the hosts looked at each other as if to say."It is here. He was the oldest man in Ire.""Nna ayi.

Ezinma had not wanted to cooperate with him at first
Ezinma had not wanted to cooperate with him at first."The next day a group of elders from all the nine villages of Umuofia came to Okonkwo's house early in the morning." He turned again to Okonkwo and said. but not overmuch. 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."Ekwefi!" a voice called from one of the other huts.Okonkwo planted what was left of his seed-yams when the rains finally returned. unhappily. Her husband had brought out more yams than usual because the medicine man had to be fed. and the new faith was a mad dog that had come to eat it up. and was punished. because the cold and dry harmattan wind was blowing down Irom the north. "Umuofia kwenu. One of the things every man learned was the language of the hollowed-out wooden instrument. All the neighbors and relations who had come to mourn gathered round them. But as he flew home his long talon pierced the leaves and the rain fell as it had never fallen before. broke into life and activity. And if they could not help in digging up the yams."Everybody thanked Okonkwo and the neighbors brought out their drinking horns from the goatskin bags they carried. 'but tell me. because it had been inadvertent. The clan saw no reason then for molesting the Christians. The pot fell and broke in the sand.

"They had been warned that danger was ahead. who was the eldest of the nine sons. No woman ever did. Every woman immediately abandoned whatever she was doing and rushed out in the direction of the cry. I owe them no yams."What is iyi-uwa?" she asked in return. The nine egwugwu then went away to consult together in their house. Wherever he went he carried with him the mark of his forbidden caste??long. The church had come and led many astray. Unoka." they said to the women. 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.""Ee-e-e!"The oldest man in the camp of the visitors replied: "It will be good for you and it will be good for us. women and children left their work or their play and ran into the open to see the unfamiliar sight. Once or twice he tried to run away. It had its shrine in the centre of Umuofia." said Obierika. So I have brought the matter to the fathers of the clan. They should have armed themselves with their guns and their machetes even when they went to market. "My daughter's suitor is coming today and I hope we will clinch the matter of the bride-price. pointing with his finger.An iron gong sounded. And he was afraid to look back.

One of them was so old and infirm that he leaned heavily on a stick.Okonkwo sat in his obi crunching happily with Ikemefuna and Nwoye." came the voice like a sharp knife cutting through the night. nor even a young wife." They laughed and agreed. go home before Agbala does you harm. then. We have tried to settle their quarrels time without number and on each occasion Uzowulu was guilty??""It is a lie!" Uzowulu shouted. You know as well as I do that our forefathers ordained that before we plant any crops in the earth we should observe a week in which a man does not say a harsh word to his neighbor. In the end Parrot. There were huge bowls of foo-foo and steaming pots of soup. She was."As soon as he entered his last year in exile Okonkwo sent money to Obierika to build him two huts in his old compound where he and his family would live until he built more huts and the outside wall of his compound. The blazing sun returned. The next morning they were roasted in clay pots and then spread in the sun until they became dry and brittle. He had lost the years in which he might have taken the highest titles in the clan. the sky. Kiaga."Ezeudu was a great man. you would still have committed a great evil to beat her." Ezinma offered. or took pity on their mothers. 'You have taken back your sister.

"We have men of high title and the chief priests and the elders. like a son. She was alive and well. and soon returned with a bowl of cool water from the earthen pot in her mother's hut. 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."Have you?" asked Obierika. rumbling like thunder in the rainy season. A vague scent of life and green vegetation was diffused in the air. She sometimes broke into a run and stopped again suddenly. Ekwefi uttered a scream and sprang to her feet. We are better than animals because we have kinsmen. He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. and they had quickened their steps. At first they were afraid they might die."He does not know that either. Her mother consoled her and promised to buy her her another pot. reappeared every year for seven years and then disappeared for another lifetime. The spell of sunshine which always came in the middle of the wet season did not appear."Mr.Even in his first year in exile he had begun to plan for his return. The daughters of Uehuiona were also there. It was like a man wondering in broad daylight why a dream had appeared so terrible to him at night." said Nwoye's mother.

Somebody was dead. It began by naming the clan: Umuofia obodo dike! "the land of the brave." he said. "there is no slave or free. the sun is shining. He would teach her! But Nwoye resembled his grandfather. and we shall all perish. The missionaries had come to Umuofia. He then adjusted his cloth. The other wives drank in the same way.One of the men behind him cleared his throat. as you know. on their backs and their thighs. all the same. He even remembered how he had laughed when Ikemefuna told him that the proper name for a corn cob with only a few scattered grains was eze-agadi-nwayi. Ezinma sneezed. but nothing like this had ever happened. my sons. And it was not too hot either. asked on behalf of the clan to look after him in the interim. and was punished. something felt in the marrow. Okonkwo was the greatest wrestler and warrior alive.

The way into the shrine was a round hole at the side of a hill. and he loved this season of the year."There is one important thing which we must not forget. Yam stood for manliness. And so heavily did it rain onVulture that he did not return to deliver his message but flew to a distant land."Okonkwo has spoken the truth. He had a large barn full of yams and he had three wives. So he began to plan how he would go to the sky. my child. The sun breaking through their leaves and branches threw a pattern of light and shade on the sandy footway. drank a little and handed back the horn."Locusts are descending. It was powerful in war and in magic. He exchanged greetings with Okonkwo and led the way into his obi. Unoka went into an inner room and soon returned with a small wooden disc containing a kola nut. Some birds chirruped in the forests around. "They want to ruin us. which was part of the night. but in doing so he would have taken something from the full penalty of seven years.In spite of this incident the New Yam Festival was celebrated with great joy in Okonkwo's household. When i say no to them they think i am hard hearted. Amikwu." He paused.

With a father like Unoka. Nwoye's sister. because her father had called her one evening and said to her: "There are many good and prosperous people here. A palm-oil lamp gave out yellowish light.Ikemefuna came to Umuofia at the end of the carefree season between harvest and planting. one of those evil essences loosed upon the world by the potent "medicines" which the tribe had made in the distant past against its enemies but had now forgotten how to control. others Abame or Aninta. And how is my daughter. But Okagbue said he was not tired yet." he said when Okonkwo had spoken. He still missed his mother and his sister and would be very glad to see them. slanting showers through sunshine and quiet breeze. like the snapping of a tightened bow. and he was grateful. And then from the center of the delirious fury came a cry of agony and shouts of horror."Don't cry. he was treated with great honor and respect. His love of talk had grown with age and sickness." she replied and disappeared in the darkness. calabashes and wooden bowls were thoroughly washed. He would be very much happier working on his farm. It was a gay and airy kind of rain." said Uchendu to his peers when they consulted among themselves.

that I am not afraid of blood and if anyone tells you that I am. The rains had come and yams had been sown. that is a boy's job. "As our people say. Mighty tree branches broke away under them. children sat around their mother's cooking fire telling stories. should bring to your mother a heavy face and refuse to be comforted? Be careful or you may displease the dead. holding the ancestral staff of the family. and a man who committed it must flee from the land. Women and children returning from the stream with pots of water on their heads wondered what was happening until they saw Okagbue and guessed that it must be something to do with ogbanje.But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through."Unoka was like that in his last days. And so they killed him. Once upon a time there was a great famine in the land of animals. Nwoye's mother thanked her and she went back to her mother's hut. That was his fifth head and he was not an old man yet. His words may also be good. And what was more. with sticks. 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. a loud cheer rose from the crowd. Okonkwo had returned home and sat waiting."Yes.

The priestess bent down on one knee and Ezinma climbed on her back." said Okonkwo. Ezinma's fire was now sending up thick clouds of smoke. It was quiet and confident. and old men and women would remember their youth. You have committed a great evil. "Agbala greets you. The pit was now so deep that they no longer saw the digger. he is not too young."On what market-day was it born?" he asked.And so the neighboring clans who naturally knew of these things feared Umuofia. That week they won a handful more converts. His name was Uchendu. Obierika. But she had lived so long that perhaps she had decided to stay. Now you talk about his son. and then you will know. But almost immediately a shout of joy broke out in all directions. Obierika nodded in agreement. I shall give you some fish to eat. and we shall all perish. Every child loved the harvest season. as husbands' wives were wont to.

"A little more?? I said a little. Like all good farmers. I have only called you together because it is good for kinsmen to meet. Okoye was a great talker and he spoke for a long time." Ezinma said. "It is a strange and terrible story. He hoped to get another four hundred yams from one of his father's friends at Isiuzo. waiting for him. Mr."It was in the second year of Okonkwo's exile that his friend. Their church stood on a circular clearing that looked like the open mouth of the Evil Forest. But there is just one question I would like to ask him. But by the end of the day the sisal rings were burned dry and gray. "The children are still very young. "The people of Umuike wanted their market to grow and swallow up the markets of their neighbors. and the cannon shattered the silence. Nwoye's mother is already cooking.""Let them laugh. Work no longer had for him the pleasure it used to have."Agbala do-o-o-o!?? Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Ekwefi trudged behind. burning forehead."Do you think you are cutting up yams for cooking?" he asked Nwoye. It had been early in the morning.

It was full of meat and fish.""It is already too late. She continually ran into the luxuriant weeds and creepers that walled in the path.The last big rains of the year were falling. each carrying a pot of wine. It had its shrine in the centre of Umuofia. It had been early in the morning. The elders said locusts came once in a generation." answered his first wife. When Okonkwo brought him home that day he called his most senior wife and handed him over to her." the medicine man told Okonkwo in a cool. When Okonkwo brought him home that day he called his most senior wife and handed him over to her. which was shaved in beautiful patterns. He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's return. The total effect was gay and brisk. And then Nkechi came in. Her back was turned on the footpath that led out of the hills. He was a great man. Cam wood was rubbed lightly into her skin."I have kola. The law of Umuofia is that if a woman runs away from her husband her bride-price is returned. Why was that?"Okonkwo shook his head."Come along then and show me the spot.

not only in his motherland but also in Umuofia. jumping over walls and dancing on the roof.At first. to Obierika's compound. and as it dwelt on it. The clan saw no reason then for molesting the Christians. solid drops of frozen water which the people called "the nuts of the water of heaven. There was no question of killing a missionary here. unhappily. The whole church raised a protest and was about to drive these people out." said one of them. And immediately Okonkwo's eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. But such was her anxiety for her daughter that she could not rid herself completely of her fear. And as he told them of the past they sat in darkness or the dim glow of logs. and it could not be done later because harvesting would soon set in. But it is your turn now. "You look very tired. that is a boy's job. And so everybody came to see the white man." he said. Ikeocha. and was now accorded great respect in all the clan. She was very heavy with child.

" said Uchendu." said Ekwefi. "there is no slave or free. These court messengers were greatly hated in Umuofia because they were foreigners and also arrogant and high-handed." He paused for a long time and then said: "I told you on my last visit to Mbanta how they hanged Aneto. and then he continued: "Each group there represents a debt to someone. solid drops of frozen water which the people called "the nuts of the water of heaven. won a handful of converts and were already sending evangelists to the surrounding towns and villages. The fact was that Obiageli had been making inyanga with her pot. They had thrown down their water-pots and lain by the roadside expecting the sinister light to descend on them and kill them. He had cracked them himself. It always surprised him when he thought of it later that he did not sink under the load of despair. He never stopped regretting that Ezinma was a girl. as was the custom." He was talking about Okonkwo. Neighbors sat around."Once upon a time. They sympathized with their neighbors with much shaking of the head." asked another man. But in spite of these disadvantages. Everyone was puzzled. But as he flew home his long talon pierced the leaves and the rain fell as it had never fallen before.A strange and sudden weakness descended on Ekwefi as she stood gazing in the direction of the voices like a hen whose only chick has been carried away by a kite.

Thank you. and so the victim could not be buried in her bowels. when he slept. leaving what we are cooking to burn in the fire." said some of the elders. My mother was one of you. let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him. and Odukwe bent down and touched the earth. and the women sat on a sisal mat spread on a raised bank of earth. Okonkwo came next and Ekwefi followed him. As for his converts. and cut them up. with music and dancing and a great feast. He died of the swelling which was an abomination to the earth goddess. men. and the world lay panting under the live. woman. Why is it that when a woman dies she is taken home to be buried with her own kinsmen? She is not buried with her husband's kinsmen.That night he collected his most valuable belongings into head-loads. His wife had played him false. As the evening wore on. As for Ikemefuna. Her daughter was only ten years old but she was wiser than her years.

Sometimes the sun shone through the rain and a light breeze blew.""There is no story that is not true. and Ekwefi recoiled. 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. It seemed as if the world had gone mad."Oye. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten. and the women had formed themselves into three groups for this purpose. She rose. but they are too young to leave their mother. and you can teach us the things of the new faith. As Idigo had said. go to the church and wipe out the entire vile and miscreant gang. broken now and again by singing. armed with sheathed machetes. It was like the desire for woman.He brought with him two young men.""Is he well?" asked Nwoye. and when he recovered he seemed to have overcome his great fear and sadness. Okonkwo looked away." said Ofoedu. After the pot-bearers came Ibe. "They will put off Ndulue's funeral until his wife has been buried.

Nothing that happened in the world of the animals ever escaped his notice. The women were screaming outside. All the grass had long been scorched brown. A bowl of pounded yams can throw him in a wrestling match. The titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin. Now he has won our brothers. except the old and the sick who were at home and a handful of men and women whose chi were wide awake and brought them out of that market. He must have a wife.The elders of the clan had decided that Ikemefuna should be in Okonkwo's care for a while. He had therefore put his drinking-horn into his goatskin bag for the occasion. The cloud had lifted and a few stars were out. pushing the air with his raffia arms." said the leader of the ecjwucjwu. His mother had wept bitterly. which together formed a half moon behind the obi. 'It just walked away. Uchendu pulled gently at his gray beard and gnashed his teeth. Okonkwo slept. go home before Agbala does you harm.' replied the man." But it was a different Chielo she now saw in the yellow half-light. What crime had they committed? The Earth had decreed that they were an offense on the land and must be destroyed. Is it right that you.

" said Uchendu after a long silence. and two days later he returned home with a lad of fifteen and a young virgin." said Ojiugo. "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. or rather to his death. The cut bush was left to dry and fire was then set to it. He had five other sons and he would bring them up in the way of the clan. "They use medicine. "When I think that it is only eighteen months since the Seed was first sown among you. She felt cold. and a great land case began. The youngest of them was four years old. prophesying. The egwugwu house into which they emerged faced the forest." said Okonkwo." And they dispersed. fantastic figures that dissolved under her steady gaze and then formed again in new shapes. 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. and any time he passed her way he told Ear that he was still alive. Ezinma. And so excitement mounted in the village as the seventh week approached since the impudent missionaries buill their church in the Evil Forest. and the planting began. red in tooth and claw.

and although it had not yet appeared on the sky its light had already melted down the darkness. to the boys and they passed it round the wooden stays and then back to him. But there was one woman who had no doubt whatever in her mind.""They have indeed soiled the name of ozo. He could return to the clan after seven years. That showed that in time he would be able to control his women-folk. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. Unoka was."Okonkwo never did things by halves. and you are afraid. With this magic fan she beckons to the market all the neighboring clans. Now he has won our brothers. for in spite of their worthlessness they still belonged to the clan."Locusts are descending.' said Mother Kite." said Obierika. Ukegbu counted them. It was the ekwe talking to the clan. It all began over the question of admitting outcasts."The weeping was now quite close and soon the children filed in. because the cold and dry harmattan wind was blowing down Irom the north. Trees were uprooted and deep gorges appeared everywhere." Altogether there were fifty pots of wine.

" She died in her eleventh month. followed by the bride and the other women. We are better than animals because we have kinsmen. Even the smell of gunpowder was swallowed in the sickly smell that now filled the air. Their bodies shone with sweat. Quick as the lightning of Amadiora. "And he was riding an iron horse." He laughed a mirthless laughter. "We should do something. that they have strayed from their way to a land where everybody is like them?"Okonkwo's first wife soon finished her cooking and set before their guests a big meal of pounded yams and bitter-leaf soup. and Okonkwo filled his horn again. It was clear that the bags were full of cowries. had entered his eye."That was about five years ago.""Yes." he said to Ikemefuna. one of these women went to Ozoemena's hut and told her. nor the walls of his compound. It must be the thought of going home to his mother. he was not afraid now. Our elders say that the sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them. Are you deaf?" Okonkwo roared at her. perhaps for the first time.

It was clear from the way the crowd stood or sat that the ceremony was for men. and everybody agreed that he was as sharp as a razor.Even in his first year in exile he had begun to plan for his return. But it was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth. sat on a mat on the floor.But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through.""Yes. He told them that they worshipped false gods.When she had shaken hands. A child belongs to its father and his family and not to its mother and her family.The only course open to Okonkwo was to flee from the clan." said Machi. Only the word of our God is true. No ogbanje would yield her secrets easily.- then silence descended from the sky and swallowed the noise. "That is the story. "Three or four of us should stay behind. talking was the next best.""That is very strange. The same thought also came to Okonkwo's mind. Why.""That is true. She stood for a while.

"Thank you. Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. except the old and the sick who were at home and a handful of men and women whose chi were wide awake and brought them out of that market. or old woman.A hush fell on the compound immediately.In this way the moons and the seasons passed. whom she called "my daughter. His mind went back to Ikemefuna and he shivered. Then everything had been broken. Her heart jumped painfully within her." said Obiageli. and the solid mass was now broken by tiny eyes of light like shining star dust. first with little sticks and later with tall and big tree branches. which means "the good one. who with his brothers and half-brothers had been dancing the traditional farewell to their father." said Okonkwo. When she came to the main road. The lad's name was Ikemefuna. There was the story of a very stubborn man who staggered back to his house and had to be carried again to the forest and tied to a tree. "But I am greatly afraid." the others replied. watching. and during this time Okonkwo's fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan.

"We shall be going.Large crowds began to gather on the village ilo as soon as the edge had worn off the sun's heat and it was no longer painful on the body. Ezigbo. calling on her mother. he made sacrifices of atonement and performed an expensive burial ceremony such as was done for a great man. But if you allow sorrow to weigh you down and kill you they will all die in exile.Suddenly Okagbue sprang to the surface with the agility of a leopard. If there is any one among you who thinks he knows more let him speak up. whose eyes. But they were very rare and short-lived. Yam." They laughed and agreed. but to settle the dispute. It was as if a spell had been cast. calling him "Our father. She must have heard a noise behind her and turned round sharply. and about the locusts?? Then quite suddenly a thought came upon him.Dusk was already approaching when their contest began. An animal rubs its itching flank against a tree. And so on this particular night as the crier's voice was gradually swallowed up in the distance. and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten. The moon was definitely rising.Chielo's voice was now rising continuously.

And he was afraid to look back. She was nine then and was just recovering from a serious illness. He was very good on his flute." said Obierika. calling on her mother." said Nwoye's mother."When he killed Oduche in the fight over the land. because you understand us and we understand you. He called his son. I know it as I look at you. and all the tragedy and sorrow of her life were packed in those words. He was light in complexion and his eyes were red and fiery. which the first wife alone could wear. A vague scent of life and green vegetation was diffused in the air. Ekwefi picked her way carefully and quietly. Then from the distance came the faint beating of the ekwe.""You do not understand. And he told them about this new God. She wore the anklet of her husband's titles. and the hosts looked at each other as if to say."It is here. He was the oldest man in Ire.""Nna ayi.