live?" she asked. Neither of the other wives dared to interfere beyond an occasional and tentative."Odukwe's body.

"It is near that orange tree
"It is near that orange tree. touching the earth. That was the way people answered calls from outside. almost to himself. It was difficult to say which the people enjoyed more. Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood. That was the way people answered calls from outside. I shall do that every year until you return. He had a large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth. If we were all afraid of blood. who walked away and never returned. Okonkwo brought out kola nut and placed it before the priest. and the crowd followed her."He has married Okadigbo's second daughter. Then something had given way inside him. It was sudden and tremendous. and Ekwefi recoiled. And then Nkechi came in." Ezinma said. took her stick and walked over to the obi."As they stood there together.

" They offered them as much of the Evil Forest as they cared to take. They danced back to the center together and then closed in. and they had quickened their steps. At the opposite end of the compound was a shed for the goats. Her deepening despair found expression in the names she gave her children.And then quite suddenly a shadow fell on the world. mother. There was coming and going between them. "So you must finish this." said Ezinma. tall and strongly built. Nwoye's mother is already cooking. and it seldom did. Maduka. Yam stood for manliness. And ten thousand men answered "Yaa!" each time. one of them did something which no one could describe because it had been as quick as a flash. The rainbow began to appear. He was a leper."That woman standing there is my wife. "They have that custom in Obodoani.

His visitor was amazed. and so they stood waiting. long journey. Some women ran away in fear when it was thrown."Thank you. In fact he recovered from his illness only a few days before the Week of Peace began.Perhaps it never did happen." said Ekwefi with a heavy sigh. Okonkwo knew how to kill a man's spirit."Obiageli called her "Salt" because she said that she disliked water." His staff came down again.""What has happened to that piece of land in dispute?" asked Okonkwo."Ezeudu!" he called in his guttural voice. It was a fierce contest.At this point an old man said he had a question. "Blessed is he who forsakes his father and his mother for my sake. egusi soup and bitter-leaf soup and pots and pots of palm-wine. But you were a fearless warrior. And so he killed her. That was the day it happened. but even now they have not found the mouth with which to tell of their suffering.

A razor was taboo to him. "honest men and thieves. We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers. from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts. I want you to be there. If you turn against me when I am dead I will visit you and break your neck. He had five other sons and he would bring them up in the way of the clan.But the year had gone mad. she did not hear them. They were called kotma. At an early age he had achieved fame as the greatest wrestler in all the land. but they never brought them into the village. and went back to her hut. and of the bird eneke-nti-oba who challenged the whole world to a wrestling contest and was finally thrown by the cat. Ezinma.Okonkwo's neighbors heard his wife crying and sent their voices over the compound walls to ask what was the matter. He could neither marry nor be married by the free-born. and he had moments of sadness and depression But he and Nwoye had become so deeply attached to each other that such moments became less frequent and less poignant. They thought the priestess might be going to her house. "It's true that a child belongs to its father. At an early age he had achieved fame as the greatest wrestler in all the land.

""What did the white man say before they killed him?" asked Uchendu. "They have that custom in Obodoani. or rather held out her hand to be shaken. the tumult increased tenfold. They came to discover what the future held for them or to consult the spirits of their departed fathers. These sudden bouts of sickness and health were typical of her kind."1 don't know. All this happened many years ago." said Ezinma.And so Obierika went to Mbanta to see his friend."There is too much green vegetable." said Okonkwo. But somehow he knew he was not going to see them.No work was done during the Week of Peace. Then the metal gong sounded and the flute was blown. It was quiet and confident.""Is he staying long with us?" she asked."Why is Okonkwo with us today? This is not his clan. "The people of Umuike wanted their market to grow and swallow up the markets of their neighbors. a debtor.Suddenly Okagbue sprang to the surface with the agility of a leopard.

He pushed the thought out of his mind." said Uchendu. The egwugwu with the springy walk was one of the dead fathers of the clan. Nobody thought that such a thing could ever happen. on the day that Nwoye's mother celebrated the birth of her three sons with feasting and music. hungry swarm. Okonkwo stood by.That night he collected his most valuable belongings into head-loads. something felt in the marrow. Okonkwo's first son."What is iyi-uwa?" she asked in return. was a very exacting king. "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. "they killed him and tied up his iron horse. But he now knew that they were for foolish women and children.When all the egwugwu had sat down and the sound of the many tiny bells and rattles on their bodies had subsided. I do not owe my inlaws anything.As the day wore on his in-laws arrived from three surrounding villages. One of them was so old and infirm that he leaned heavily on a stick. who was once the village beauty. spread her mat on the floor and built a fire.

" Ezinma pointed out. even the bravest among them. Okonkwo had clearly washed his hands and so he ate with kings and elders. "I sold the big ones as soon as you left."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.""Let us not reason like cowards.But the year had gone mad. Some were great farmers. All the other dancers made way for her. before the first cock-crow. Ikemefuna looked back. He still thought about his mother and his three-year-old sister. It was a good riddance. and they closed in. came to visit him. some of them having come a long way from their homes in distant villages. That was not luck. There is only one true God and He has the earth. "But they will understand when they go to their plot of land tomorrow morning. Even the smell of gunpowder was swallowed in the sickly smell that now filled the air. Ezinma? You are older than Obiageli but she has more sense.

""You were very much like that yourself. anxiety mounted in every heart that heaved on a bamboo bed that night. But the boy was afraid of him and slipped out of the hut as soon as he noticed him dozing." said Ekwefi. "It is not to pay you back for all you did for me in these seven years. old way. Some of these prisoners were men of title who should be above such mean occupation. Her suitor and his relatives surveyed her young body with expert eyes as if to assure themselves that she was beautiful and ripe. called round his neighbors and made merry. who was also a diviner of the Afa Oracle." Umuofia obodo dike! Umuofia obodo dike! It said this over and over again.""I think it is good that our clan holds the ozo title in high esteem. had entered his eye. His eldest brother broke the first one.Ikezue held out his right hand. if it lost its tail it soon grew another. Every market day."Okonkwo never did things by halves.""All their customs are upside-down. and men dashed about in frenzy. Ekwefi quickly took her to their bedroom and placed her on their high bamboo bed.

"That is the story."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. and allowed a brief pause.""Once upon a time. He also took with him a pot of palm-wine. The saying of the elders was not true??that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed. Okonkwo and his wife followed at a respectful distance." said Okonkwo. using some of the chicken. She went in and knocked at his door and he came out." said Obierika. who sat next to him. and long stacks of yam stood out prosperously in it. The women weeded the farm three times at definite periods in the life of the yams. the village playground. but six."But the leaves will be wet. And so when the priestess with Ezinma on her back disappeared through a hole hardly big enough to pass a hen. Okonkwo was still pleading that the girl had been ill of late and was asleep. he had not slept at all last night. especially at festivals and also when an old man died.

Ezinma struggled to escape from the choking and overpowering steam. But he had long learned how to lay that ghost.The Oracle was called Agbala. a man asks his kinsman to scratch him. But it was useless. He was in fact an outcast.' said Tortoise. her left palm closed on her fish and her eyes gleaming with tears. he has learned to fly without perching. Okonkwo's first wife. And then from the center of the delirious fury came a cry of agony and shouts of horror. Her deepening despair found expression in the names she gave her children.Chielo's voice was now rising continuously. confident voice. But although it had happened so long ago. who had given much money to the white man's messengers and interpreter."What did he say?" the white man asked his interpreter.The confusion that followed was without parallel in the tradition of Umuofia. my sons. won a handful of converts and were already sending evangelists to the surrounding towns and villages.Ezinma was still sleeping when everyone else was astir.

""Nwoye is old enough to impregnate a woman. Your generation does not know that. Okonkwo always asked his wives' relations. Ezigbo. You may ask why I am saying all this. the priestess of Agbala. and Ojiugo's daughter. "We will go with you to meet those cowards. The air was full of dust and the smell of gunpowder. Nwoye turned round to walk into the inner compound when his father. "And you know how leaves become smaller after cooking." he intoned. now desperate. He addressed Nwakibie. folded her arms in front of her and began to sway her waist like a grown-up young lady."Yes. and men. Tortoise stood up in his many-colored plumage and thanked them for their invitation. unless it was one of the stubborn ones who returned. The sound of her benumbed steps seemed to come from some other person walking behind her. It was only on his fourth trip that he had found Ekwefi.

" said the old man. She rose." she answered. They sang songs as they went. But you were a fearless warrior."Why is Okonkwo with us today? This is not his clan. "I had something better to do.His life had been ruled by a great passion??to become one of the lords of the clan. No! he could not be. Only a few of them saw these white men and their followers. let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him.At last the two teams danced into the circle and the crowd roared and clapped. If I were you I would have stayed at home. Obierika offered him a lobe of the kola nut he had broken with Okonkwo. But there is one more question I shall ask you. who had begun to pour out the wine. "And let there be friendship between your family and ours. let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him." said another man."Tortoise turned to the birds and said: 'You remember that my name is All of you. when he was young.

and they had quickened their steps. It was only after the pot had been emptied that the suitor's father cleared his voice and announced the object of their visit. But that was only to be expected. if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man. But no one was sure where it was coming from. and from morning till night warriors came and went in their age groups. His mother might be dead. He changed them every day. who are known in all the nine villages for your valor in war? How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo. but inwardly they were happy for what they took to be their own foresight. for he knew certainly that something was amiss. and all the rest rushed away to see the cow that had been let loose. Is it true that Okonkwo nearly killed you with his gun?""It is true indeed. Violent deaths were frequent. smiling. She had borne ten children and nine of them had died in infancy. "Let us give them a portion of the Evil Forest. 'but tell me." replied hercheap uggs for sale mother. None of his converts was a man whose word was heeded in ihe assembly of the people. Ezinma.

unlike most children. but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders. It was only then that they exchanged greetings and shook hands over what was left of the food. He immediately set to work digging a pit where Ezinma had indicated. "He seemed to speak through his nose. she prayed a thousand times." Ezinma said. "before I kill you!" He seized a heavy stick that lay on the dwarf wall and hit him two or three savage blows."Ezeudu!" he called in his guttural voice. The earth burned like hot coals and roasted all the yams that had been sown. The first thing he would do would be to rebuild his compound on a more magnificent scale."Uzowulu's body.""That is why the drum has not been beaten to tell Umuofla."Those who knew Amadi laughed. His eldest son. When everything had been set before the guests. fire does not burn them?" Ezinma. silence returned to the world. "I must thank my mother's kinsmen before I go. and sat down. "And he was riding an iron horse.

Although they come from a village that is known for being closefisted. He drank palm-wine from morning till night." said Ezinma at last. 'You have done very well. "Agbala greets you. when the land had been moistened by two or three heavy rains. and all were happy. and so were his cousins and their wives when he sent for them and told them who his guest was." ';. Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation. who was the eldest of the nine sons. waving their palm fronds. And as if they had been waiting for that. Ezinma rushed out of the hut." Okonkwo said. "But you can explain to her. It must be the thought of going home to his mother. A steady cloud of smoke rose from his head. He danced a few steps to the funeral drums and then went to see the corpse."You will blow your eyes out." But she could not.

If I had not seen the few survivors with my own eyes and heard their story with my own ears. He just hung limp. thus completing a circle with their hosts. The white missionary was very proud of him and he was one of the first men in Umuofia to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion. "We are going directly. The heathen say you will die if you do this or that. That was a source of great sorrow to the leaders of the clan.- you stay at home and offer sacrifices to a reluctant soil. before the first cock-crow." said Nwoye's mother. because the cold and dry harmattan wind was blowing down Irom the north. He could not stop the rain now. Ekwefi. I shall do that every year until you return. It was sudden and tremendous. It was a gay and airy kind of rain. He wore a haggard and mournful look except when he was drinking or playing on his flute. one saw that there was sorrow and grief there. The three white men and a very large number of other men surrounded the market. We live in peace with our fellows to honor our great goddess of the earth without whose blessing our crops will not grow. The fact was that Obiageli had been making inyanga with her pot.

Some birds chirruped in the forests around. I know it as I look at you. A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. But it went from day to day without a pause. thought that it was possible that they would also be received. and they beat the men. Okagbue emerged and without saying a word or even looking at the spectators he went to his goatskin bag." he said. when Mr." she replied. 'If I fall down for you and you fall down for me. it is for you. All the other dancers made way for her. But as he walked through the market he realized that people were pointing at him as they do to a madman. At such times she seemed beyond danger. and the crowd answered." But before they went he whispered something to his first wife. Ekwefi was reassured.""And so everybody comes. Her heart jumped painfully within her. She cut the yams into small pieces and began to prepare a pottage.

"I had something better to do. "Tortoise and Cat went to wrestle against Yams??no. But he was happy to leave his father. and the planting began. "They have that custom in Obodoani.As the men drank. The blazing sun returned. Even the oldest men could only remember one or two other occasions somewhere in the dim past. consulting among themselves and with the leaders of the two wrestling teams. I shall pay you. and the quiet spectators murmured to themselves."I am calling a feast because I have the wherewithal. "Life to you. Ezeudu was to be buried after dark with only a glowing brand to light the sacred ceremony. "there is no slave or free. And in fairness to Umuofia it should be recorded that it never went to war unless its case was clear and just and was accepted as such by its Oracle - the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. The men brought their goatskin mats. only waking to full life when Chielo sang. and at his death there were only three men in the whole clan who were older. They haggle and bargain as if they were buying a goat or a cow in the market. His yams grew abundantly.

Okagbue had again taken over the digging from Okonkwo. it was true. like the prospect of annihilation. anxiety mounted in every heart that heaved on a bamboo bed that night. The elders said locusts came once in a generation. Why was that?"Okonkwo shook his head. The man who had whispered now called out aloud.Okonkwo knew these things.- he was full of cunning. who had been talking.- instead of thirty there were now only fifteen. When he walked. suddenly overcome with fury."Ekwefi went into her hut and came out again with Ezinma. could not shelter under his roof. and he said so with much threatening. because it judged a man by the work or his hands. "It pleases me to see a young man like you these days when our youth has gone so soft."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. by Ezeani."Thank you.

Okonkwo planted what was left of his seed-yams when the rains finally returned." He drank his palm-wine. Hisspeech was so eloquent that all the birds were glad they had brought him. It was clear that the bags were full of cowries. Okonkwo saw clearly the high esteem in which he would be held. and they knocked against each other as he searched. Sometimes Okonkwo gave them a few yams each to prepare. From a distance the noise was a deep rumble carried by the wind. Some of them had been heavily whipped." said Ezinma. He led it on a thick rope which he tied round his wrist. Every man can see it in his own compound. It was for this man that Okonkwo worked to earn his first seed yams. The sickness was an abomination to the earth. He cleared his throat and began:"Thank you for the kola. But I can trust you." Okonkwo said to himself again." Ezinma began.""That is why the drum has not been beaten to tell Umuofla. Some kinsmen ate it with egusi soup and others with bitter-leaf soup." he intoned. or how. saluted the spirits and began his story. and he was grateful.

Can you tell me. 1 owe them no cocoyams. Kiaga stood firm. like a solitary walker at night who passes an evil spirit an the way. "I have felt it. These sudden bouts of sickness and health were typical of her kind. He never stopped regretting that Ezinma was a girl. then. of all people. It was the time of the year when everybody was at home. "I warned Nwankwo to keep a sharp eye and a sharp ear. All cooking pots. called him by his name and went back to her hut. Whenever Nwoye's mother sang this song he felt carried away to the distant scene in the sky where Vulture. Nothing that happened in the world of the animals ever escaped his notice. It was only then that they exchanged greetings and shook hands over what was left of the food. As the elders said. and after that the dry season. He moved his hand over his white head and stroked his white beard. "My son has told me about you. and perhaps other women as well. "How much longer do you think you will live?" she asked. Neither of the other wives dared to interfere beyond an occasional and tentative."Odukwe's body.