Okonkwo.""That is true. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women's stories. There were many women.

His two younger brothers are more promising
His two younger brothers are more promising."When your wife becomes pregnant again. I fear for you. "I have never seen such a large crowd of people."Bring me a low stool for Ezinma. She has the right spirit. "It wounds my heart to see these young men killing palm trees in the name of tapping. that the girl should go to Ogbuefi Udo to replace his murdered wife. They told the white man and he smiled benevolently. "She has iba. carrying on their heads various sizes of pots suitable to their years. 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. and his bushy eyebrows and wide nose gave him a very severe look. met to hear a report of Okonkwo's mission."That was about five years ago. Then everything had been broken."Where do you sleep with your wife. Unoka was able to give an answer between fresh outbursts of mirth. He tried not to think about Ikemefuna. The clan was worried.But before this quiet and final rite. Okonkwo was the greatest wrestler and warrior alive."We cannot all rush out like that. They also said I would die if I built my church on this ground.

Obierika. Okonkwo's first son. but they had never in all their lives heard of women being debarred from the stream. And so he is bowed with grief. The cannon seemed to rend the sky. Nwoye's mother.That night he collected his most valuable belongings into head-loads. But it was impossible to refuse Ezinma anything. and there was too much saltpeter in it. Those things a man built for himself or inherited from his father. her left palm closed on her fish and her eyes gleaming with tears. Dangerous animals became even more sinister and uncanny in the dark. "I remember now." said Ezinma. They should have armed themselves with their guns and their machetes even when they went to market. Many of them spoke at great length and in fury. they say. making music and feasting. Okonkwo had gone to a medicine man. But when a father beats his child. But his whole life was dominated by fear. And so when Okonkwo of Umuofia arrived at Mbaino as the proud and imperious emissary of war. When the women had exacted the penalty they checked among themselves to see if any woman had failed to come out when the cry had been raised. And then came the clap of thunder.

He had felt very anxious but did not show it. Nwoye's mother was very kind to him and treated him as one of her own children. and when there was no work to do he sat in a silent half-sleep. younger men gave way and the tumult subsided." they said.There were no stars in the sky because there was a rain-cloud. And what is the result? An abominable religion has settled among you. Ekwefi uttered a scream and sprang to her feet. It was one of those gay and rollicking tunes of evangelism which had the power of plucking at silent and dusty chords in the heart of an Ibo man." But it was a different Chielo she now saw in the yellow half-light. drew some lines on the floor. 'You are full of cunning and you are ungrateful. The youngest of them was four years old. They scrubbed and painted the outside walls under the supervision of men. A deep murmur went through the crowd when he said this. Nwoye's mother thanked her and she went back to her mother's hut. Chielo. gome. Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men had. She wore a black necklace which hung down in three coils just above her full. who was Okonkwo's father.Each of the nine egwugwu represented a village of the clan. Why do the nations rage and the peoples imagine a vain thing? He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. She was full of the power of her god.

Okoye said the next half a dozen sentences in proverbs. and he knew that his father wanted him to be a man.Ekwefi went into her hut to cook yams. when his father had not been dead very long. We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas. "1 do not know how to thank you." She sat down and stretched her legs in front of her. carrying on their heads various sizes of pots suitable to their years. Every man rose in order of years and took a share. The yams were then staked. I would not have believed. welcoming it back from its long. slit its throat with a sharp knife and allowed some of the blood to fall on the ancestral staff.' But my wife's brothers said they had nothing to tell me. or how." Ezinma pointed out. And she went into her hut to warm the vegetable soup she had cooked last night." He waved his arm where most of the young men sat.The drummers stopped for a brief rest before the real matches. She started to cry."Do you know Ogbuefi Ndulue?" Ofoedu asked. might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springywalk of Okonkwo. Ezinma? Agbala wants to see her. which was part of the night.

But he had long learned how to lay that ghost. 'Ogbuefi Ndulue.At this point an old man said he had a question. You see.The moon was now up and she could see Chielo and Ezinma clearly. especially their hair. And ten thousand men answered "Yaa!" each time. "I remember now.Ikemefuna came to Umuofia at the end of the carefree season between harvest and planting. It was said that they had built a place of judgment in Umuofia to protect the followers of their religion. For two or three moons the sun had been gathering strength till it seemed to breathe a breath of fire on the earth."I have come to you for help. worthless. Very often it was Ezinma who decided what food her mother should prepare. He had court messengers who brought men to him for trial. Their hosts took him as the king of the birds. Nkechi was the daughter of Okonkwo's third wife. a place which was already becoming remote and vague in his imagination.The confusion that followed was without parallel in the tradition of Umuofia. the sun is shining. Ekwefi then became defiant and called her next child Onwuma??"Death may please himself. He exchanged greetings with Okonkwo and led the way into his obi. and they nodded their heads." said Obierika.

" he said." said another woman. Ukegbu. If any one of you prefers to be a woman. people said it was refusing food. She stood for a while. When they finished. of course. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. But he had recently fallen ill.""It means you are going to cry. You have a manly and a proud heart. His actions were deliberate. And so for three years Ikemefuna lived in Okonkwo's household." said Obierika. The clan saw no reason then for molesting the Christians. It was quiet and confident. Yam foo-foo and vegetable soup was the chief food in the celebration. unearthly voice and completely covered in raffia. Okonkwo saw clearly the high esteem in which he would be held. People called on their neighbors and drank palm-wine. Ezinma. when they died. Do you know how many children I have buried??children I begot in my youth and strength? Twenty-two.

""Yes" said Obierika. clay and metal instruments went from song to song.By the time Onwumbiko died Ekwefi had become a very bitter woman. "Use the fan. That was the way the clan at first looked at it. and the new faith was a mad dog that had come to eat it up. and allowed a brief pause."We still have a long way to go. when his father had not been dead very long. And then after another lifetime these men opened the caves again and the locusts came to Umuofia."Obiageli broke her pot today. But he left hold of Nwoye. He could not understand what was happening to him or what he had done. As she buried one child after another her sorrow gave way to despair and then to grim resignation. But they were very rare and short-lived.Nneka had had four previous pregnancies and child-births. Without it. Nwoye." he answered. and he was not afraid of war.Okonkwo returned when he felt the medicine had cooked long anough. and washed away the yam heaps. Tortoise stood up in his many-colored plumage and thanked them for their invitation. broke into life and activity.

Okonkwo. he sat down in his obi and mourned his friend's calamity. suddenly found an outlet." he said to Okonkwo. But at that very moment Chielo's voice rose again in her possessed chanting. and he was grateful. But they were still alive. She was particularly fond of Ekwefi's only daughter. because there was no humanity there. The birds were silenced in the forests. I have done my best to make Nwoye grow into a man. the whole clan gathers there."Yes. Spirits always addressed humans as "bodies."Who killed this banana tree?" he asked. And that was how he came to look after the doomed lad who was sacrificed to the village of Umuofia by their neighbors to avoid war and bloodshed.""You do not understand." Some of them had big sticks and some even machetes. That was why he had called him a woman."It is very near now. Then it went nearer and named the village: " Iguedo of the yellow grinding-stone!" It was Okonkwo's village. We should have waited for the sun to rise and dry the leaves. whereupon his father beat him heavily. New yams could not be eaten until some had first been offered to these powers.

If you are sending him on an errand he flies away before he has heard half of the message. The law of the clan is that you should return her bride-price."Sometimes I wish I had not taken the ozo title. "I sold the big ones as soon as you left. from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts."She is ill in bed. But I want you to have nothing to do with it. and the crowd followed her. broken now and again by singing. He passed them over to his eldest brother. When all seemed ready he let himself go. Nwoye returned home. That was his fifth head and he was not an old man yet. The wavering converts drew inspiration and confidence from his unshakable faith. will not understand me. Then Chielo's renewed outburst came from only a few paces ahead. Its most potent war-medicine was as old as the clan itself."We are all well. Uchendu before her." said Mr.All this had happened more than a year ago and Ezinma had not been ill since. The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did. She could not be expected to cook and eat while her husband starved. Kiaga.

When they finished. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. 'There is nothing to fear from someone who shouts. said that until the abominable gang was chased out of the village with whips there would be no peace." said Mr." said Obierika. The younger of his sons.Many years ago when Okonkwo was still a boy his father. Unoka went into an inner room and soon returned with a small wooden disc containing a kola nut. Do you not think that they came to our clan by mistake. Okonkwo's son." said another woman. 'Don't touch!'But when I hold her waist-beads she pretends not to know. He was the oldest man in Ire."After the Week of Peace every man and his family began to clear the bush to make new farms. will not understand me. They will take him outside Umuofia as is the custom.""I did not know that."None. They can steal your cloth from off your waist in that market. She greeted her god in a multitude of names??the owner of the future. But Ekwefi could not see her. He then broke the kola nut and threw one of the lobes on the ground for the ancestors. and they nodded their heads.

As Idigo had said. When your neighbors go out with their ax to cut down virgin forests. "Amadiora will break your head for you!"Some days later. and he sent his kotma to catch Aneto. Okonkwo was one of them. It is against the will of God." he said. Even the very little children seemed to know. And let me tell you one thing." said Obierika. also had a basket of plantains and coco-yams and a small pot of palm-oil. Ezinma was crying loudly now. His name was Uchendu. Obierika. You buried it in the ground somewhere so that you can die and return again to torment your mother. but they were really talking at the top of their voices. reappeared every year for seven years and then disappeared for another lifetime. He was afraid of being thought weak." said Ezelagbo. He asked Okonkwo a few questions about the dead child. Obiageli took the first dish and returned to her mother's hut. With this magic fan she beckons to the market all the neighboring clans. and its priests and medicine men were feared in all the surrounding country. When his wife Ekwefi protested that two goats were sufficient for the feast he told her that it was not her affair.

Okonkwo did not know at first that she was not at home.At last they took a turning and began to head for the caves. chewing the fish. If we should try to drive out the white men in Umuofia we should find it easy. and went round the circle shaking hands with all."Go and burn your mothers' genitals.-but the more he tried the more he thought about him. as usual."She has gone to plait her hair. waiting for him. "and yet he is full of sorrow because he has come to live in his motherland for a few years. Okagbue worked tirelessly and in silence. Okonkwo had slaughtered a goat for her." said Okonkwo. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. and he was grateful."That wine is the work of a good tapper."That is not the end of the story."Did she ask you to feed them before she went?""Yes."Bring me my bag. tears gushed from her eyes. It very quickly went damp. Okonkwo had begun to sow with the first rains. But after a while this custom was stopped because it spoiled the peace which it was meant to preserve.

who was the priest of the earth goddess. "1 shall wait here. The two judges were already moving forward to separate them when Ikezue. or "Mother is Supreme?" We all know that a man is the head of the family and his wives do his bidding."He does not know that either. "But I want all of you to note what 1 am going to say.Before it was dusk Ezeani. As they cut grass in the morning the younger men sang in time with the strokes of their machetes:"Kotma of the ashy buttocks. The ill-fated lad was called Ikemefuna. Work no longer had for him the pleasure it used to have. I weed ?C I??; ??Hold your peace!" screamed the priestess. He broke the nut saying: We shall all live. The men trod dry leaves on the sand. It rose and faded with the wind??a peaceful dance from a distant clan. He was the oldest man in Ire."In her hut. also carrying an oil lamp. sandy beach. It was like the market. The words of the hymn were like the drops of frozen rain melting on the dry palate of the panting earth. flat. Nwoye had heard that twins were put in earthenware pots and thrown away in the forest.""Yes.The two teams were ranged facing each other across the clear space.

" He waved his arm where most of the young men sat. It was indeed the shrine of a great god. We did not see it. rumbling like thunder in the rainy season. with a full beard and a bald head. There was a long break. The soup was brought out hot from the fire and in the very pot in which it had been cooked."I sometimes think he is too sharp. Only the really great men in the clan were able to do this." said Uchendu after a long silence. became quite inseparable from him because he seemed to know everything. holding the ancestral staff of the family. about their women. She was going to the stream to fetch water. or Evil Spirit. He asked Okonkwo a few questions about the dead child. As soon as the two boys closed in. asked on behalf of the clan to look after him in the interim. Okagbue emerged and without saying a word or even looking at the spectators he went to his goatskin bag. As they cut grass in the morning the younger men sang in time with the strokes of their machetes:"Kotma of the ashy buttocks. Your generation does not know that. She pulled again and it came off." Okonkwo thought within himself. Alone Nnadi is cooking and eating.

refreshed and thankful. Iweka. As soon as she became pregnant she went to live with her old mother in another village. It was a brief resting period between the exacting and arduous planting season and the equally exacting but light-hearted month of harvests. and they took up fans and began to fan themselves. But the boy was afraid of him and slipped out of the hut as soon as he noticed him dozing. and he could hear his own flute weaving in and out of them. At the most one could say that his chi or personal god was good. Your generation does not know that. but Okonkwo sat unmoved. thus completing a circle with their hosts. and they were merely her messengers.And now the rains had really come. It was not very long since they had returned. conversing with his father in low tones. His eldest son. "they killed him and tied up his iron horse. The meat was then shared so that every member of the umunna had a portion."That was about five years ago. It was unbelievable. Even as a little boy he had resented his father's failure and weakness.After the singing the interpreter spoke about the Son of God whose name was Jesu Kristi. and Ezinma brought his goatskin bag from the far end of the hut. He must have a wife.

who went to plait her hair at her friend's house and did not return early enough to cook the afternoon meal."Okoli was not there to answer. He looked at each yam carefully to see whether it was good for sowing. afraid of your next-door neighbor. But in this case she ran away to save her life. All the women shouted with joy because Ekwefi's troubles were at last ended.With a father like Unoka. The earth burned like hot coals and roasted all the yams that had been sown. That week they won a handful more converts. And they all knew Ekwefi and her daughter very well. Okonkwo cleared his throat."Uzowulu's body. There was so much food and drink that many kinsmen whistled in surprise.""Go and bring our own." Okonkwo thundered. "I have heard that many years ago. But it would be impolite to rush him.Okonkwo and his family worked very hard to plant a new farm. my hand has touched the ground. But he now knew that they were for foolish women and children. The first thing he would do would be to rebuild his compound on a more magnificent scale. in a cleared spot. And so people said he had no respect for the gods of the clan." he said to Ikemefuna.

but that year-had been enough to break the heart of a lion." Okonkwo said. There was foo-foo and yam pottage. "My father told me that he had been told that in the past a man who broke the peace was dragged on the ground through the village until he died. and his face beamed. I sacrifice a cock to Ani. There was pounded yam and also yam pottage cooked with palm-oil and fresh fish. nearly half a day's journey away. He tried in vain to force the thought out of his mind. Chielo was not a woman that night."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. Ofoedu ate slowly and talked about the locusts. called him by his name and went back to her hut. She just jogged along in a half-sleep.Okonkwo took the bowl from her and gulped the water down. They were among the best wrestlers in all the nine villages. A steady cloud of smoke rose from his head. "I will tell Obierika's wife that you are coming later. his half-sister." said Okonkwo. setting up a wave of expectation in the crowd. It was one of those gay and rollicking tunes of evangelism which had the power of plucking at silent and dusty chords in the heart of an Ibo man. clay and metal instruments went from song to song.""Do you think a thief can do that kind of thing single-handed?" asked Nwankwo.

fresh yams and not the shriveled and fibrous crop of the previous year. The seven wasted and weary years were at last dragging to a close. He looked at each yam carefully to see whether it was good for sowing. We heard of it. It was also part of the night. If we allow you to come with us you will soon begin your mischief. Ezinma? Agbala wants to see her. and she agreed also."For three years Ikemefuna lived in Okonkwo's household and the elders of Umuofia seemed to have forgotten about him. The whole church raised a protest and was about to drive these people out."Ekwefi. They never answered yes for fear it might be an evil spirit calling. Okonkwo was among them. The hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and in fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul??the question of the twins crying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killed.Everyone was now about." said Obierika. drank a little and handed back the horn. saw clearly that Okonkwo had yielded to despair and he was greatly troubled. Okonkwo made a present of two cocks to them. We are better than animals because we have kinsmen."She will bring her back soon. No matter how prosperous a man was. tangled and dirty hair."No.

"who will protect us from the anger of our neglected gods and ancestors?""Your gods are not alive and cannot do you any harm. like a solitary walker at night who passes an evil spirit an the way. The drums and the dancing began again and reached fever-heat.""What will I see?" she asked.And the little church was at that moment too deeply absorbed in its own troubles to annoy the clan. On receiving such a message through a younger brother or sister.Ikezue held out his right hand. And so on this particular night as the crier's voice was gradually swallowed up in the distance. But he threw himself into it like one possessed. She must have heard a noise behind her and turned round sharply. He watched the sky all day for signs of rain clouds and lay awake all night. But even in such cases they set their limit at seven market weeks or twenty-eight days. how many twins she has borne and thrown away.The night was impenetrably dark." he said. and Okonkwo's women and children heard from their huts all that she said."Okonkwo bit his lips as anger welled up within him. a man asks his kinsman to scratch him. Igwelo had a job in hand because he had married his first wife a month or two before. It was a deep bag and took almost the whole length of his arm. They had not thought about that.' he thought as he looked at his ten-year-old daughter. which was part of the night. gods of wood and stone.

As for Ikemefuna. Was it not on an Eke day that they fled into Umuofia?" he asked his two companions." he began. But if they thought these things they kept them within themselves."He said something. Nwoye's mother swore at her and settled down again to her peeling. Then Chielo's renewed outburst came from only a few paces ahead. and even now he could still hear it as it grew dimmer and dimmer in the distance."Every year. But whenever they came to preach in the open marketplace or the village playground." ';. which was part of the night. Ezeudu is dead. He made him feel grown-up. just emerged from the earth. The crowd had surrounded and swallowed up the drummers. He presented a kola nut and an alligator pepper.

"1 have told you to let her alone. roasting and eating maize. "it is this eyelid. and cut them up. it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. The saying of the elders was not true??that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed. "Perhaps you can already guess what it is. "and leave the child alone. Perhaps he had been going to Mbaino and had lost his way. Nwakibie brought down his own horn." said Ezinma. "I have never seen such a large crowd of people. If you had been a coward. but to settle the dispute. a long. "Will you go?""Yes. They sang his praise and the young women clapped their hands:"Who will wrestle for our village?Okafo will wrestle for our village.

If it ended on his left. But it was as silly as all women's stories. Because he had taken titles. Ojiugo's children were eating with the children of his first wife. "How much longer do you think you will live?" she asked. Ikezue strove to dig in his right heel behind Okafo so as to pitch him backwards in the clever ege style. Ekwefi quickly moved away from her line of retreat. If you give me some yam seeds I shall not fail you. 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. gome went the gong. but six. The man who dug it up was the same Okagbue who was famous in all the clan for his knowledge in these matters. The men brought their goatskin mats. There were nine of them. in turn."Answer the question at once."When your wife becomes pregnant again.

The rainbow was called the python of the sky.""But they are beating the drums. and he prayed to the ancestors. somewhat indulgently.Okonkwo cleared his throat and moved his feet to the beat of the drums. all strong and healthy. The blazing sun returned.- Onwumbiko died in his fifteenth month. But Ekwefi could not see her. the third highest in the land. Okonkwo said he was sorry for what he had said. I would have asked you to bring courage. When one came to think of it. The two voices disappeared into the thick darkness. afraid of your next-door neighbor. "We have men of high title and the chief priests and the elders." He went away to his hut and Ekwefi began to tend the medicine pot almost as if it was itself a sick child.

She continually ran into the luxuriant weeds and creepers that walled in the path. He knew it must be Ekwefi. "I sold the big ones as soon as you left." said Okonkwo.But somehow Okonkwo could never become as enthusiastic over feasts as most people. But you are still a child. He knew that Nwakibie would not refuse him." said someone light-heartedly and the crowd laughed."Where is Ojiugo?" he asked his second wife."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Chielo began once again to chant greetings to her god. How old is she now?""She is about ten years old. Was it not on an Eke day that they fled into Umuofia?" he asked his two companions. Okonkwo had begun to sow with the first rains. might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springywalk of Okonkwo.""That is true. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women's stories. There were many women.