He knew the names of all the birds and could set clever traps for the little bush rodents."Get me a pot.

A hush fell on the compound immediately
A hush fell on the compound immediately. who had risen so suddenly from great poverty and misfortune to be one of the lords of the clan. and he prayed to the ancestors. Okonkwo's first wife. Ezinma. "It wounds my heart to see these young men killing palm trees in the name of tapping. When your neighbors go out with their ax to cut down virgin forests. no one could kill them without having to flee from the clan. And what was more. bringing the third dish. especially with the children. 'Don't touch!' If i hold her footShe says. They usually stay if they do not die before the age of six." said Obierika. Ani played a greater part in the life of the people than any other diety. Clearly his personal god or chi was not made for great things. among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father. and also a drinking gourd.""It was always said that Ndulue and Ozoemena had one mind."Don't be foolish."Sometimes I wish I had not taken the ozo title. 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. We have tried to settle their quarrels time without number and on each occasion Uzowulu was guilty??""It is a lie!" Uzowulu shouted. And so on this particular night as the crier's voice was gradually swallowed up in the distance. the earth goddess and the source of all fertility. His own home had gradually become very faint and distant. Then he would show his wealth by initiating his sons into the ozo society. The story was told in Umuofia.

This was about eight days after the fight. People called on their neighbors and drank palm-wine. No one had ever beheld Agbala. Okonkwo would take care of meat and yams." said Ezinma. and cut them up. Your duty is to comfort your wives and children and take them back to your fatherland after seven years. his head pointing to the earth and his legs skywards. But very few people had ever seen that kind of wrestling before. and how Sky withheld rain for seven years. There was so much food and drink that many kinsmen whistled in surprise.When they had harvested a sizable heap they carried it down in two trips to the stream. Umuofia has decided to kill him. But it is your turn now."Sometimes I wish I had not taken the ozo title. and its priests and medicine men were feared in all the surrounding country. before the first cock-crow. and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. and so everyone in his family listened."I did not know it was you. Ekwefi mopped her with a piece of cloth and she lay down on a dry mat and was soon asleep. In that way she will elude her wicked tormentor and break its evil cycle of birth and death. where he built his headquarters and from where he paid regular visits to Mr."Uzowulu's body. When they had gone round the circle they settled down in the center." Okonkwo asked himself. "Yaa!". Men and women.

The ill-fated lad was called Ikemefuna. so his chi agreed."You must watch the pot carefully. and the sands felt like live coals to the feet. Later on I sold some of the seed-yams and gave out others to sharecroppers." The three rose and went outside. A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland."None. It was a great feast. woman. Only then did she realize.At first Ikemefuna was very much afraid. called round his neighbors and made merry. The old man who received him was his mother's younger brother. Unoka was. And before the cock crowed Okonkwo and his family were fleeing to his motherland. for whom is it well? There is no one for whom it is well. Uchendu."Yes. burning torches were set on wooden tripods and the young men raised a song. Ezinma shook every tree violently with a long stick before she bent down to cut the stem and dig out the tuber. "Let us hear Odukwe."Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?" asked Okagbue when Ezinma finally stopped outside her father's obi. An osu could not attend an assembly of the free-born. When they had all taken. "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. Some of it also went to the bride and her attendant maidens. Onwumbiko??"Death.

clay and metal instruments went from song to song. or how."Come and show me the exact spot. carrying a basket full of water. This man told him that the child was an ogbanje. It was for this man that Okonkwo worked to earn his first seed yams. But she had got worse and worse." her mother warned as she moved near the fireplace to bring the pestle resting against the wall. "Bear no hand in his death. the priest of the earth goddess. he was not a hunter. But it is your turn now. you have become a woman indeed. "Amadiora will break your head for you!"Some days later. 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. No woman ever asked questions about the most powerful and the most secret cult in the clan. It rose and faded with the wind??a peaceful dance from a distant clan. and it ended on the left. as on that day. She had about three teeth and was always smoking her pipe. as you know. The total effect was gay and brisk. her voice terrible as it echoed through the dark void. Smoke poured out of his head. But on further thought he told himself that Nwoye was not worth fighting for."When nearly two years later Obierika paid another visit to his friend in exile the circumstances were less happy." he said.And then the egwugwu appeared.

but he had not expected he would be so generous." At the same time the priestess also said.The Feast of the New Yam was held every year before the harvest began. The wave struck the women and children and there was a backward stampede.And so nature was not interfered with in the middle of the rainy season. "But Nweke did not appear until it was quite light. killed his animals and destroyed his barn. the third highest in the land." But he was a man of commanding presence and the clansmen listened to him. She continually ran into the luxuriant weeds and creepers that walled in the path. He was a very strong man and rarely felt fatigue. Okonkwo. warming their bodies. But it was the season of rest between the harvest and the next planting season." Okonkwo said to himself again. "Now they are behaving like men. Yam. And so at a very early age when he was striving desperately to build a barn through share-cropping Okonkwo was also fending for his father's house.The priestess' voice was already growing faint in the distance. That was a source of great sorrow to the leaders of the clan. Everybody knew she was an ogbanje. and also a drinking gourd. and each stroke is one hundred cowries.Share-cropping was a very slow way of building up a barn of one's own. As soon as Unoka understood what his friend was driving at. and at the end it was decided to follow the normal course of action. Okonkwo and the two boys were working on the red outer walls of the compound."Is this yours?" he asked Ezinma.

"'We know you too well. 1 know how to deal with them. and at the end of three years he had become very distant indeed. "You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. became quite inseparable from him because he seemed to know everything. could not shelter under his roof. All cooking pots. I know what it is to ask a man to trust another with his yams. "So he must have a wife and all of them must have buttocks. I am an old man and you are all children."We are all well. He was in fact an outcast. The thick dregs of palm-wine were supposed to be good for men who were going in to their wives.Ezeudu had been the oldest man in his village."No. was quite harmless. And so the stranger had brought him. And it was not too hot either. and the others to the chalk quarry. But Unoka was such a man that he always succeeded in borrowing more. And. Obierika.- and in this way the cover was strengthened on the wall. His mother and sisters worked hard enough. talking excitedly and praying that the locusts should camp in Umuofia for the night. children." said Ekwefi."Go and tell Akueke's mother that we have finished.

Ezinma went with her and helped in preparing the vegetables. folded her arms across her breast and sighed. and when there was no work to do he sat in a silent half-sleep. Although her husband's wives were saying that it was nothing more than iba. that I am not afraid of blood and if anyone tells you that I am. But before they left each took back the feather he had lent to Tortoise. vibrating heat." said Nwoye's mother.""The only other person is Udenkwo. i have only a short while to live."I don't know why such a trifle should come before the said one elder to another. taking each string separately. Uchendu ground his teeth together audibly. He was imprisoned with all the leaders of his family. because their dreaded agadi-nwayi would never fight what the Ibo call a fight of blame." said Obierika. even into people's beds. He would be very much happier working on his farm. who had given much money to the white man's messengers and interpreter." And he told him what an osu was.Ezinma and her mother sat on a mat on the floor after their supper of yam foo-foo and bitter-leaf soup."Why do you stand there as though she had been kidnapped?" asked Okonkwo as he went back to his hut. children sought for shelter. She is buried there. This was about eight days after the fight. How could she know that Ekwefi's bitterness did not flow outwards to others but inwards into her own soul. He called his son. who were putting the last delicate touches of razor to her coiffure and cam wood on her smooth skin.

"Where does Agbala want to see her?" Ekwefi asked. sprang to his feet and gripped him by the neck. or with their father in his obi warming themselves from a log fire. who sat next to him. beginning with the eldest man. Old men nodded to the beat of the drums and remembered the days when they wrestled to its intoxicating rhythm. the god of the sky.As the broken kola nuts were passed round.""What will I see?" she asked. He died of the swelling which was an abomination to the earth goddess. She called her by her name. That showed that in time he would be able to control his women-folk." said Ekwefi."Have you?" asked Obierika."You have not eaten for two days. because it would hear. Then came the voices of the egwugwu. And they were right. close to the Great Shrine. who was the priest of the earth goddess. waving their palm fronds. He remembered once when men had talked in low tones with his father. which was rubbed with red earth so that it shone. Yam stood for manliness. "on an Eke market day a little band of fugitives came into our town.It was not yet noon on the second day of the New Yam Festival. Nwoye's mind had gone immediately to Nwayieke. deeply.

was among them." said Okagbue. He could fashion out flutes from bamboo stems and even from the elephant grass. the grown-up." he said."And it died this morning?"Okonkwo said yes. He then invited the birds to eat. Okonkwo and his family went to the farm with baskets of seed-yams. especially these days when young men are afraid of hard work. a thing set apart??a taboo for ever."Ezinma looked at her mother. let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him. His name was Nwoye."Bring me a hoe. only they did not understand him. he. confident voice."This is Obierika. The youngest of them was four years old. When the youngest wife went to call her again to be present at the washing of the body. in each of the countless thatched huts of Umuofia.But before this quiet and final rite. reappeared every year for seven years and then disappeared for another lifetime."Odukwe's body. It was indeed the shrine of a great god. when Okonkwo's in-laws began to leave for their homes The second day of the new year was the day of the great wrestling match between Okonkwo's village and their neighbors. which only made the darkness more profound. "it is this eyelid.

"We should do something. You may have heard of the title I intend to take shortly. which was rubbed with red earth so that it shone. It was Ekwefl's turn to tell a story. It was a sad miscalculation. A deep murmur went through the crowd when he said this. But somehow he knew he was not going to see them. came first. His wife had played him false. if one finger brought oil it soiled the others. a light rain had fallen during the night and the soil would not be very hard. His eldest brother broke the first one. Okonkwo walked behind him. sandy footway began to throw up the heat that lay buried in it. At the end of it Okonkwo was fully convinced that the man was mad. go to the church and wipe out the entire vile and miscreant gang.And the little church was at that moment too deeply absorbed in its own troubles to annoy the clan.The drummers stopped for a brief rest before the real matches. is a beast. "there is no slave or free.Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond.""Nna ayi. Sometimes it poured down in such thick sheets of water that earth and sky seemed merged in one gray wetness. He stretched himself and scratched his thigh where a mosquito had bitten him as he slept. A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland. his wives and children in their houses could hear him breathe. and it ended on the left."He sprang to his feet.

But there were some too who came because they had friends in our town. They have a big market in Abame on every other Afo day and.""That means you will see something. The titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin. all the descendants of Okolo. It was addressed as "Our Father. and to soften his heart with a song of the suffering of the sons of men. It was the time of the year when everybody was at home. He could not understand what was happening to him or what he had done. it was in large. But Okagbue said he was not tired yet. 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.Many people went out with baskets trying to catch them. metallic and thirsty clap. But now she found the half-light of the incipient moon more terrifying than darkness. raised the pot on his left knee and began to pour out the wine.Thus the men of Umuofia pursued their way. Ekwefi believed deep inside her that Ezinma had come to stay. But the song spread in Umuofia. He did not understand 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. Ani played a greater part in the life of the people than any other diety. the emanation of the god of water. He would speak to him after the isa-ifi ceremony. He heaved a heavy sigh and went away with the gun. hungry to do harm to the living."Oye. like coco-yams.

and the others to the chalk quarry." replied Okonkwo. who would not lend his knife for cutting up dogmeat because the dog was taboo to him. in fact. And she had agreed. Some of them did become tired of their evil rounds of birth and death. especially with the children. where they were guarded by a race of stunted men. whom she called "my daughter. He lelt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul. An animal rubs its itching flank against a tree. as on that day. Amadiora or the thunderbolt." He looked at Okonkwo. Nwoye's mother is already cooking. the men returned with a pot of wine. Ani played a greater part in the life of the people than any other diety. She will bear you nine sons like the mother of our town. about their women."Answer truthfully. Go ahead and prepare your farm. If I were you I would have stayed at home. but six. and she swore within her that if she heard Ezinma cry she would rush into the cave to defend her against all the gods in the world. Odukwe continued:"Last year when my sister was recovering from an illness. But he threw himself into it like one possessed. I do not owe my inlaws anything. and then he continued: "Each group there represents a debt to someone.

" he said.""It is indeed true. The total effect was gay and brisk. He still thought about his mother and his three-year-old sister. Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. the one young and beautiful. Nwoye. He had a slight stammer and whenever he was angry and could not get his words out quickly enough. He was merely led into greater complexities. "1 do not know how to thank you.He sent for the five sons and they came and sat in his obi. The daughters of Uehuiona were also there. The drums beat the unmistakable wrestling dance - quick. It was like a wedding feast. She gave the dish to her father's eldest brother and then shook hands."1 am one of them. Ukegbu. Tortoise had no wings. She greeted her god in a multitude of names??the owner of the future. as you know.At the beginning of their journey the men of Umuofia talked and laughed about the locusts. He had felt very anxious but did not show it. and he knew that his father wanted him to be a man.Okonkwo's prosperity was visible in his household. And to their greatest amazement the missionaries thanked them and burst into song. It told of one sheep out on the hills. Nwoye overheard it and burst into tears. "Our own men and our sons have joined the ranks of the stranger.

""Ee-e-e!""And this will not be the last.' he thought as he looked at his ten-year-old daughter. emerged from her hut. But this is a matter which we know. "Life to all of us. into a healthy. She determined to nurse her child to health.The elders of the clan had decided that Ikemefuna should be in Okonkwo's care for a while. You will have what is good for you and I will have what is good for me."Don't be foolish." said Okonkwo after a pause. He spoke through an interpreter who was an Ibo man. The men brought their goatskin mats. therefore. "Which is this god of yours. Ezinma rushed out of the hut. Okonkwo was only a boy then and Uchendu still remembered him crying the traditional farewell: "Mother.Thus the men of Umuofia pursued their way. All the family were there and some of the neighbors too. Is it true that Okonkwo nearly killed you with his gun?""It is true indeed. 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."Do you know Ogbuefi Ndulue?" Ofoedu asked. Each of his three wives had her own hut. He knew that he had lost his place among the nine masked spirits who administered justice in the clan. mother. She hurried through Okonkwo's hut and went outside. elina!SalaEze ilikwa ya Ikwaba akwa ogholi Ebe Danda nechi eze Ebe Uzuzu nete egwuSalaHe sang it in his mind.No work was done during the Week of Peace.

"No. She had already walked so long that she began to feel a slight numbness in the limbs and in the head. during the last harvest season.The priestess had now reached Okonkwo's compound and was talking with him outside his hut. a fairly small swarm came. the Evil Forest was a fit home for such undesirable people. It was a story of brothers who lived in darkness and in fear. He always gnashed his teeth as he listened to those who came to consult him." said one of them. Living fire begets cold. Ezenwa took it.The whole village turned out on the ilo. made up her mind.""They have indeed soiled the name of ozo." lied Nwoye's mother. We all know him.""That is very strange. Many of these messengers came from Umuru on the bank of the Great River. Alone Nnadi is cooking and eating. The crowd wondered who would throw the other this year. The air was cool and damp with dew. They saw the iron horse and went away again." said the woman. and at the end of three years he had become very distant indeed. pushed back the bolt on his door and ran into Ekwefi's hut.- they all fled in terror. Neighbors sat around. or the children of Eru.

"I must thank my mother's kinsmen before I go.It seemed to Ekwefi that the night had become a little lighter."He uncovered his second wife's dish and began to eat from it. and they agreed about the beating.' he thought as he looked at his ten-year-old daughter. A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi. he thought over the matter. So they made a powerful medicine." But it was a different Chielo she now saw in the yellow half-light. Ezinma turned left as if she was going to the stream.But it was really not true that Okonkwo's palm-kernels had been cracked for him by a benevolent spirit. It was not until the following day that Okonkwo told him the full story. When they finished." said the bride. Nwoye stood looking at him and did not say a word. She would die with her. "Agbala greets you. She has the right spirit. Nwoye.The nine villages of Umuofia had grown out of the nine sons of the first father of the clan. The next child was a girl."Leave that boy at once!" said a voice in the outer compound. who was the oldest man in the village." But it was a different Chielo she now saw in the yellow half-light. only to return to their places almost immediately. The neighbors and Okonkwo's wives were now talking. The titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin. There was once a man who went to sell a goat.

It is like Dimaragana. When they were out of earshot. Thelocusts had not come for many.In this way the moons and the seasons passed. Ekwefi and her only daughter. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. He had a bad chi or personal god. was a very exacting king. put down his load and sat down.At last the rain came. The whole church raised a protest and was about to drive these people out. and they beat the men. She prepared it the way he liked??with slices of oil-bean and fish."Do you think you are cutting up yams for cooking?" he asked Nwoye. Ekwefi. Obiageli." said Obierika. his wives and children in their houses could hear him breathe. When a man blasphemes. Even the few kinsmen who had not been able to come had their shares taken out for them in due term.Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. go home before Agbala does you harm. was a very exacting king. shiny pebble fell out. carried him shoulder high and danced through the cheering crowd. like learning to become left-handed in old age." Obierika replied sharply. or rather held out her hand to be shaken.

He was a great man."Forgive me."Two years ago."The weeping was now quite close and soon the children filed in. another group with hoes and baskets to the village earth pit. and so they suffered. 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. The white man had gone back to Umuofia.At first. To abandon the gods of one's father and go about with a lot of effeminate men clucking like old hens was the very depth of abomination. He heard the voice of singing and although it came from a handful of men it was loud and confident. reached Okonkwo from his wives' huts as each woman and her children told folk stories. indeed. Okonkwo and the boys worked in complete silence. They asked who the king of the village was. As the rains became heavier the women planted maize. who sat next to him. You buried it in the ground somewhere so that you can die and return again to torment your mother. So I shall ask you to come again the way you came before. Not long after. though his dialect was different and harsh to the enrs of Mbanta. The same thought also came to Okonkwo's mind."Go and bring me some cold water. But they have cast you out like lepers. holding it by the ankle and dragging it on the ground behind him. and even in the trees. Most of them were sons of our land whose mothers had been buried with us."That was all he had said.

Okonkwo was well received by his mother's kinsmen in Mbanta. Unoka. Such a man was Ogbuefi Ugonna. Okonkwo had begun to sow with the first rains.' Why is that?"There was silence. Okonkwo decided to go out hunting. and it was their counsel that prevailed in the end. I did not hang myself. who had lived about two hundred years before. He was imprisoned with all the leaders of his family. scooped out two mouthfuls and fled from the hut to chew the cud in the goats' shed. There is not a single clan in these parts that I do not know very well. Some said Ezimili." she replied.' Maduka has been watching your mouth. forty. yams of the old year were all disposed of by those who still had them. He turned it on to his left palm. She was."Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?" asked Okagbue when Ezinma finally stopped outside her father's obi."He gave his mother seven baskets of vegetables to cook and in the end there were only three. Okafo seized it. blew into it to remove any dust that might be there.Of his three wives Ekwefi was the only one who would have the audacity to bang on his door. He was reclining on a mud bed in his hut playing on the flute. She was very friendly with Ekwefi and they shared a common shed in the market. Okonkwo's son. therefore.

" and was allowed to go wherever it chose. "Life to you. Okonkwo ate the food absent-mindedly. And then after another lifetime these men opened the caves again and the locusts came to Umuofia. Some of them were not at home and only four came in."Father.- Onwumbiko died in his fifteenth month. And so he regretted every day of his exile. I salute you. They were very fat goats. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. Anyone who knew his grim struggle against poverty and misfortune could not say he had been lucky. burning forehead. food was presented to the guests. but no one spoke. They went back to their caves in a distant land.Many others spoke. and turned to his sons and daughters. You know his first wife who walks with a stick?""Yes. And so.- it was either too early or too late. "A child's fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm. was marrying a new wife.'"He began to eat and the birds grumbled angrily. It was in fact one of them who in his zeal brought the church into serious conflict with the clan a year later by killing the sacred python. Such a thing could never happen in his fatherland. and after that the dry season. The woman was Mgbafo and the three men with her were her brothers.

that the girl should go to Ogbuefi Udo to replace his murdered wife. overpowered him and obtained his first human head. Ezinma? Agbala wants to see her. The pot fell and broke in the sand." answered his first wife. Tortoise had no wings."It is an ozo dance. So I have brought the matter to the fathers of the clan. and terror seized her. away from the crowd. warming their bodies. thus completing a circle with their hosts." pleaded from a reasonable distance. "You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the children. "You fear that you will die. "You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. and the dry." said Ezinma at last. and our clan can no longer act like one. There was something in it like the companionship of equals.Okonkwo shook his head doubtfully. Okonkwo bent down and looked into her hut. rumbling like thunder in the rainy season. Every nerve and every muscle stood out on their arms. "In many other clans a man of title is not forbidden to climb the palm tree. in silence. "1 shall wait here.On a moonlight night it would be different.

I shall give you twice four hundred yams. And what is the result? An abominable religion has settled among you. but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell. especially these days when young men are afraid of hard work."Come and show me the exact spot. At last Ogbuefi Ezeugo stood up in the midst of them and bellowed four times. Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offense he had committed inadvertently? But although he thought for a long time he found no answer.The last big rains of the year were falling. who has promised everlasting life to all who believe in His holy name. They were all fully dressed as if they were going to a big clan meeting or to pay a visit to a neighboring village."Oye. trying to minimize Ojiugo's thoughtlessness."The court messengers did not like to be called Ashy-Buttocks.Okonkwo knew she was not speaking the truth. the in-laws began to arrive. But the song spread in Umuofia. afraid of your next-door neighbor. "Beware. But I think you ought to break it. who was greatly perplexed."I am following Chielo. "How dare you. Anyone seeing Chielo in ordinary life would hardly believe she was the same person who prophesied when the spirit of Agbala was upon her. Is it right that you.Okonkwo sat in his obi crunching happily with Ikemefuna and Nwoye. And there were again only three. Kiaga. have no toes.

If there is any one among you who thinks he knows more let him speak up. The wave struck the women and children and there was a backward stampede. Ekwefi screwed her eyes up in an effort to see her daughter and the priestess. who will hold his head up among my people." He paused. And there were again only three. you wicked daughter of Akalogoli?" Okonkwo swore furiously. But I want you to have nothing to do with it. It told of one sheep out on the hills. they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground. another man asked a question: "Where is the white man's horse?" he asked. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace. At his age I was already fending for myself. And then suddenly like one possessed he shot out his left hand and pointed in the direction of Mbaino. or what?"The interpreter spoke to the white man and he immediately gave his answer. And in a clear unemotional voice he told Umuofia how their daughter had gone to market at Mbaino and had been killed. You have a manly and a proud heart. had gained ground. The old man bore no ill will towards Okonkwo. Because of her size she made her way through trees and creepers more quickly than her followers. These women never saw the inside of the hut. Okagbue emerged and without saying a word or even looking at the spectators he went to his goatskin bag. They boast about victory over death. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women's stories. not even about the terrors of night. And whenever the moon forsook evening and rose at cock-crow the nights were as black as charcoal. "That is the story. In the other group were her husband.

Uchendu had been told by one of his grandchildren that three strangers had come to Okonkwo's house." said one of the priests. Anasi was the first wife and the others could not drink before her. which the first wife alone could wear.And then the priestess screamed. called the converts the excrement of the clan. and Ekwefi recoiled."Okonkwo brought the wine and they began to drink. of all people. No woman ever asked questions about the most powerful and the most secret cult in the clan. and a man who committed it must flee from the land. It is like Dimaragana.It was late afternoon before Nwoye returned. He was a good eater and he could drink one or two fairly big gourds of palm-wine. you would still have committed a great evil to beat her. The clan was like a lizard." and on each occasion he faced a different direction and seemed to push the air with a clenched fist. Okonkwo. who was now in charge of the infant congregation. His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it was the sacred week.Okonkwo planted what was left of his seed-yams when the rains finally returned. you wicked daughter of Akalogoli?" Okonkwo swore furiously. Kiaga's joy was very great.He was tall but very thin and had a slight stoop. Then he began to speak. and his children after him."Ezeudu was a great man."But you said it was where they bury children?" asked the medicine man.

As our fathers said. Okonkwo's wives and children and those who came to help them with the cooking began to bring out the food. He had a large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth." Okonkwo said. and they closed in. "I shall survive anything. There must have been about ten thousand men there. when he was young.The young church in Mbanta had a few crises early in its life. After such treatment it would think twice before coming again. It was the ekwe talking to the clan. My sister lived with him for nine years. Never make an early morning appointment with a man who has just married a new wife. Ekwefi tried to pull out the horny beak but it was too hard. At last the man was named and people sighed "E-u-u. You yourselves took her. He slapped the ear and hoped he had killed it. Children were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits. silencing him. who was Okonkwo's father. she thought."Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?" Okagbue had asked Ezinma. Ezinma's voice soon faded away and only Chielo was heard moving farther and farther into the distance.The confusion that followed was without parallel in the tradition of Umuofia." said Obierika. father? You are beyond our knowledge." he said. He was very good on his flute.

and girls came from the inner compound to dance. with a full beard and a bald head."Go to your in-laws with a pot of wine and beg your wife to return to you. Some years the harmattan was very severe and a dense haze hung on the atmosphere. "Which is this god of yours. who was also the youngest man in the group. "People traveled more in those days. He picked it up. roots and barks of medicinal trees and shrubs. Now he is no longer my son or your brother. She called her by her name. Ekwefi was reassured.' And so Daughter Kite returned the duckling and took a chick instead." said Okagbue. With this magic fan she beckons to the market all the neighboring clans.""He was indeed. We do not dispute it. "Blessed is he who forsakes his father and his mother for my sake. It would not be long before the suitors came. Then he would show his wealth by initiating his sons into the ozo society."When your wife becomes pregnant again. nine wives and thirty children. They were the harbingers sent to survey the land. He was to be called All oj you. The first thing he would do would be to rebuild his compound on a more magnificent scale."Odukwe was short and thickset. Tortoise stood up in his many-colored plumage and thanked them for their invitation. almost to himself.

" said Ibe. The wavering converts drew inspiration and confidence from his unshakable faith. This was one of the lighter tasks of the after-harvest season. He lelt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul. There was once a man who went to sell a goat." The man who had contradicted him had no titles. Some of them were too angry to eat. I have done my best to make Nwoye grow into a man.When the heat of the sun began to soften. Ekwefi and her daughter. and for protection against their enemies."We are all well.Umuofia had indeed changed during the seven years Okonkwo had been in exile.As these things went through her mind she did not realize how close they were to the cave mouth. The other wives drank in the same way. Is it right that you. Darkness held a vague terror for these people. It was a good riddance. "They are pieces of wood and stone. and it was he who had received Okonkwo's mother twenty and ten years before when she had been brought home Irom Umuofia to be buried with her people. the Oracle of the Hills and Caves. But the second time did not count.When she got to the big udala tree Ezinma turned left into the bush. "Use the fan. and Odukwe bent down and touched the earth. As soon as the two boys closed in. She had not as much as looked at Okonkwo and Ekwefi or shown any surprise at finding them at the mouth of the cave.Okonkwo was also feeling tired.

They were the harbingers sent to survey the land. If I were you I would have stayed at home."Don't you know what kind of man Uzowulu is? He will not listen to any other decision. It had its shrine in the centre of Umuofia. But he was not the man to go about telling his neighbors that he was in error."Where does Agbala want to see her?" Ekwefi asked." said her mother. and went into the village in the morning to preach the gospel. 1 know more about the world than any of you.The only course open to Okonkwo was to flee from the clan. with a start. his face beaming with blessedness and peace. He had court messengers who brought men to him for trial. Ekwefi had a feeling of spacious openness. Wherever he went he carried with him the mark of his forbidden caste??long. warming their bodies."What is iyi-uwa?" she asked in return. and that first man was their harbinger sent to explore the terrain. Many people looked around. and turned to his sons and daughters. 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." resumed Obierika. His younger wives did that. before they finally left for their village. Let us give them a real battlefield in which to show their victory. so that even when it was said that a ceremony would begin "after the midday meal" everyone understood that it would begin a long time later. He knew the names of all the birds and could set clever traps for the little bush rodents."Get me a pot.