knew how old. Chielo's voice now came after long intervals. Nothing wouldhappen to Ezinma. It was addressed as "Our Father." said one of them.

And for many days this rare food was eaten with solid palm-oil
And for many days this rare food was eaten with solid palm-oil." he said."It is very near now.The men then continued their drinking and talking. "on an Eke market day a little band of fugitives came into our town. only waking to full life when Chielo sang. He was like the man in the song who had ten and one wives and not enough soup for his foo-foo."The missionary ignored him and went on to talk about the Holy Trinity. 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." He waved his arm where most of the young men sat. Another one was wailing near his right ear." She went into the hut again and brought down the smoke-black basket in which she kept her dried fish and other ingredients for cooking soup. I have only called you together because it is good for kinsmen to meet.. I have waited in vain for my wife to return. "How much longer do you think you will live?" she asked.As soon as day broke. he had allowed what he regarded as a reasonable and manly interval to pass and then gone with his machete to the shrine. Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. and Okonkwo's women and children heard from their huts all that she said.

"Ekwefi came out from her hut carrying her oil lamp in her left hand. His priestess stood by the sacred fire which she built in the heart of the cave and proclaimed the will of the god. gome. Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men had." asked Obierika."Sit like a woman!" Okonkwo shouted at her. That was why Okonkwo had been Chosen by the nine villages to carry a message of war to their enemies unless they agreed to give up a young man and a virgin to atone for the murder of Udo's wife. It was a warrior's funeral. Two elderly neighbors were sent for." He turned again to Okonkwo and said. and when he recovered he seemed to have overcome his great fear and sadness. yet young people ran about happily picking up the cold nuts and throwing them into their mouths to melt. She greeted her god in a multitude of names??the owner of the future. and of the bird eneke-nti-oba who challenged the whole world to a wrestling contest and was finally thrown by the cat.The young men who kept order on these occasions dashed about. She beckons in front of her and behind her.Okonkwo's wives. We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas. and does not lose it even if he steals. She has the right spirit.

The bush was alive with the tread of feet on dry leaves and sticks and the moving aside of tree branches." they said to the women. His name was Maduka."After the Week of Peace every man and his family began to clear the bush to make new farms." came the voice like a sharp knife cutting through the night. the in-laws began to arrive. I say it because I fear for the younger generation. If he had killed Ikemefuna during the busy planting season or harvesting it would not have been so bad. whereupon Ear fell on the floor in uncontrollable laughter."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! Chi negbu madu ubosi ndu ya nato ya uto daluo-o-o! ??"Ekwefi could already see the hills looming in the moonlight.Okagbue had again taken over the digging from Okonkwo."Okonkwo thanked him again and again and went home feeling happy. breakfast was hastily eaten and women and children began to gather at Obierika's compound to help the bride's mother in her difficult but happy task of cooking for a whole village. How else could they say that Ani and Amadiora were harmless? And Idemili and Ogwugwu too? And some of them began to go away. it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. He was imprisoned with all the leaders of his family.""That is very bad. He had no patience with unsuccessful men."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."Has Nweke married a wife?" asked Okonkwo.

As he broke the kola. who had given much money to the white man's messengers and interpreter.Ekwefi knelt beside the sick child. He tried in vain to force the thought out of his mind. That week they won a handful more converts. Most of them were sons of our land whose mothers had been buried with us. He put them in the pot and Ekwefi poured in some water. "that I shall bring many iron horses when we have settled down among them. the rulers of Mbanta gave to the missionaries. and sat speechless.""They have indeed soiled the name of ozo. persistent and unchanging. the Creator of all the world and all the men and women. He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth. who had lived about two hundred years before. He could not take any of the four titles of the clan. Her husband's wife took this for malevolence. And if anybody was so foolhardy as to pass by the shrine after dusk he was sure to see the old woman hopping about. and allowed a brief pause. They seemed to forget all about him as soon as they had taken the decision.

The yams were then staked. such as befitted a noble warrior." At the same time the priestess also said. very shyly. skirting round the subject and then hitting it finally. on the other hand." the others replied. She did not marry him then because he was too poor to pay her bride-price. Okonkwo's wives had scrubbed the walls and the huts with red earth until they reflected light. and the sun seemed hidden behind a thick cloud. but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders. Their church stood on a circular clearing that looked like the open mouth of the Evil Forest. He hoped to get another four hundred yams from one of his father's friends at Isiuzo. let his wing break. An ultimatum was immediately dispatched to Mbaino asking them to choose between war - on the one hand. "The people of Umuike wanted their market to grow and swallow up the markets of their neighbors. Uchendu's eldest daughter had come from Obodo. he fled to Aninta to escape the wrath of the earth. worthless. His two younger brothers are more promising.

At first they were afraid they might die."Listen to me."You need some sleep yourself. And what was more. Then he took it away to bury in the Evil Forest. you would still have committed a great evil to beat her. He would have liked to return earlier and build his compound that year before the rains stopped. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten. called round his neighbors and made merry." Ofoedu agreed. They were not the real wrestlers. who were still outside the circle. Mr. she did not hear them. Everyone knew then that she would live because her bond with the world of ogbanje had been broken. It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights." he said. as when she first set out. indeed."Five women stayed behind to look after the cooking-pots.

"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. with her suitor and his relatives." said Ezinma. They were silent for a long time. looked left and right and turned right. "We will allow three or four women to stay behind.One day a neighbor called Okoye came in to see him.The royal python was the most revered animal in Mbanta and all the surrounding clans. But he had recently fallen ill. and filled the village with excitement. They cross seven rivers to make their farms. But on further thought he told himself that Nwoye was not worth fighting for. The next child was a girl." resumed Obierika."You know what it is."And so three goats were slaughtered and a number of fowls.As soon as day broke. The interpreter explained each verse to the audience. if they were stubborn. The iron horse was still tied to the sacred silk-cotton tree.

Inwardly. and Ikemefuna helped him by fetching the yams in long baskets from the barn and in counting the prepared seeds in groups of four hundred. I knew your father. They argued for a short while and fell into silence again. The white man was also their brother because they were all sons of God. others Abame or Aninta."Nwakibie cleared his throat." And he did. Every man and woman came out to see the white man. "How man men have lain with you since my brother first expressed his desire to marry you?""None. during the last harvest season. Even a man's motherland is strange to him nowadays."Those women whom Obierika's wife had not asked to help her with the cooking returned to their homes. and on the other the offer of a young man and a virgin as compensation. and nodded their heads in approval of all he said. You know his first wife who walks with a stick?""Yes. "Ozoemena was. Within a short time the first two bouts were over. Everybody in the crowd was talking. some alligator pepper and a lump of white chalk.

Her name was Nneka. with a full beard and a bald head. Evil Forest addressed the two groups of people facing them. "Umuofia kwenu.""Why?" asked Obierika and Okonkwo together. forty-five. At last Ogbuefi Ezeugo stood up in the midst of them and bellowed four times." said Ezinma to her mother. somewhat indulgently. and Ikemefuna. And so people said he had no respect for the gods of the clan. But his wives and young children were not as strong. The drums begin at noon but the wrestling waits until the sun begins to sink. It is a poor soil and that is why the tubers are so small. who were putting the last delicate touches of razor to her coiffure and cam wood on her smooth skin."Ezinma looked at her mother.But Ekwefi did not hear these consolations. of all people. No woman ever did. They sat in a half-moon.

and ate up all the wild grass in the fields. It was after such a day at the farm during the last harvest that Nwoye had felt for the first time a snapping inside him like the one he now felt. Then something had given way inside him."The market of Umuike is a wonderful place. He did not understand it. or "Mother is Supreme?" We all know that a man is the head of the family and his wives do his bidding. and the meeting continued." he told her. had entered his eye. 'Don't touch!' If i hold her footShe says. You are a great man in your clan. And for many days this rare food was eaten with solid palm-oil. And if the clan did not exact punishment for an offense against the great goddess. "Will you go?""Yes. Evil Forest then stood up. Okonkwo would take care of meat and yams.Then the tragedy of his first son had occurred. And so they arrived home again."Yaa!" replied the thunderous crowd. Spirits always addressed humans as "bodies.

But the most dreaded of all was yet to come. Every village had its own ilo which was as old as the village itself and where all the great ceremonies and dances took place. or what?"The interpreter spoke to the white man and he immediately gave his answer. Nwoye's mother went to him and placed her hands on his chest and on his back. or how. Tortoise's wife sent for him and he gathered all the bits of shell and stuck them together. But it was a resilient spirit. She then went down on one knee.At last the rain came. "When I think that it is only eighteen months since the Seed was first sown among you." he said. my daughter.""Ee-e-e!""This is not the first time my people have come to marry your daughter. Okonkwo was not a man of thought but of action. And so they arrived home again. I salute you. So he killed himself too."Go and burn your mothers' genitals."Then I shall go back to the clan. "that Okonkwo and I were talking about Abame and Aninta.

" He paused. I want you to be there. I married her with my money and my yams."Ezinma began to cry. "Whoever has a job in hand. when he was young. "1 want Okonkwo to answer me. There was so much food and drink that many kinsmen whistled in surprise. He fell and fell and fell until he began to fear that he would never stop falling. "Life to all of us. There is not a single clan in these parts that I do not know very well. And the other boy was flat on his back. He would speak to him after the isa-ifi ceremony. Obierika pointed at the two heavy bags."He said something."Our father. I shall do that every year until you return.Qkonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. "What will the heathen say of us when they hear that we receive osu into our midst? They will laugh. If you give me some yam seeds I shall not fail you.

They were among the best wrestlers in all the nine villages. each brought her bowl of foo-foo and bowl of soup to her husband. Okonkwo brought out kola nut and placed it before the priest. gome. pushed back the bolt on his door and ran into Ekwefi's hut.""An albino. Guns were fired on all sides and sparks flew out as machetes clanged together in warriors' salutes."You have not eaten for two days. We did not see it. She was full of the power of her god." he said as he broke it. He heard the blow. all strong and healthy. Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. But his whole life was dominated by fear. and his happiest moments were the two or three moons after the harvest when the village musicians brought down their instruments. and scorched all the green that had appeared with the rains. Perhaps she has come to stay. Then he poured out for the others. but they grew women's crops.

And although she believed that the iyi-uwa which had been dug up was genuine. I salute you.""Your words are good. And then Nkechi came in. Now you talk about his son. confident voice. Ezinma?""She has been very well for some time now." Umuofia obodo dike! Umuofia obodo dike! It said this over and over again. Our elders say that the sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them." he said."Where have you been?" he stammered. The world was now peopled with vague. This man told him that the child was an ogbanje. which was shaved in places. But everybody knew that he was going to die and Aneto got his belongings together in readiness to flee. When a man was afflicted with swelling in the stomach and the limbs he was not allowed to die in the house. But they dared not complain openly. close to the Great Shrine. the feasting and fellowship of the first day or the wrestling Contest of the second. and to soften his heart with a song of the suffering of the sons of men.

food was presented to the guests. He thought of his mother and his three-year-old sister and wept bitterly. And so heavily did it rain onVulture that he did not return to deliver his message but flew to a distant land. It was an angry. roots and barks of medicinal trees and shrubs. He accepted the half-full horn from his brother and drank it. Nwoye's mother." said Ezinma to her mother.Okonkwo spent the next few days preparing his seed-yams. I know what it is to ask a man to trust another with his yams. As the rain began to fall more soberly and in smaller liquid drops. beginning with the eldest man." Umuofia obodo dike! Umuofia obodo dike! It said this over and over again. She understood things so perfectly. and she agreed also. "1 told you.""It is the result of a great medicine. carrying a basket full of water. shiny pebble fell out. the Oracle of the Hills and Caves.

At first it appeared as if it might prove too great for his spirit. as the saying goes. Ikemefuna came first with the biggest pot. Sometimes it poured down in such thick sheets of water that earth and sky seemed merged in one gray wetness. A mighty wind arose and filled the air with dust. consulting among themselves and with the leaders of the two wrestling teams. He also took with him a pot of palm-wine.Ezeudu had taken three titles in his life. but offered to use his teeth. It was not the same Chielo who sat with her in the market and sometimes bought beancakes for Ezinma. had crawled out of the shrine on her belly like a snake. you wicked daughter of Akalogoli?" Okonkwo swore furiously.Okonkwo brought out his snuff-bottle and offered it to Ogbuefi Ezenwa. When the pot fell down and broke she burst out laughing. They stood round in a huge circle leaving the center of the playground free.One of the men behind him cleared his throat. But his fondness only showed on very rare occasions. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things. Her heart beat violently and she stood still.

leaving a regular pattern of hair. They all have food in their own homes. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace. When they carried him away. But he was struck. he was told. And ten thousand men answered "Yaa!" each time.The confusion that followed was without parallel in the tradition of Umuofia. succulent breasts. and as if in sympathy the smoldering log also sighed. He drank palm-wine from morning till night. And so people said he had no respect for the gods of the clan. she prayed a thousand times. came to visit him. A deathly silence descended on Okonkwo's compound.The year that Okonkwo took eight hundred seed-yams from Nwakibie was the worst year in living memory." replied Obierika." said Obierika. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut. and his children after him.

At the end of it Okonkwo was fully convinced that the man was mad. Nothing wouldhappen to Ezinma. one of those wicked children who.The men then continued their drinking and talking. Then came the voices of the egwugwu. 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. she could bear no other person but her father. Do you not think that they came to our clan by mistake.' Maduka has been watching your mouth. They called him the little bird nza who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his chi."Do you know Ogbuefi Ndulue?" Ofoedu asked."Go and burn your mothers' genitals. Some of them came over to see for themselves."Agbala do-o-o-o!?? Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Ekwefi trudged behind. overpowered him and obtained his first human head.At first."We have now built a church. They settled on every tree and on every blade of grass."Uzowulu's body. and the man growled at him to go on and not stand looking back.

and although it had not yet appeared on the sky its light had already melted down the darkness."Where are her children? Did she take them?" he asked with unusual coolness and restraint. The yams were then staked. When they had all taken. They cross seven rivers to make their farms."Uzowulu's body. Only a few of them saw these white men and their followers."The village has outlawed us. the third highest in the land. but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell. It was the justice of the earth goddess. and Okeke says we should pretend not to see. for he had no grave. He dared not go too near the missionaries for fear of his father. Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent. But now she found the half-light of the incipient moon more terrifying than darkness." The crowd agreed. 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. She broke a piece in two and gave it to Ezinma. many years.

A child belongs to its father and his family and not to its mother and her family. "What we are eating is finished. I began to own a farm at your age."No. and each hut seen from the others looked like a soft eye of yellow half-light set in the solid massiveness of night. And supporting his mother also meant supporting his father." said another woman. But now she found the half-light of the incipient moon more terrifying than darkness. Then everything had been broken. There were also pots of yam pottage.Am oyim de de de de! flew around the dark. had entered his eye. If you had died young. and it was his firmness that saved the young church. Nwoye was there. Nobody knew how old. Chielo's voice now came after long intervals. Nothing wouldhappen to Ezinma. It was addressed as "Our Father." said one of them.