listened silently to the end and then said with some relief: "It is a female ochu. she was dead. Okonkwo's son. But there is one more question I shall ask you.Okonkwo returned from the bush carrying on his left shoulder a large bundle of grasses and leaves. It ended on the right. The rain fell in thin. bringing the third dish. one of the people of the sky came forward and tasted a little from each pot. They were silent for a long time."When he killed Oduche in the fight over the land. Of course they had all heard the bell-man.

which should be a woman's crowning glory. 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."That was all he had said."Be patient. Ezigbo. Okonkwo. The old man listened silently to the end and then said with some relief: "It is a female ochu. looking at Nwakibie's elder son Igwelo with a malicious twinkle in his eye. they kept their imagination to themselves. reappeared every year for seven years and then disappeared for another lifetime. Nwoye went to his mother's hut and told her that Ikemefuna was going home.Ezinma did not call her mother Nne like all children."It is near that orange tree. If your death was the death of nature. when they died. and men. he had stalked his victim. That was not luck." replied Uzowulu. carrying a wooden dish with three kola nuts and alligator pepper.""But someone had to do it.

As Idigo had said. I do not owe my inlaws anything."Okonkwo brought the wine and they began to drink."There is too much green vegetable. That was the way the clan at first looked at it. And this faith had been strengthened when a year or so ago a medicine man had dug up Ezinma's iyi-uwa. and at his death there were only three men in the whole clan who were older. every man with his goatskin bag hung on one shoulder and a rolled goatskin mat under his arm. But I think you ought to break it. Your generation does not know that. roots and barks of medicinal trees and shrubs. The children stood in the darkness outside their hut watching the strange event. They were not the real wrestlers. The thick dregs of palm-wine were supposed to be good for men who were going in to their wives. The ancient drums of death beat. they could see from his color and his language. As the evening wore on.Obierika was a man who thought about things. "If a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor. It was a tremendous sight." Ofoedu agreed.