were still too young to understand fully the difficult art of preparing seed-yams. The conversation at once centered on him." said Ekwefi with a heavy sigh. The ancient drums of death beat.

Ekwefi had a feeling of spacious openness
Ekwefi had a feeling of spacious openness.Ezinma was still sleeping when everyone else was astir." said Evil Forest. "Look at those lines of chalk."Don't you know what kind of man Uzowulu is? He will not listen to any other decision. With the help of his mother's kinsmen he built himself an obi and three huts for his wives.Many years ago when Okonkwo was still a boy his father. If we were all afraid of blood. They formed a circular ring with a break at one point through which the foot-track led to the center of the circle.These outcasts."Who killed this tree? Or are you all deaf and dumb?"As a matter of fact the tree was very much alive.The two teams were ranged facing each other across the clear space.Many people went out with baskets trying to catch them. "that I shall bring many iron horses when we have settled down among them. The egwugwu with the springy walk was one of the dead fathers of the clan. He still thought about his mother and his three-year-old sister. despite his madness." he announced when he sat down.In spite of this incident the New Yam Festival was celebrated with great joy in Okonkwo's household. smiling. The ancient drums of death beat.

The clan was worried. He saw himself and his fathers crowding round their ancestral shrine waiting in vain for worship and sacrifice and finding nothing but ashes of bygone days. overpowered him and obtained his first human head. It was slow and painful.Okonkwo returned when he felt the medicine had cooked long anough." said one of the cousins. The missionaries had come to Umuofia. Di-go-go-di-go. But she refused them all."I shall return very soon. Unoka. The soup was brought out hot from the fire and in the very pot in which it had been cooked." urged the other women"None?" asked Njide."Who taps your tall trees for you?" asked Obierika. "We will allow three or four women to stay behind." said Ezinma.Mr. Even Mgbafo took to her heels and had to be restrained by her brothers. 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. He would teach her! But Nwoye resembled his grandfather. He knew the names of all the birds and could set clever traps for the little bush rodents.

He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams. In the end Okonkwo threw the Cat. I have come to pay you my respects and also to ask a favor."Is that me?" Ekwefi called back. But some of these losses were not irreparable. Young men and boys in single file. Some of them had been heavily whipped. if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man."There is one important thing which we must not forget. But he had recently fallen ill. and on her waist four or five rows of jigida. and prayed that the rain might fall in the night. one saw that there was sorrow and grief there. or rather held out her hand to be shaken." said Obiageli. A bowl of pounded yams can throw him in a wrestling match. Mr. It descended on him again. Maduka."He does not know that either. some of them having come a long way from their homes in distant villages.

""Why?" asked Obierika and Okonkwo together." said Ekwefi. It is not bravery when a man fights with a woman. Kiaga. he belonged to the clan as a whole."He will do great things. The oldest member of this extensive family was Okonkwo's uncle. said that until the abominable gang was chased out of the village with whips there would be no peace." As he looked into the log fire he recalled the name. and you can teach us the things of the new faith. As soon as the two boys closed in. Okonkwo's first wife.But somehow Okonkwo could never become as enthusiastic over feasts as most people. There were huge bowls of foo-foo and steaming pots of soup. they take new names for the occasion. Then he and another man went before Ikemefuna and set a faster pace. Okonkwo bent down and looked into her hut. but that year-had been enough to break the heart of a lion."I shall return very soon. malevolent. This year they were the wise ones.

urging the others to hurry up. He looked it over and said it was done. the village playground. children sought for shelter. they ought to know that Akueke is the bride for a king. The children had lost interest and were playing. Onwumbiko??"Death. "when she was pregnant."Sometimes I wish I had not taken the ozo title. Then all Umuofia turned out in spite of the cold harmattan. and two others after her. "Every day I tell you that jigida and fire are not friends. and she said so. But Ezinma had seen clearly all the thought and hidden meaning behind the few words. and Umuofia was still swallowed up in sleep and silence when the ekwe began to talk. Obierika's second wife followed with a pot of soup. Evil Forest addressed the two groups of people facing them. I implore you. and so did his little children. He died and rotted away above the earth. had entered his eye.

"No. We would then not be held accountable for their abominations. a cake of salt and smoked fish which she would present to Obierika's wife."Where else but in his house in the hills and the caves?" replied the priestess. If we allow you to come with us you will soon begin your mischief."Point at the spot with your finger. His mother might be dead. and Obiageli told her mournful story. and he knew that his father wanted him to be a man. It was only from Nwoye's mother that he heard scraps of the story." said Obierika. He. ignorant of the love of God. You are a great family. and I am still alive. He worked.Okagbue went back into the pit. in the same way as they would meet if a death occurred . 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. The married women wore their best cloths and the girls wore red and black waist-beads and anklets of brass. Okonkwo walked behind him.

If you are sending him on an errand he flies away before he has heard half of the message.But the war that now threatened was a just war. She had balanced it on her head. Nwoye's mind had gone immediately to Nwayieke. Uzowulu. Ezinma. thus completing a circle with their hosts. and you can teach us the things of the new faith. But she picked her way easily on the sandy footpath hedged on either side by branches and damp leaves."That woman standing there is my wife. father? You are beyond our knowledge. It was a very expensive ceremony and he was gathering all his resources together. Okonkwo ground his teeth in disgust. Nwayieke lived four compounds away." And so they all went to help Obierika's wife??Nwoye's mother with her four children and Ojiugo with her two. "before 1 put any crop in the earth. will you go to see the wrestling?" Ezinma asked after a suitable interval. but that they had many children to feed.The nine villages of Umuofia had grown out of the nine sons of the first father of the clan. Tortoise stood up in his many-colored plumage and thanked them for their invitation. We did not see it.

"Two years ago. They were very fat goats. Then it occurred to her that they could not have been heading for the cave. the god of the sky. behind the crowd. he belonged to the clan as a whole. Guns were fired on all sides and sparks flew out as machetes clanged together in warriors' salutes. Their children carried pots of water."Forgive me.Each of the nine egwugwu represented a village of the clan. A vague chill had descended on him and his head had seemed to swell. 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. the old man supporting himself with his stick."I sometimes think he is too sharp."And so three goats were slaughtered and a number of fowls. Ekwefi picked her way carefully and quietly. A bond of sympathy had grown between them as the years had passed."The birds gathered round to eat what was left and to peck at the bones he had thrown all about the floor. a man of war. And if you stand staring at me like that. dressed in garbs of war.

Do you not think that they came to our clan by mistake." He paused. jumping over walls and dancing on the roof. After a few more hoe-fuls of earth he struck the iyi-uwa. "Tortoise and Cat went to wrestle against Yams??no. thirty-five. red in tooth and claw. "that Okonkwo and I were talking about Abame and Aninta.Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond.The Oracle was called Agbala." she answered simply. Okonkwo's fear was greater than these.Dusk was already approaching when their contest began. When he died this morning. my friend. They were merely cleansing the land which Okonkwo had polluted with the blood of a clansman. who had taken two titles. The water began to boil.When the mat was at last removed she was drenched in perspiration. Amikwu. He sang the song again.

fantastic figures that dissolved under her steady gaze and then formed again in new shapes. woman. like the snapping of a tightened bow. especially the wooden mortar in which yam was pounded. The inhabitants of Mbanta expected them all to be dead within four days. It was said that when such a spirit appeared. and when he died he was buried by his kind in the Evil Forest. whom she called her daughter. Ezeudu is dead."On the following Sunday. looking at the position of the sun. If a man dies at this time he is not buried but cast into the Evil Forest. I have only called you together because it is good for kinsmen to meet. and it was his firmness that saved the young church. all of a sudden. The barn was built against one end of the red walls. Last year neither of them had thrown the other even though the judges had allowed the contest to go on longer than was the custom. Ekwefi uttered a scream and sprang to her feet. pointing at the far wall of his hut. Kiaga. The law of Umuofia is that if a woman runs away from her husband her bride-price is returned.

"Perhaps I have been away too long. and in its place a sort of smile hovered. The heathen say you will die if you do this or that. He danced a few steps to the funeral drums and then went to see the corpse. the priestess of Agbala. In ordinary life Chielo was a widow with two children. "You look very tired. The white man had gone back to Umuofia."She will bring her back soon." said Obierika.""In future call her into your obi. A baby on its mother's back does not know that the way is long. He exchanged greetings with Okonkwo and led the way into his obi. In his day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow.""In future call her into your obi. like splitting wood.There was a wealthy man in Okonkwo's village who had three huge barns. When a man blasphemes. But it is not so. because the cold and dry harmattan wind was blowing down Irom the north." She sat down and stretched her legs in front of her.

It was therefore understood that Ekwefi would provide cassava lor the feast. and for protection against their enemies. for whom is it well? There is no one for whom it is well. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. Although he had prospered in his motherland Okonkwo knew that he would have prospered even more in Umuofia. Later on I sold some of the seed-yams and gave out others to sharecroppers.""Your words are good. The crowd followed her silently.But it was really not true that Okonkwo's palm-kernels had been cracked for him by a benevolent spirit. There are only two of them. Every man wears the thread of title on his ankle. But the arrivees persevered." he said. refreshed and thankful."Is that enough?" she asked when she had poured in about half of the water in the bowl. but when they went away Okonkwo sat still for a very long time supporting his chin in his palms. The yams he had sown before the drought were his own. if one finger brought oil it soiled the others. He was afraid of being thought weak. At first it appeared as if it might prove too great for his spirit." came the voice like a sharp knife cutting through the night.

They only saw the red earth he threw up mounting higher and higher. and passed the disc over to his guest." Then more pots came. They were very happy and began to prepare themselves for the great day."Tell them. He accepted the half-full horn from his brother and drank it." said Ezinma. may Agbala shave your head with a blunt razor! May he twist your neck until you see your heels!"Ekwefi stood rooted to the spot." He turned to Uzowulu's group and allowed a short pause." said Akukalia."Is that not Obiageli weeping?" Ekwefi called across the yard to Nwoye's mother. and stake them when the young tendrils appear.-but the more he tried the more he thought about him." replied Okonkwo. From a distance the noise was a deep rumble carried by the wind. May all you took out return again tenfold. called her mother by her name." His tone now changed from anger to command. Maduka. The blazing sun returned. "Life to all of us.

"Kill one of your sons for me. And to their greatest amazement the missionaries thanked them and burst into song. gome went the gong. The first cock has crowed. Ekwefi had nothing but good wishes for her."One of them passes here frequently."Go to your in-laws with a pot of wine and beg your wife to return to you. pointing with his finger. "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. "Ozoemena was. A few moments later he went behind the hut and began to vomit painfully." said Ekwefi."Once upon a time. They had built a court where the District Commissioner judged cases in ignorance. somewhat lamely. The short trees and sparse undergrowth which surrounded the men's village began to give way to giant trees and climbers which perhaps had stood from the beginning of things. But she had lived so long that perhaps she had decided to stay. "But I want all of you to note what 1 am going to say. New yams could not be eaten until some had first been offered to these powers. beans and cassava. He looked at each yam carefully to see whether it was good for sowing.

"After kola nuts had been presented and eaten. Then it went nearer and named the village: " Iguedo of the yellow grinding-stone!" It was Okonkwo's village. Everyone was puzzled. But the song spread in Umuofia. But now she found the half-light of the incipient moon more terrifying than darkness. But Chielo ignored what he was trying to say and went on shouting that Agbala wanted to see his daughter. The poor and unknown would not dare to come forth. or watched him as he tapped his palm tree for the evening wine. He could not understand what was happening to him or what he had done. 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. I did not send her away. When Ekwefi had followed the priestess."Where else but in his house in the hills and the caves?" replied the priestess. who was a prosperous farmer. and so everyone in his family listened. father? You are beyond our knowledge. first with little sticks and later with tall and big tree branches.But there were many others who saw the situation differently. Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly. Every child loved the harvest season. and so they made them that offer which nobody in his right senses would accept.

He remembered once when men had talked in low tones with his father. or watched him as he tapped his palm tree for the evening wine." Obierika said to his son. It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman.One day a neighbor called Okoye came in to see him. When all the birds had gathered together.""He has. should bring to your mother a heavy face and refuse to be comforted? Be careful or you may displease the dead. but Okonkwo was as slippery as a fish in water. In that way she will elude her wicked tormentor and break its evil cycle of birth and death. a long."No." said Ekwefi. Some of them were accompanied by their sons bearing carved wooden stools. the priestess of Agbala.The youngest of Uchendu's five sons. or tie-tie. Kiaga. beginning with the eldest man. lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper. They have joined his religion and they help to uphold his government.

It looked like an equal match. Once or twice he tried to run away. He had therefore put his drinking-horn into his goatskin bag for the occasion. had said to him during that terrible harvest month: "Do not despair. "You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the children.""That is very bad. How could he have begotten a woman for a son? At Nwoye's age Okonkwo had already become famous throughout Umuofia for his wrestling and his fearlessness. who would not lend his knife for cutting up dogmeat because the dog was taboo to him. and sat speechless. all talking in low voices. "When I think that it is only eighteen months since the Seed was first sown among you. He held a short staff in his hand which he brought down on the floor to emphasize his points. but they were really talking at the top of their voices. I know what it is to ask a man to trust another with his yams. which was strengthened by such little conspiracies as eating eggs in the bedroom. As she knelt by her. Nwoye overheard it and burst into tears. They settled on every tree and on every blade of grass. Before the day was over he was dead. The first people who saw him ran away.His life had been ruled by a great passion??to become one of the lords of the clan.

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. "lest Agbala be angry with you. came to visit him. but they grew women's crops. Their bodies shone with sweat. It was said that when such a spirit appeared. she was dead." Okonkwo said to himself again. He must have a wife."Those who knew Amadi laughed. and regain the seven wasted years.From that day Amikwu took the young bride and she became his wife. Unoka. who was now in charge of the infant congregation. and she was notorious for her late cooking. Okonkwo had begun to sow with the first rains. in the other hand. all strong and healthy. And there were again only three. Ezinma wielded a strong influence over her half-sister.The Feast of the New Yam was approaching and Umuofia was in a festival mood.

They were possessed by the spirit of the drums. they became the lords of the land.But. But he now knew that they were for foolish women and children.All the umunna were invited to the feast." His staff came down again.- they all fled in terror. The people surged forward.Chielo's voice was now rising continuously. After waiting in vain for her dish he went to her hut to see what she was doing. Uzowulu and his relative. brought in a pot of sweet wine tapped from the raffia palm. The bride-price had been paid and all but the last ceremony had been performed. With the help of his mother's kinsmen he built himself an obi and three huts for his wives. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone. as the Ibo people say.""We have seen it. 'It just walked away. and Ekwefi asked Nwoye's mother and Ojiugo to explain to Obierika's wife that she would be late. perhaps even quicker. yams of the old year were all disposed of by those who still had them.

Low voices. They must have bypassed it long ago."I am calling a feast because I have the wherewithal. When he had swallowed them. When she had borne her third son in succession."It is not our custom to fight for our gods. was expected to invite large numbers of guests from far and wide. Many of these messengers came from Umuru on the bank of the Great River. but never heard its voice."When he killed Oduche in the fight over the land. "I thought he was a strong man in his youth. who was then an ailing man. especially at festivals and also when an old man died. He danced a few steps to the funeral drums and then went to see the corpse. And in all the nine villages of Umuofia a town crier with his ogene asked every man to be present tomorrow morning.The drums beat and the flutes sang and the spectators held their breath. As she stood gazing at the circular darkness which had swallowed them. persistent and unchanging. and the quiet spectators murmured to themselves."We still have a long way to go. but not today.

as she had accepted others??with listless resignation. he was terribly afraid." the convert maintained.In the distance the drums continued to beat. He put them in the pot and Ekwefi poured in some water. Again and again Iguedo was called and men waited breathlessly in all the nine villages."The next day a group of elders from all the nine villages of Umuofia came to Okonkwo's house early in the morning. there was no other way.""I don't know how we got that law."At last the hen was plucked clean.Okonkwo cleared his throat and moved his feet to the beat of the drums." ';. looked forward to the New Yam Festival because it began the season of plenty??the new year. he was asking Unoka to return the two hundred cowries he had borrowed from him more than two years before. the one young and beautiful. I shall give you twice four hundred yams. metallic and thirsty clap. "do you not grow yams where you come from?"Inwardly Okonkwo knew that the boys were still too young to understand fully the difficult art of preparing seed-yams. The conversation at once centered on him." said Ekwefi with a heavy sigh. The ancient drums of death beat.