wrestling teams.The footway had now become a narrow line in the heart of the forest.

asked her""Remember that if you do not answer truthfully you will suffer or even die at childbirth
asked her""Remember that if you do not answer truthfully you will suffer or even die at childbirth. Earth's emissary. She stood until Chielo had increased the distance between them and she began to follow again.Anasi was a middle-aged woman." and Okoye saw groups of short perpendicular lines drawn in chalk." her mother warned as she moved near the fireplace to bring the pestle resting against the wall. As soon as Unoka understood what his friend was driving at. He died and rotted away above the earth. If such a thing were ever to happen. dug her teeth into the real thing." he began. The Ibo evangelists consulted among themselves and decided that the man probably meant bicycle. They just pulled the stump. anxiety mounted in every heart that heaved on a bamboo bed that night. Ezinma went with her and helped in preparing the vegetables."1 am one of them. and she agreed also.The young men who kept order on these occasions dashed about. The egwugwu had emerged once again from their underground home." he said. and the others to the chalk quarry.

would wipe them off the face of the earth. His younger wives did that."Obiageli called her "Salt" because she said that she disliked water."Don't you know what kind of man Uzowulu is? He will not listen to any other decision. The drums begin at noon but the wrestling waits until the sun begins to sink. But if you allow sorrow to weigh you down and kill you they will all die in exile."I am Evil Forest."Uzowulu's body. and a little hoe for digging out the tuber. That was the way people answered calls from outside. woman. Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man." said the old man. If I had not seen the few survivors with my own eyes and heard their story with my own ears."Okonkwo brought the wine and they began to drink. Okoye said the next half a dozen sentences in proverbs. Soon after." said Obierika. Okonkwo. "I am an old man and I like to talk." he said.

In the end the fearless ones went near and even touched him. They told the white man and he smiled benevolently. Their wives also. Maduka. We pray for life. She was the ultimate judge of morality and conduct. He brought another seven baskets and cooked them himself.""Let them laugh. long ago. Nothing wouldhappen to Ezinma.At the beginning of their journey the men of Umuofia talked and laughed about the locusts.Qkonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground. It was a warrior's funeral. 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. "The children are still very young." He brought down his staff heavily on the floor. If the song ended on his right foot. It is like Dimaragana."It was my husband's."It will not take us long to harvest as much as we like.

She had. How old is she now?""She is about ten years old. and most of them never did because they died too young - before they could be asked questions.As they trooped through Okonkwo's obi he asked: "Who will prepare my afternoon meal?""I shall return to do it. It is almost dawn. He sighed again. Nothing pleased Nwoye now more than to be sent for by his mother or another of his father's wives to do one of those difficult and masculine tasks in the home. talking was the next best. She was very friendly with Ekwefi and they shared a common shed in the market. Odukwe continued:"Last year when my sister was recovering from an illness. 'When people are invited to a great feast like this. The yams were then staked. and when he got home he went straight to Okonkwo's hut and told him what he had seen.Okonkwo took the bowl from her and gulped the water down. The moon was shining. was passing by the church on his way from the neighboring village. Ezinma took it to him in his obi."You are right.""Uzowulu's body.Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy - inwardly of course. Before the day was over he was dead.

I have none now except that young girl who knows not her right from her left. Ekwefi quickly moved away from her line of retreat."Oye."Uzowulu's body. A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving.As the men drank. They can steal your cloth from off your waist in that market. This one had only one hand and it carried a basket full of water. Igwelo had a job in hand because he had married his first wife a month or two before. He pushed the thought out of his mind. Only then did she realize."Then listen to me.""Somebody told me yesterday."You are right. It is a bad custom which these people observe because they lack understanding. There was once a man who went to sell a goat. He called his son. you sow your yams on exhausted farms that take no labor to clear. and then flew away. which every man kept in his obi and with which his guests drew lines on the floor before they ate kola nuts.Okonkwo knew these things.

The young suitor. He began to wonder why he had felt uneasy at all. "And you know how leaves become smaller after cooking." he always said. was telling two other men who came to visit him that the punishment for breaking the Peace of Ani had become very mild in their clan. you can tell a ripe corn by its look. My case is finished. will you go to see the wrestling?" Ezinma asked after a suitable interval."Tell them. and when he got home he went straight to Okonkwo's hut and told him what he had seen."Everybody thanked Okonkwo and the neighbors brought out their drinking horns from the goatskin bags they carried.He wanted him to be a prosperous man. but they are too young to leave their mother. He. And that was also the year Okonkwo broke the peace. And she went into her hut to warm the vegetable soup she had cooked last night. I think. 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. the emanation of the god of water. Palm trees swayed as the wind combed their leaves into flying crests like strange and fantastic coiffure. Okagbue's voice was unchanged.

The soup was brought out hot from the fire and in the very pot in which it had been cooked.""Oho. and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten. If they became more troublesome than they already were they would simply be driven out of the clan. therefore. Some of them were accompanied by their sons bearing carved wooden stools. Then from the distance came the faint beating of the ekwe. And if the clan did not exact punishment for an offense against the great goddess." he said." said Ekwefi. Before the day was over he was dead. who was once the village beauty. somewhat indulgently. But each time she had borne twins. His hands trembled vaguely on the black pot he carried."Ekwefi!" a voice called from one of the other huts. and sat down. But the Hills and the Caves were as silent as death.Even in his first year in exile he had begun to plan for his return. when Mr. The hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and in fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul??the question of the twins crying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killed.

Their leader was called Evil Forest. Okonkwo looked away. blew into it to remove any dust that might be there. and the little children to visit their playmates in the neighboring compounds. It was only when he had got there that it had occurred to him that the priestess might have chosen to go round the villages first. One of them was a pathetic cry."Remove your jigida first.Ezinma led the way back to the road. He was afraid of being thought weak. tall and strongly built. They came when misfortune dogged their steps or when they had a dispute with their neighbors. In Umuofia's latest war he was the first to bring home a human head. as was the custom.Then the missionaries burst into song. There was an immediate stir.All the umunna were invited to the feast. Although he had prospered in his motherland Okonkwo knew that he would have prospered even more in Umuofia. He was a very strong man and rarely felt fatigue. Her voice was as clear as metal. it would have been impossible to eat." Ezinma said.

"As he was speaking the boy returned. She will be a good wife to you. then. All that is true.Share-cropping was a very slow way of building up a barn of one's own."And so three goats were slaughtered and a number of fowls. his harvest will be good or bad according to the strength of his arm. His name was Nwakibie and he had taken the highest but one title which a man could take in the clan. But the really exciting moments were when a man was thrown. but the fattest of all was tethered to a peg near the wall of the compound and was as big as a small cow. And let me tell you one thing.In this way Akuke's bride-price was finally settled at twenty bags of cowries." said Okonkwo."1 don't know.- you stay at home and offer sacrifices to a reluctant soil. not even for fear of a goddess. And they were right. Ekwefi and her only daughter. and Obiageli told her mournful story. in a body. but they were really talking at the top of their voices.

" They laughed and agreed. Men stirred on their bamboo beds and listened anxiously. Unoka.""He tapped three of my best palm trees to death. But he left hold of Nwoye. Wherever he went he carried with him the mark of his forbidden caste??long."Evil Forest then turned to the other group and addressed the eldest of the three brothers. thus completing a circle with their hosts. They were possessed by the spirit of the drums.""Do you think a thief can do that kind of thing single-handed?" asked Nwankwo."Call your wife and child.""All their customs are upside-down." said Ekwefi." Ezinma offered. and Odukwe bent down and touched the earth. 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. I salute you. And now he was going to take the Idemili title. He made him feel grown-up. "It's true that a child belongs to its father. in your obi or in her own hut?" asked the medicine man.

Evil Forest represented the village of Umueru. He would remember his own childhood. the priestess of Agbala. Every child loved the harvest season. which had been dutifully eating yam peelings. that my children do not resemble me. and he spoke as he performed them:"1 hope our in-laws will bring many pots of wine."Do what you are told.Mr."Is it well?" Okonkwo asked. "The world has no end.' And so Daughter Kite returned the duckling and took a chick instead. Go and see if your father has brought out yams for the afternoon. and all the rest rushed away to see the cow that had been let loose. But his wives and young children were not as strong."Before God. Ani played a greater part in the life of the people than any other diety. Many young men have come to me to ask for yams but I have refused because I knew they would just dump them in the earth and leave them to be choked by weeds. And so when Okonkwo of Umuofia arrived at Mbaino as the proud and imperious emissary of war. We all know him. and he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating.

And to their greatest amazement the missionaries thanked them and burst into song.Obierika's compound was as busy as an anthill. and allowed a murmur of suppressed anger to sweep the crowd. But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship. a loud cheer rose from the crowd. "Whether you are spirit or man."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Chielo began once again to chant greetings to her god."One of them passes here frequently. who has promised everlasting life to all who believe in His holy name. and Ekwefi recoiled. But if you allow sorrow to weigh you down and kill you they will all die in exile. Nwoye's mother and Ojiugo would provide the other things like smoked fish. They chose to fly home on an empty stomach.Some farmers had not planted their yams yet. But you were rich. about their women. Is it right that you. and of the bird eneke-nti-oba who challenged the whole world to a wrestling contest and was finally thrown by the cat. had entered his eye. No matter how prosperous a man was.At last the two teams danced into the circle and the crowd roared and clapped.

trying to minimize Ojiugo's thoughtlessness. full of power and beauty. Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly. She will be a good wife to you.The way into the shrine was a round hole at the side of a hill. Am I dead? They said I would die if i took care of twins. Evil Forest addressed the two groups of people facing them. "They use medicine. Okonkwo was. as her father and other grownup people did.Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life. then. On her arms were red and yellow bangles. That was a source of great sorrow to the leaders of the clan. "You look very tired."Okonkwo had just blown out the palm-oil lamp and stretched himself on his bamboo bed when he heard the ogene of the town crier piercing the still night air. Many years ago another egwugwu had dared to stand his ground before him and had been transfixed to the spot for two days. and for protection against their enemies. The men stood outside the circle."Looking at a king's mouth. he.

" But before they went he whispered something to his first wife. Okonkwo would take care of meat and yams. Okonkwo got ready quickly and the party set out with Ikemefuna carrying the pot of wine. the anger on his face was gone. He had an old rusty gun made by a clever blacksmith who had come to live in Umuofta long ago. All others stood except those who came early enough to secure places on the few stands which had been built by placing smooth logs on forked pillars. in fact. red in tooth and claw." said the old man. The barn was built against one end of the red walls."What did he say?" the white man asked his interpreter. The first cup went to Okonkwo.'"'You do not know me. Okonkwo got ready quickly and the party set out with Ikemefuna carrying the pot of wine. Stories about these strange men had grown sim one of them had been killed in Abame and his iron horse tied to the sacred silk-cotton tree." Obierika said to Nwoye. Then he poured out for the others. as the saying goes. He was imprisoned with all the leaders of his family. But he now knew that they were for foolish women and children."How is your father?" Obierika asked.

Unoka went into an inner room and soon returned with a small wooden disc containing a kola nut. It was for this man that Okonkwo worked to earn his first seed yams. People laughed at him because he was a loafer."We shall be going. fifth and sixth years. He just hung limp. "You will find a pot of wine there. their hoes and machetes.""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. tangled hair."Yes. He slapped the ear and hoped he had killed it. We are only his mother's kinsmen. It was like the pulsation of its heart. Many years ago another egwugwu had dared to stand his ground before him and had been transfixed to the spot for two days.'"Tortoise had a sweet tongue. If I were you I would have stayed at home. Why should that be? How are you different from other men who shave their hair? The same God created you and them. Ogbuefi Ugonna had thought of the Feast in terms of eating and drinking. He put them in the pot and Ekwefi poured in some water. who then unrolled the goatskin which he carried under his arm.

Nwoye passed and repassed the little red-earth and thatch building without summoning enough courage to enter. and its priests and medicine men were feared in all the surrounding country. Now that she walked slowly she had time to think. She saw the other children with their water-pots and remembered that they were going to fetch water for Obierika's wife. "I shall carry you on my back. Her husband and his family were already becoming highly critical of such a woman and were not unduly perturbed when they found she had fled to join the Christians.""Yes. although one of them did not speak Ibo." He drank his palm-wine."When nearly two years later Obierika paid another visit to his friend in exile the circumstances were less happy. And this faith had been strengthened when a year or so ago a medicine man had dug up Ezinma's iyi-uwa. and he prayed to the ancestors."Why is Okonkwo with us today? This is not his clan. He was greatly surprised. Now and again a full-chested lamentation rose above the wailing whenever a man came into the place of death. "that in some clans it is an abomination for a man to die during the Week of Peace. it is play'. They guarded the prison. and at his death there were only three men in the whole clan who were older. This was before the planting season began. Obierika's relatives and friends began to arrive.

They were duly presented to the women. and from the very first seemed to have kindled a new fire in the younger boy."Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?" Okagbue had asked Ezinma. "But they will understand when they go to their plot of land tomorrow morning. Why do they always go for one's ears? When he was a child his mother had told him a story about it. At such times. floated on the chaos. away from the crowd. Our elders say that the sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them. carrying a basket full of water."She is ill in bed. The first day passed and the second and third and fourth. Okonkwo." shouted Chielo.""Not before you have had your breakfast. They had built their church there. because her father had called her one evening and said to her: "There are many good and prosperous people here. male and female. They too sat just in front of the huge circle of spectators. His two younger brothers are more promising. was marrying a new wife.

if they were stubborn. We put our fingers into our ears to stop us hearing. The meat was then shared so that every member of the umunna had a portion. At first it appeared as if it might prove too great for his spirit.The footway had now become a narrow line in the heart of the forest. Sometimes when he went to big village meetings or communal ancestral feasts he allowed Ikemefuna to accompany him. and his face beamed. He searched his bag and brought out his snuff-bottle. who was then an ailing man. Nkechi was the daughter of Okonkwo's third wife.But the war that now threatened was a just war. The fact was that Obiageli had been making inyanga with her pot."Ee-e-e!"The kola was eaten and the drinking of palm-wine began. gods of wood and stone."Obiako has always been a strange one. His name was Uchendu.- it was either too early or too late. They do not decide bride-price as we do. Why should I? But the Oracle did not ask me to carry out its decision. She wore the anklet of her husband's titles. It was not external but lay deep within himself. And it began to shake and rattle. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. a good harvest and happiness.

""Yes. and only then realized for the first time that the child had died on the same market-day as it had been born."Obiako has always been a strange one."Come along then and show me the spot. He calls you his father. Kiaga was praying in the church when he heard the women talking excitedly. and a man who committed it must flee from the land. It was not very long since they had returned. Ekwefi then became defiant and called her next child Onwuma??"Death may please himself. Okafo seized it. "When did you become one of the ndichie of Umuofia?"And so Nwoye's mother took Ikemefuna to her hut and asked no more questions."Our father. Many people looked around. "who will protect us from the anger of our neglected gods and ancestors?""Your gods are not alive and cannot do you any harm. His mother's kinsmen had been very kind to him.As they trooped through Okonkwo's obi he asked: "Who will prepare my afternoon meal?""I shall return to do it. for although nobody else knew it. His love of talk had grown with age and sickness."On the following Sunday. He held up a piece of chalk.Anasi was a middle-aged woman. He also took with him a pot of palm-wine." said his eldest brother. roasting and eating maize.

The law of the clan is that you should return her bride-price.Obierika then presented to him a small bundle of short broomsticks. We pray for life. Most of them were sons of our land whose mothers had been buried with us. Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing."You think you are the greatest sufferer in the world? Do you know that men are sometimes banished for life? Do you know that men sometimes lose all their yams and even their children? I had six wives once. Tortoise looked down from the sky and saw his wife bringing things out. And then one morning three white men led by a band of ordinary men like us came to the clan. Between Chielo's outbursts the night was alive with the shrill tremor of forest insects woven into the darkness. They were locusts. and was about to say something when the old man continued:"Yes. Ezinma placed her mother's dish before him and sat with Obiageli.Obierika was a man who thought about things. If your death was the death of nature. just beyond the borders of Mbaino."Have you slept enough?" asked her mother.As soon as his father walked in. metallic and thirsty clap. This was one of the lighter tasks of the after-harvest season."Don't be foolish. 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."Have you?" asked Obierika. deeply. As soon as Unoka understood what his friend was driving at.

In the center of the crowd a boy lay in a pool of blood. and our clan can no longer act like one. Some of them came over to see for themselves. quietly and deliberately. They were duly presented to the women.When she had shaken hands. the top one. gome. Even a man's motherland is strange to him nowadays. So Nwoye and Ikemefuna would listen to Okonkwo's stories about tribal wars. spread her mat on the floor and built a fire. Sometimes it poured down in such thick sheets of water that earth and sky seemed merged in one gray wetness. "my eyelid is twitching. Okonkwo took up his goatskin bag to go. that was how it looked to his father. Mr. and the dry.The drum sounded again and the flute blew. whom he nearly shot."Yes. In the other group were her husband." said Nwoye's mother. consulting among themselves and with the leaders of the two wrestling teams.The footway had now become a narrow line in the heart of the forest.