to free himself from the choking grip. But he threw himself into it like one possessed. and his face beamed.

There was an oil lamp in all the four huts on Okonkwo's compound
There was an oil lamp in all the four huts on Okonkwo's compound."Ask Akueke's mother to send us some kola nuts.Nwoye's younger brothers were about to tell their mother the true story of the accident when Ikemefuna looked at them sternly and they held their peace. He passed her a piece of fish."It is here." Ezinma said. thus completing a circle with their hosts. and sent for the missionaries. At such times she seemed beyond danger.""You do not understand. and he told them stories of the land??masculine stories of violence and bloodshed. But some of these losses were not irreparable. and allowed a murmur of suppressed anger to sweep the crowd. to harvest cassava tubers.""Yes. Your mother is there to protect you. and they took up fans and began to fan themselves." said Idigo. Nwoye's mother. The clan saw no reason then for molesting the Christians. who had brought it from her mother's hut. But the one knew what the other was thinking.But somehow Okonkwo could never become as enthusiastic over feasts as most people. it said.

the women who had gone for red earth returned with empty baskets." Okonkwo said." Okonkwo was specially fond of Ezinma. when his father walked in that night after killing Ikemefuna." said Okonkwo. all the descendants of Okolo. and was not given the first or the second burial."Go and burn your mothers' genitals.""That is very bad.""I think she will stay. She did not return to Okonkwo's compound until three days before the naming ceremony."Agbala do-o-o-o!?? Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Ekwefi trudged behind." He then added ten sticks to the fifteen and gave the bundle to Ukegbu. all the descendants of Okolo. a cake of salt and smoked fish which she would present to Obierika's wife. and earth rose. The moon was shining."A little more?? I said a little. blew into it to remove any dust that might be there. But almost immediately a shout of joy broke out in all directions. Violent deaths were frequent. who was the priest of the earth goddess. Ekwefi's mind went back to the days when they were young. 'If I fall down for you and you fall down for me.

paid regular visits to them. on their backs and their thighs. But let us drink the wine first. and Maduka brought in a pot of palm-wine. fresh yams and not the shriveled and fibrous crop of the previous year. and they each gave him a feather. young and old. hung his goatskin bag on his shoulder and went to visit his friend."Come. Her suitor and his relatives surveyed her young body with expert eyes as if to assure themselves that she was beautiful and ripe. But this is a matter which we know. Kiaga. and even now he could still hear it as it grew dimmer and dimmer in the distance." Okonkwo agreed. 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. Maduka vanished into the compound like lightning. And if the clan did not exact punishment for an offense against the great goddess. which every man kept in his obi and with which his guests drew lines on the floor before they ate kola nuts. and we expected a big feast. But the second time did not count. and in a basket beside her were green vegetables and beans. "before I kill you!" He seized a heavy stick that lay on the dwarf wall and hit him two or three savage blows. smiling. And at last the locusts did descend.

which was strengthened by such little conspiracies as eating eggs in the bedroom. Nwakibie sent for his wives."He does not know that either. and we shall all perish. Unfortunately for her Okonkwo heard it and ran madly into his room for the loaded gun. he had allowed what he regarded as a reasonable and manly interval to pass and then gone with his machete to the shrine. before they finally left for their village. At last the man was named and people sighed "E-u-u. She knelt on her knees and hands at the threshold and called her husband. The first cup went to Okonkwo. pushing the air with his raffia arms. As for the boy. There were only four titles in the clan. And when he got there he found it was a man making a sacrifice. unless it be the emotion of anger. Ukegbu. They haggle and bargain as if they were buying a goat or a cow in the market. But no one was sure where it was coming from. the white missionary." Okonkwo asked himself." Okonkwo said. But it was the season of rest between the harvest and the next planting season.Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life. came to visit him.

He raised his voice once or twice in manly sorrow and then sat down with the other men listening to the endless wailing of the women and the esoteric language of the ekwe. Ezinma."Leave her to me. The crime was of two kinds." said Okagbue.""That is very strange. and it was not until late in the evening that one of them saw for the first time his in-law who had arrived during the course of the meal and had fallen to on the opposite side. We do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. It was always quiet except on moonlight nights. Young men pounded the foo-foo or split firewood. "Every day I tell you that jigida and fire are not friends. there was always a large quantity of food left over at the end of the day. When all was laid out.""Your words are good."Uzowulu's body. He was ill for three market weeks. who would not lend his knife for cutting up dogmeat because the dog was taboo to him. It was an angry. When the moon rose late in the night." he said. woman. Palm trees swayed as the wind combed their leaves into flying crests like strange and fantastic coiffure. facing the elders. He asked Okagbue to come up and rest while he took a hand.

"That was all he had said. It was instinctive. when he had worked on one side of the wall and Ikemefuna and Nwoye on the other. Her eyes went constantly from Ezinma to the boiling pot and back to Ezinma."There is one important thing which we must not forget. Not long after. His name was Okagbue Uyanwa. and asked no questions. There was nothing new in that. The suitor just goes on bringing bags of cowries until his in-laws tell him to stop.""I think she has. "Whether you are spirit or man." said his father. And so when the priestess with Ezinma on her back disappeared through a hole hardly big enough to pass a hen. In fact." said Nwoye. he was already one of the greatest men of his time. was marrying a new wife. that is a boy's job. she found her lying on the mat. "Those that hear my words are my father and my mother. 1 know how to deal with them."Let me make the fire for you.But the war that now threatened was a just war.

Umuofia had indeed changed during the seven years Okonkwo had been in exile. He rounded off his prayer and went to see what it was all about. She had got ready her basket of coco-yams and fish."In her hut."I do not blame you. had gone to consult the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves to find out why he always had a miserable harvest. he thought. when she had seen Ogbu-agali-odu. Okonkwo and his family went to the farm with baskets of seed-yams. Why was that?"Okonkwo shook his head. Ekwefi hurried to the main footpath and turned left in the direction of the voice.It was well known among the people of Mbanta that their gods and ancestors were sometimes long-suffering and would deliberately allow a man to go on defying them.There were seven men in Obierika's hut when Okonkwo returned. Igwelo had a job in hand because he had married his first wife a month or two before. the troublesome nanny goat." and was allowed to go wherever it chose. When he began again."When this was interpreted to the men of Mbanta they broke into derisive laughter. He dared not go too near the missionaries for fear of his father. The wavering converts drew inspiration and confidence from his unshakable faith. as you know. And so they each took a new name. holding her breasts with her hands to stop them flapping noisily against her body. killed his animals and destroyed his barn.

They argued for a short while and fell into silence again. But on further thought he told himself that Nwoye was not worth fighting for. deeply. especially at festivals and also when an old man died. with which he carried the brown snuff to his nostrils. I do not owe my inlaws anything. A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland. The nine egwugwu then went away to consult together in their house. She went on fanning it until it burst into flames. He breathed heavily. or God's house. He was roused in the morning by someone banging on his door. and each stroke is one hundred cowries.So when the daughter of Umuofia was killed in Mbaino. Children were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits. and in one deft movement she lifted the pot from the fire and poured the boiling water over the fowl. As soon as Unoka understood what his friend was driving at. She was going to the stream to fetch water. for in spite of the palm fruit hung across the mouth of the pot to restrain the lively liquor."That woman standing there is my wife. carrying his stool and his goatskin bag. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. The neighbors and relations also saw the coincidence and said among themselves that it was very significant."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.

His future sons-in-law would be men of authority in the clan.And then the egwugwu appeared. The women and children sent up a great shout and took to their heels.""I do not. These sudden bouts of sickness and health were typical of her kind. and on the other the offer of a young man and a virgin as compensation. and went away. Kiaga was praying in the church when he heard the women talking excitedly. We should have waited for the sun to rise and dry the leaves. If you are sending him on an errand he flies away before he has heard half of the message. And immediately Okonkwo's eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. He would speak to him after the isa-ifi ceremony.The world was silent except for the shrill cry of insects.Okonkwo planted what was left of his seed-yams when the rains finally returned. There are only two of them."Umuofia kwenu!""Yaa!""Umuofia kwenu!""Yaa!"Evil Forest then thrust the pointed end of his rattling staff into the earth. and others prepared vegetable soup. and through these Okonkwo passed the rope. and for protection against their enemies. they have killed me!" as he ran towards him."In her hut."Come along then and show me the spot.As the men ate and drank palm-wine they talked about the customs of their neighbors. Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation.

He was therefore waiting to receive them."In her hut. the rulers of Mbanta gave to the missionaries. Let her go and stay with her people. and of the forces of nature. now desperate. It was like the market. Obierika and half a dozen other friends came to help and to console him.On a moonlight night it would be different.There were seven men in Obierika's hut when Okonkwo returned. a man of war. If it ended on his left. who drank a cup or two each. the grown-up." And he told him what an osu was."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. his children and their mothers in the new year. He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else - with a heavy hand. or old woman. "People traveled more in those days. Nwoye passed and repassed the little red-earth and thatch building without summoning enough courage to enter.Okonkwo called his three wives and told them to get things together for a great feast. Ezinma. Ikemefuna looked back.

This roasted yam soaked in red palm-oil and eaten in the open farm was sweeter than any meal at home.Umuofia had indeed changed during the seven years Okonkwo had been in exile. was among them. ignorant of the love of God. Early that morning as he offered a sacrifice of new yam and palm oil to his ancestors he asked them to protect him."Oye. like a mother and her daughter. It was said that when such a spirit appeared. 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. But although Okonkwo was a great man whose prowess was universally acknowledged. You do not know what it is to speak with one voice." Okonkwo replied. It was a cry in the distance: oji odu aru ijiji-o-o! (The one that uses its tail to drive flies away!). and we would be like Abame. the sky. How could he know that his father had taken a hand in killing a daughter of Umuofia? All he knew was that a few men had arrived at their house. She was very friendly with Ekwefi and they shared a common shed in the market. It was like pouring grains of corn into a bag full of holes." said Uchendu. women and children left their work or their play and ran into the open to see the unfamiliar sight. He could not understand what was happening to him or what he had done. She could not see beyond her nose. But he was struck."Ah.

Neighbors sat around. succulent breasts. At last Ogbuefi Ezeugo stood up in the midst of them and bellowed four times. One of them was a pathetic cry. That is a wise action. And to their greatest amazement the missionaries thanked them and burst into song. It was not external but lay deep within himself. Nwoye stood looking at him and did not say a word. And he found that Okonkwo did not wish to speak about Nwoye. There was nothing new in that. She did not return to Okonkwo's compound until three days before the naming ceremony. They were very fat goats. would wipe them off the face of the earth. A snake was never called by its name at night. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut. chewing the fish."Who killed this tree? Or are you all deaf and dumb?"As a matter of fact the tree was very much alive. tears gushed from her eyes. Yam. Sometimes another village would ask Unoka's band and their dancing egwugwu to come and stay with them and teach them their tunes. He was a leper. What would she do when they got to the cave? She would not dare to enter. A man stood there with a machete in his hand. in silence.

As soon as the priestess stepped into this ring of hills her voice was not only doubled in strength but was thrown back on all sides. became for Ekwefi mere physical agony devoid of promise. they could see from his color and his language. "You are not a stranger in Umuofia." he said. After a few more hoe-fuls of earth he struck the iyi-uwa. Kiaga. Neither of the other wives dared to interfere beyond an occasional and tentative. mother. but every farmer knew that without sunshine the tubers would not grow. Darkness held a vague terror for these people.' Everybody laughed heartily except Okonkwo. calling him "Our father. I have learned that a man who makes trouble for others is also making it for himself. She has the right spirit. There was an immediate stir. Throughout that day Nwoye sat in his mother's hut and tears stood in his eyes.It was well known among the people of Mbanta that their gods and ancestors were sometimes long-suffering and would deliberately allow a man to go on defying them." said Okonkwo. Okonkwo and his family went to the farm with baskets of seed-yams.The festival was now only three days away. slanting showers through sunshine and quiet breeze. consulting among themselves and with the leaders of the two wrestling teams. At any rate.

"Don't be foolish. It was Okonkwo's uncle. Kiaga. father? You are beyond our knowledge. "Three or four of us should stay behind. 'Don't touch!' If i hold her footShe says.Many young men and prosperous middle-aged men of Mbanta came to marry her. And so when the priestess with Ezinma on her back disappeared through a hole hardly big enough to pass a hen.'"Parrot promised to deliver the message. emerged from her hut. It was only on his fourth trip that he had found Ekwefi. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy. before the first cock-crow."One of them passes here frequently. There must have been about ten thousand men there. An ultimatum was immediately dispatched to Mbaino asking them to choose between war - on the one hand. He refused to join in the meal. You have a manly and a proud heart. which was full of men who had offended against the white man's law.""It means you are going to cry. gome. There were only three such boys in each team. I knew your father."As he was speaking the boy returned.

The huge voice of the crowd then rose to the sky and in every direction. which was only broken when a new palm frond was lifted on to the wall or when a busy hen moved dry leaves about in her ceaseless search for food. when his father walked in that night after killing Ikemefuna. At last Sky was moved to pity. would wipe them off the face of the earth.""It was always said that Ndulue and Ozoemena had one mind. Evil Forest addressed the two groups of people facing them. It descended on him again. There was no barn to inherit. unhappily. It was a warrior's funeral. butwhenever she thought she saw their shape it immediately dissolved like a melting lump of darkness. and during this time Okonkwo's fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan. "Poor child. But if a man caused it. And so excitement mounted in the village as the seventh week approached since the impudent missionaries buill their church in the Evil Forest." he said as he went. I fear for you."Did she ask you to feed them before she went?""Yes. mother is going. because an old man was very close to the ancestors. and the cannon shattered the silence."Is this yours?" he asked Ezinma." said Okonkwo.

She gave the dish to her father's eldest brother and then shook hands. each carrying a pot of wine. asked on behalf of the clan to look after him in the interim. No ogbanje would yield her secrets easily. He could neither marry nor be married by the free-born. afraid of your next-door neighbor. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic." said Okonkwo. all the same. nearly half a day's journey away. and kill him there.Before it was dusk Ezeani. He had discerned a clear overtone of tragedy in the crier's voice.""Once upon a time." he answered. But you are still a child. "And these white men. To show affection was a sign of weakness. They chose to fly home on an empty stomach. Mgbafo and her brothers were as still as statues into whose faces the artist has molded defiance. Nwoye's mother thanked her and she went back to her mother's hut. his mind would have been centered on his work. Ekwefi mopped her with a piece of cloth and she lay down on a dry mat and was soon asleep.All this anthill activity was going smoothly when a sudden interruption came.

" said one of the women. and his happiest moments were the two or three moons after the harvest when the village musicians brought down their instruments. Earth's emissary. It was said that when such a spirit appeared. Is it right that you. The heathen say you will die if you do this or that."Has Nweke married a wife?" asked Okonkwo."Bring me my bag. the messenger of earth."He said nothing.""It is indeed true. So he began to plan how he would go to the sky." Okonkwo said between mouthfuls. Okonkwo told him."There must be something behind it." said Okonkwo."I cannot understand why you refused to come with us to kill that boy."Ekwefi. malevolent. who has promised everlasting life to all who believe in His holy name. As she stood gazing at the circular darkness which had swallowed them. But the really exciting moments were when a man was thrown. They saluted one another and then reappeared on the ilo. on their backs and their thighs.

stroking her head." He then added ten sticks to the fifteen and gave the bundle to Ukegbu." he said.""You were very much like that yourself. Such was Unoka's fate. Alone Nnadi is cooking and eating.On a moonlight night it would be different. I say it because I fear for the younger generation. Ezinma struggled to escape from the choking and overpowering steam. We heard of it. looked forward to the New Yam Festival because it began the season of plenty??the new year. and turned to his sons and daughters. Ozoemena??"May it not happen again. 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. who had felt more angry than the others. came into the obi from outside.- they merely set the scene. And then came the clap of thunder. Somewhere a man was taking one of the titles of his clan. She rose. It was Okonkwo's uncle. And what made it worse in Okonkwo's case was that he had to support his mother and two sisters from his meagre harvest. He also took with him a pot of palm-wine. The goat was then led back to the inner compound.

"That is not the end of the story. Obiageli brought up the rear. and he said so with much threatening. but he did not answer. That is why Tortoise's shell is not smooth."Go to your in-laws with a pot of wine and beg your wife to return to you."You do not know the answer? So you see that you are a child. Spirits always addressed humans as "bodies. 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. There are only two of them. There were only four titles in the clan.The sun rose slowly to the center of the sky. Then send him word to fight for us. Umuazu. eating the peelings. The oldest member of this extensive family was Okonkwo's uncle. blowing it with her breath. "But you ought to ask why the drum has not beaten to tell Umuofia of his death. and he prayed to the ancestors. "Mother Kite once sent her daughter to bring food. like a funeral. to her right and to her left. but she was held down. especially at festivals and also when an old man died.

Nkechi was the daughter of Okonkwo's third wife. folded her arms in front of her and began to sway her waist like a grown-up young lady.Some farmers had not planted their yams yet.""That is very bad.""That is why the drum has not been beaten to tell Umuofla. but so great was the work the new religion had done among the converts that they did not immediately leave the church when the outcasts came in."Your half-sister. He danced a few steps to the funeral drums and then went to see the corpse. Some said Ezimili.Uchendu had been told by one of his grandchildren that three strangers had come to Okonkwo's house." replied the white man. and at the end of it beat his instrument again. Evil Forest represented the village of Umueru. A sudden fury rose within him and he felt a strong desire to take up his machete.Okonkwo was well received by his mother's kinsmen in Mbanta. Whenever the thought of his father's weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it by thinking about his own strength and success. to inquire what was amiss." said his eldest brother. It was also the dumping ground for highly potent fetishes of great medicine men when they died. 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 fled to Aninta to escape the wrath of the earth. It began by naming the clan: Umuofia obodo dike! "the land of the brave.""Let us not reason like cowards. Old men and children would then sit round log fires.

"We are going directly.As they spoke two other groups of people had replaced the first before the egwugwu. But now she found the half-light of the incipient moon more terrifying than darkness. folded her arms across her breast and sighed. forty-five. We must fight these men and drive them from the land. People laughed at him because he was a loafer. usually before the age of three. It was said that he wore glasses on his eyes so that he could see and talk to evil spirits."We shall be late for the wrestling. We heard of it. Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly. Okonkwo brought out kola nut and placed it before the priest. lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper.He brought with him two young men."But Nwoye's mother dropped her pot of hot soup the other day and it broke on the floor. where he thought they must be. The old man listened silently to the end and then said with some relief: "It is a female ochu. "But I have also heard that Abame people were weak and foolish. It had not happened for many a long year." replied Ekwefi.His father. But before they left each took back the feather he had lent to Tortoise." said her mother.

"Come along. When he had swallowed them. and stayed." Okonkwo made a sound full of disgust."Have you?" asked Obierika. He asked them for health and children." He paused. Nwoye. Ezinma struggled to escape from the choking and overpowering steam.""But they are beating the drums." said Obierika sadly. you wicked daughter of Akalogoli?" Okonkwo swore furiously. Sometimes Okonkwo gave them a few yams each to prepare. "Kill one of your sons for me." But he was a man of commanding presence and the clansmen listened to him. When the pot fell down and broke she burst out laughing. twenty years or more. Okonkwo rose to speak. And then Nkechi came in.Evil Forest began to speak and all the while he spoke everyone was silent. In that way she will elude her wicked tormentor and break its evil cycle of birth and death. In the end Okonkwo threw the Cat. Let us give them a real battlefield in which to show their victory. silencing him.

who laughed uneasily because. as her father and other grownup people did.There were twelve men on each side and the challenge went from one side to the other. Once in a while two young men carrying palm fronds ran round the circle and kept the crowd back by beating the ground in front of them or. drank a little and handed back the horn. Mr." said Uchendu. because their dreaded agadi-nwayi would never fight what the Ibo call a fight of blame.""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.Nneka had had four previous pregnancies and child-births. like the prospect of annihilation. He had called the first child born to him in exile Nneka??"Mother is Supreme"??out of politeness to his mother's kinsmen. Ekwefi was the only person in the happy company who went about with a cloud on her brow. He had court messengers who brought men to him for trial. and the world lay panting under the live. This one had only one hand and it carried a basket full of water."It is here. "Let us give them a portion of the Evil Forest."Bring me my bag. "I marvel at what the Lord hath wrought."You have all seen the great abomination of your brother. And you. And in a clear unemotional voice he told Umuofia how their daughter had gone to market at Mbaino and had been killed. mother is going.

"Tortoise saw all these preparations and soon discovered what it all meant. my great friend. It was a deep bag and took almost the whole length of his arm."Swear on this staff of my fathers. The conversation at once centered on him." He waved his arm where most of the young men sat. "You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the children.Okonkwo was popularly called the "Roaring Flame. She just jogged along in a half-sleep.'Ask my dead father if he ever had a fowl when he was alive. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy. Ikemefuna called him father. and saw those who stood or sat next to them. Whenever one of these ancient men appeared in the crowd to dance unsteadily the funeral steps of the tribe. I forgot to tell you another thing which the Oracle said. and was punished." said Obierika. He raised it carefully with the hoe and threw it to the surface. talking and laughing among themselves and with others who stood near them.Although Nwoye had been attracted to the new faith from the very first day. His two younger brothers are more promising.Nwoye struggled to free himself from the choking grip. But he threw himself into it like one possessed. and his face beamed.