Ekwefi asked. Odukwe continued:"Last year when my sister was recovering from an illness. I know it as I look at you.

- instead of thirty there were now only fifteen
- instead of thirty there were now only fifteen. where the white men first came many years before and where they had built the center of their religion and trade and government.""That is so. And how is my daughter. waiting for him." he said. And so nobody gave serious thought to the stories about the white man's government or the consequences of killing the Christians. The children were also decorated. Tortoise began to sniff aloud. He had one consolation. But they soon returned and everyone was gazing at the rag from a reasonable distance. 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 said to themselves. their hoes and machetes. as her mother had been called in her youth."Umezulike. 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. and Obiageli told her mournful story."For the first time in three nights. And yet we say Nneka - 'Mother is Supreme.

She rose. and so they made them that offer which nobody in his right senses would accept. only they did not understand him. If any money came his way. But as he flew home his long talon pierced the leaves and the rain fell as it had never fallen before. and then painted his big toe. not even for fear of a goddess. You are a great man in your clan. the interpreter. because it had been inadvertent. though his dialect was different and harsh to the enrs of Mbanta. It was sudden and tremendous. but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders. But everybody knew that he was going to die and Aneto got his belongings together in readiness to flee. At last Vulture was sent to plead with Sky. "My father told me that he had been told that in the past a man who broke the peace was dragged on the ground through the village until he died. the fear of failure and of weakness. "And these white men. Okonkwo remembered his own father. The seven wasted and weary years were at last dragging to a close.

but he had never yet come across them. He sighed again."Where do you sleep with your wife. Okonkwo said he was sorry for what he had said. The glowing logs only served to light up vaguely the dark figure of the priestess. the god of the sky. It looked like whispering. For days and nights together it poured down in violent torrents. Ekwefi hurried to the main footpath and turned left in the direction of the voice. the "medicine house" or shrine where Okonkwo kept the wooden symbols of his personal god and of his ancestral spirits. Every man of Umuofia was asked to gather at the market place tomorrow morning. The wavering converts drew inspiration and confidence from his unshakable faith. The crowd burst into a thunderous roar. "All the gods you have named are not gods at all. Mgbafo and her brothers were as still as statues into whose faces the artist has molded defiance. Tortoise stood up in his many-colored plumage and thanked them for their invitation. She was alive and well. There was so much food and drink that many kinsmen whistled in surprise. The yams he had sown before the drought were his own. "But if the Oracle said that my son should be killed I would neither dispute it nor be the one to do it.

She wore a black necklace which hung down in three coils just above her full.At last the two teams danced into the circle and the crowd roared and clapped."But the leaves will be wet."Unoka was an ill-fated man." the others replied. Mr. Okonkwo came after her. no one could kill them without having to flee from the clan. It always surprised him when he thought of it later that he did not sink under the load of despair.Ikezue held out his right hand. Ezinma's voice soon faded away and only Chielo was heard moving farther and farther into the distance.'When Ekwefi brought the hoe. my friend. Thank you.""You worry yourself for nothing. like leprosy and smallpox. asked her""Remember that if you do not answer truthfully you will suffer or even die at childbirth." Okonkwo threatened. "How much longer do you think you will live?" she asked. with music and dancing and a great feast.

Ezinma rushed out of the hut. calabashes and wooden bowls were thoroughly washed. because it would hear."Whose cow was it?" asked the women who had been allowed to stay behind."He does not know that either. The bride-price had been paid and all but the last ceremony had been performed. As soon as he left.Some farmers had not planted their yams yet." Okonkwo said. "that Abame is no more?""How is that?" asked Uchendu and Okonkwo together." and they argued like this for a few moments before Unoka accepted the honor of breaking the kola. Its most potent war-medicine was as old as the clan itself. that the girl should go to Ogbuefi Udo to replace his murdered wife. and so they suffered. "Amadiora will break your head for you!"Some days later. 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. All cooking pots. It was on the seventh day that he died. and how Sky withheld rain for seven years. like coco-yams.

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. Ekwefi was also awakened and her benumbed fears revived." said Obierika."Locusts are descending. They boast about victory over death. He neither inherited a barn nor a title. even into people's beds. like learning to become left-handed in old age. So I shall ask you to come again the way you came before. He cleared his throat and began:"Thank you for the kola. Ezinma's voice soon faded away and only Chielo was heard moving farther and farther into the distance. The moon had been rising later and later every night until now it was seen only at dawn. Such a man was Ogbuefi Ugonna. It was unbelievable.Obierika was a man who thought about things. somewhat indulgently." Okonkwo said. They sang his praise and the young women clapped their hands:"Who will wrestle for our village?Okafo will wrestle for our village. I kill a man on the day that his life is sweetest to him." he said quietly to Ezinma.

The palm fronds were helpless in keeping them back. some of them having come a long way from their homes in distant villages. malevolent. "all the birds were invited to a feast in the sky. There was nothing new in that. The blazing sun returned. where he thought they must be. He immediately rose and shook hands with Okoye. with a start. "it is this eyelid. in a body. Kiaga that he had decided to go to Umuofia where the white missionary had set up a school to teach young Christians to read and write. Unoka. He trembled with the desire to conquer and subdue. "We should do something. Even the oldest men could only remember one or two other occasions somewhere in the dim past." said one of the converts. and brought out his snuff-bottle from the goatskin bag by his side." the medicine man told Okonkwo in a cool. The other wives drank in the same way.

"As our people say. Unfortunately for her Okonkwo heard it and ran madly into his room for the loaded gun. and he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating. empty men. sprang to his feet and gripped him by the neck. had gone to consult Agbala. came into the obi from outside. And immediately Okonkwo's eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly.His life had been ruled by a great passion??to become one of the lords of the clan.' said the birds when they had heard him." He paused. Then it went nearer and named the village: " Iguedo of the yellow grinding-stone!" It was Okonkwo's village. We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas. in the land of his fathers where men were bold and warlike. who suddenly gave up his trade." said Okonkwo. deeply. The same thought also came to Okonkwo's mind. A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it hatches.The priestess' voice was already growing faint in the distance.

It was a story of brothers who lived in darkness and in fear."After the kola nut had been eaten Okonkwo brought his palm- wine from the corner of the hut where it had been placed and stood it in the center of the group. and the women sat on a sisal mat spread on a raised bank of earth." said Ezinma. If your death was the death of nature. all talking in low voices. and for protection against their enemies. and a man who committed it must flee from the land. Nwoye's mother thanked her and she went back to her mother's hut. afraid to go in. only to return to their places almost immediately. the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. called her mother by her name. The men brought their goatskin mats." said Ekwefi." Okonkwo said."Come and shake hands with me. were whispering together.""But he had no wings. and as if in sympathy the smoldering log also sighed.

guns and even his cannon. "when she was pregnant. Most of the men and women of Abame had gone to their farms.During the planting season Okonkwo worked daily on his farms from cock-crow until the chickens went to roost. the one young and beautiful."Where do you sleep with your wife. Their bodies shone with sweat. "the goddess of the earth. They never answered yes for fear it might be an evil spirit calling." He danced a few more steps and went away. He fell and fell and fell until he began to fear that he would never stop falling. "We are going directly. Nwoye. and others who could think of nowhere else open to escape. A baby on its mother's back does not know that the way is long. His name was Nwoye. "It pleases me to see a young man like you these days when our youth has gone so soft. the white men had also brought a government." he said.Okonkwo spent the next few days preparing his seed-yams.

I shall give you twice four hundred yams. "I am an old man and I like to talk. Neighbors sat around. He had had no patience with his father. "But if the Oracle said that my son should be killed I would neither dispute it nor be the one to do it. and about the locusts?? Then quite suddenly a thought came upon him."Tufia-al" the priestess cursed. They then set about painting themselves with cam wood and drawing beautiful black patterns on their stomachs and on their backs." said Obierika. No ogbanje would yield her secrets easily."Bring me my bag. An evil forest was where the clan buried all those who died of the really evil diseases. and the crowd yelled in answer. succulent breasts. and each party brought with them a huge pot of palm-wine. There were also pots of yam pottage. Okonkwo. But if they thought these things they kept them within themselves." said Obierika.That was the kind of story that Nwoye loved.

and soon the children were chasing one of their cocks. Now he is no longer my son or your brother. "But they will understand when they go to their plot of land tomorrow morning. Kiaga."At that moment Obierika's son.The contest began with boys of fifteen or sixteen. It was also the dumping ground for highly potent fetishes of great medicine men when they died. carrying on their heads various sizes of pots suitable to their years. who had joined in plucking the feathers." He then added ten sticks to the fifteen and gave the bundle to Ukegbu. "But the law of the land must be obeyed. Five matches ended in this way. her moments of depression when she would snap at everybody like an angry dog.- they must be going towards Umuachi. And then appeared on the horizon a slowly-moving mass like a boundless sheet of black cloud drifting towards Umuofia. Ikeocha. this medicine stands on the market ground in the shape of an old woman with a fan. When they had gone round the circle they settled down in the center." the men said among themselves. In the end he decided that Nnadi must live in that land of Ikemefuna's favorite story where the ant holds his court in splendor and the sands dance forever.

in a terrifying voice. because it judged a man by the work or his hands. became for Ekwefi mere physical agony devoid of promise. someone else rose and filled it. Darkness held a vague terror for these people. It was clear that the bags were full of cowries. The pots of wine stood in their midst. When they had gone round the circle they settled down in the center. It was like the pulsation of its heart. Even the greatest medicine men took shelter when he was near. He accepted the half-full horn from his brother and drank it.A strange and sudden weakness descended on Ekwefi as she stood gazing in the direction of the voices like a hen whose only chick has been carried away by a kite. It was on the seventh day that he died. Those men of Abame were fools. the shouting and the firing of guns." said Ibe. especially at festivals and also when an old man died."But you said it was where they bury children?" asked the medicine man. And so one Sunday two of them went into the church." said Uchendu after a long silence.

"Where is Ojiugo?" he asked his second wife. "I sold the big ones as soon as you left. "But I am greatly afraid. and the crowd answered. but when they went away Okonkwo sat still for a very long time supporting his chin in his palms." said Obierika to his son."It is very near now. and they ran for their lives. And that could not be. Uzowulu should recover from his madness and come in the proper way to beg his wife to return she will do so on the understanding that if he ever beats her again we shall cut off his genitals for him. But I can trust you. That was why he had called him a woman. i have only a short while to live. When they finished. or rather to his death. He led it on a thick rope which he tied round his wrist. Spirits always addressed humans as "bodies.There were seven drums and they were arranged according to their sizes in a long wooden basket." said another woman. only to return to their places almost immediately.

or osu. Here we say he cannot climb the tall tree but he can tap the short ones standing on the ground." said Obierika. And then suddenly like one possessed he shot out his left hand and pointed in the direction of Mbaino. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness. He immediately rose and shook hands with Okoye. Elumelu. Ezinma was crying loudly now. Why should I? But the Oracle did not ask me to carry out its decision.The footway had now become a narrow line in the heart of the forest. 1 owe them no cocoyams. Okonkwo's first son. his back shining with perspiration." said Okonkwo. They set fire to his houses. Now and again a full-chested lamentation rose above the wailing whenever a man came into the place of death. But it was momentary. "If you had been poor in your last life I would have asked you to be rich when you come again. 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. Ekwefi was beginning to feel hot from her running.

That was his fifth head and he was not an old man yet.When she got to the big udala tree Ezinma turned left into the bush. who would not lend his knife for cutting up dogmeat because the dog was taboo to him."Bring me my bag. "They have that custom in Obodoani.But there were many others who saw the situation differently. Onwumbiko??"Death.Ezinma led the way back to the road. and any time he passed her way he told Ear that he was still alive. He continued:"During the last planting season a white man had appeared in their clan. and allowed a murmur of suppressed anger to sweep the crowd. whose eyes.The next morning the crazy men actually began to clear a part of the forest and to build their house. The yams put on luxuriant green leaves. It was a sad miscalculation. He was roused in the morning by someone banging on his door. The men were seized and beaten until they streamed with blood. Ekwefi had a feeling of spacious openness.Evil Forest began to speak and all the while he spoke everyone was silent. Ezinma's voice soon faded away and only Chielo was heard moving farther and farther into the distance.

Okonkwo slept. The children stood in the darkness outside their hut watching the strange event. and he was grateful."Mr. The children made endless trips to the stream. woman. but he stood beckoning to them. They then set about painting themselves with cam wood and drawing beautiful black patterns on their stomachs and on their backs. I did not hang myself. among the missionaries in Umuofia. and she guessed they must be on the village ilo. In the end Parrot. Suppose when he died all his male children decided to follow Nwoye's steps and abandon their ancestors? Okonkwo felt a cold shudder run through him at the terrible prospect.Ezinma did not call her mother Nne like all children. her wrath was loosed on all the land and not just on the offender. Then she suddenly turned round and began to walk back to the road. the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. Your generation does not know that. and Ezinma brought his goatskin bag from the far end of the hut. and at the end it was decided to follow the normal course of action.

They were the harbingers sent to survey the land. "she will bring you back very soon.An iron gong sounded. but they never brought them into the village. the white missionary. And how is my daughter. they have killed me!" as he ran towards him."He said something. Such a man was Ogbuefi Ugonna." he mocked. It was a cry in the distance: oji odu aru ijiji-o-o! (The one that uses its tail to drive flies away!). pulled out his staff and thrust it into the earth again. On Obierika's side were his two elder brothers and Maduka. who will hold his head up among my people.As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his machete. Okonkwo!" she warned." At the same time the priestess also said.Ezinma was an only child and the center of her mother's world. father? You are beyond our knowledge. not even with broomsticks.

She believed because it was that faith alone that gave her own life any kind of meaning. trying to minimize Ojiugo's thoughtlessness." he said. It was not the mad logic of the Trinity that captivated him.""Why?" asked Obierika and Okonkwo together.Am oyim de de de de! flew around the dark. if it lost its tail it soon grew another. and there was too much saltpeter in it. "Amadiora will break your head for you!"Some days later. but he went to the birds and asked to be allowed to go with them. The villagers were so certain about the doom that awaited these men that one or two converts thought it wise to suspend their allegiance to the new faith. She shut her eyes for a while and opened them again in an effort to see. Then all Umuofia turned out in spite of the cold harmattan. The dark top soil soon gave way to the bright red earth with which women scrubbed the floors and walls of huts. The men stood outside the circle. he belonged to the clan as a whole. As soon as he found one he would sing with his whole being. Two years after her marriage to Anene she could bear it no longer and she ran away to Okonkwo. I clear the bush and set fire to it when it is dry. She had balanced it on her head.

And he knew which trees made the strongest bows. My mother was one of you. Maduka.As Okonkwo sat in his hut that night. and then flew away. but the elders counseled patience till nightfall. Their fathers had never dared to stand before our ancestors. and only the old people had seen them before. He broke the nut saying: We shall all live. but the elders counseled patience till nightfall."There was a long silence. She sometimes broke into a run and stopped again suddenly. "I shall not talk about thanking you any more. They came to discover what the future held for them or to consult the spirits of their departed fathers. Okagbue worked tirelessly and in silence. Kiaga's joy was very great. Nwoye overheard it and burst into tears."Where does Agbala want to see her?" Ekwefi asked. Odukwe continued:"Last year when my sister was recovering from an illness. I know it as I look at you.