on the floor before they ate kola nuts. and the man growled at him to go on and not stand looking back. because an old man was very close to the ancestors.

"Oye
"Oye." He waved his arm where most of the young men sat. 'What did the mother of this chick do?' asked the old kite." said Machi. Obierika offered him a lobe of the kola nut he had broken with Okonkwo. But it had gone on living and gradually becoming stronger. It was unbelievable.' "I have no more to say to you. "And so they killed the white man and tied his iron horse to their sacred tree because it looked as if it would run away to call the man's friends. and brought out his snuff-bottle from the goatskin bag by his side. "Now they are behaving like men. So I shall ask you to come again the way you came before. It was addressed as "Our Father.""The only other person is Udenkwo. But his fondness only showed on very rare occasions. They were among the best wrestlers in all the nine villages. like the snapping of a tightened bow.

and each party brought with them a huge pot of palm-wine. Elumelu. He trembled with the desire to conquer and subdue. His body rattled like a piece of dry stick in his empty shell." said Obierika. Old men and children would then sit round log fires. Yam stood for manliness.A hush fell on the compound immediately."Odukwe was short and thickset. ozo is so low that every beggar takes it. entered their mothers' wombs to be born again. "and yet he is full of sorrow because he has come to live in his motherland for a few years. He passed them over to his eldest brother."Having spoken plainly so far. An oil lamp was lit and Okonkwo tasted from each bowl. If it ended on his left. Okonkwo on his bamboo bed tried to figure out the nature of the emergency - war with a neighboring clan? That seemed the most likely reason.

"Bring me my bag. That was a source of great sorrow to the leaders of the clan.Okonkwo was provoked to justifiable anger by his youngest wife.He took a pot of palm-wine and a cock to Nwakibie. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic. and then."But this particular night was dark and silent. He still remembered the song:Eze elina. "You look very tired."Bring me my bag. Ezeudu was the oldest man in this quarter of Umuofia."Bring me a hoe.They sat in a big circle on the ground and the young bride in the center with a hen in her right hand. Unoka prayed to their ancestors for life and health."Umuofia kwenu!" shouted the leading egwugwu. For days and nights together it poured down in violent torrents. the god of yams.

and thank Okonkwo for having looked after him so well and for bringing him back. He slapped the ear and hoped he had killed it." Altogether there were fifty pots of wine.Okonkwo returned when he felt the medicine had cooked long anough. But there was one woman who had no doubt whatever in her mind. and he was soon chosen as the man to speak for the party because he was a great orator. Di-go-go-di-go. He heard Ikemefuna cry. "What will the heathen say of us when they hear that we receive osu into our midst? They will laugh. And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion - to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. like something agitating with a metallic life. There were many women. untouched by the ax and the bush-fire. or old woman. sat on the floor waiting for him to finish. There was no question of killing a missionary here.The drummers took up their sticks and the air shivered and grew tense like a tightened bow.

"It was in the second year of Okonkwo's exile that his friend. his children and their mothers in the new year. Why had Okonkwo withdrawn to the rear? Ikemefuna felt his legs melting under him. If he had killed Ikemefuna during the busy planting season or harvesting it would not have been so bad.' Those men of Abame were fools. and went into the village in the morning to preach the gospel. He moved his hand over his white head and stroked his white beard. I am not afraid of work." he asked. Ezinma was crying loudly now." Okonkwo was surprised. After her father's rebuke she developed an even keener appetite for eggs.The New Yam Festival was thus an occasion for joy throughout Umuofia. When all was laid out."Don't be afraid."I have heard. her voice cracking like the angry bark of thunder in the dry season.

he fled to Aninta to escape the wrath of the earth. nearly half a day's journey away. For a long time nothing happened." Obierika said to his son."Ask Akueke's mother to send us some kola nuts.But. His yams grew abundantly." replied Ekwefi. But when a father beats his child." Ezinma said. Her two children belong to Uzowulu. Then he burst out:"Never kill a man who says nothing. so she cupped her right hand to shelter the flame. The spirit of wars was upon them. 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. palm-oil and pepper for the soup. Ukegbu counted them.

His name was Nwoye. and a little hoe for digging out the tuber. He breathed heavily. and I am happy you have come to see us. tall.Ikemefuna came to Umuofia at the end of the carefree season between harvest and planting." he said to Okonkwo.They sat in a big circle on the ground and the young bride in the center with a hen in her right hand. Nwoye's sister.'"Parrot promised to deliver the message. His mother had wept bitterly. Two years after her marriage to Anene she could bear it no longer and she ran away to Okonkwo. It was not that they had been lazy. How a woman could carry a child of that size so easily and for so long was a miracle. but every farmer knew that without sunshine the tubers would not grow.Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy - inwardly of course. He calls you his father.

Ikemefuna came first with the biggest pot. But for a young man whose father had no yams. leaving what we are cooking to burn in the fire. and asking it if it had brought home any lengths of cloth. astride the steaming pot. he beat her until she miscarried. "Are you afraid you may dissolve?"The harvesting was easy. And so they fled into Umuofia with a woeful story. he would use his fists. called on Okonkwo in his obi. "As for me. He was ill for three market weeks.The wrestlers were now almost still in each other's grip. "Perhaps you can already guess what it is. conversing with his father in low tones."Come and show me the exact spot." He rose and left the hut.

They can steal your cloth from off your waist in that market. like a hunter's dog that suddenly goes mad and turns on his master. or rather held out her hand to be shaken. Only a week ago a man had contradicted him at a kindred meeting which they held to discuss the next ancestral feast. They were both Uzowulu's neighbors."No. who had been walking about aimlessly in his compound in suppressed anger. if it lost its tail it soon grew another. and soon they were the strongest adherents of the new faith. "that was why the snake-lizard killed his mother. was a very exacting king. overpowered him and obtained his first human head. vibrating heat. Obierika nodded in agreement. He was a man of action. lest he should be found to resemble his father. "What about you? Can you answer my question?"They all shook their heads.

"When did you become a shivering old woman. It was the ekwe talking to the clan. empty men. and soon they were the strongest adherents of the new faith. and how Sky withheld rain for seven years. which should be a woman's crowning glory. We do not dispute it." said Ofoedu. Nwoye's mother swore at her and settled down again to her peeling."Where do you sleep with your wife. go to the church and wipe out the entire vile and miscreant gang. pushing the air with his raffia arms. "Whoever has a job in hand. She could not be expected to cook and eat while her husband starved. using some of the chicken. Uchendu ground his teeth together audibly. They became ordinary human beings again.

was quite harmless. They were already far enough where they stood and there was room for running away if any of them should go towards them. On her arms were red and yellow bangles. And then the smooth."Forgive me." Ezinma pointed out. But almost immediately a shout of joy broke out in all directions. that I am not afraid of blood and if anyone tells you that I am. They were not the real wrestlers. The ancient drums of death beat. Now and again the cannon boomed. or playground. 'Your dead father wants you to sacrifice a goat to him. Uchendu's eldest daughter had come from Obodo. Then he took it away to bury in the Evil Forest.""I think it is good that our clan holds the ozo title in high esteem. He could hardly imagine that Okonkwo was not his real father.

His mother might be dead. And so the stranger had brought him. The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought there by their young sons or slaves. He had had no patience with his father. and his children after him. A man's life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors. The blazing sun returned." said the interpreter. She nodded. But it turned out to be even bigger than we expected."Ezeudu was a great man. the god who cut a man down when his life was sweetest to him. Okonkwo had returned home and sat waiting. sat near the fireplace waiting for the water in the pot to boil.It was going to be Okonkwo's last harvest in Mbanta. How his mother would weep for joy. But the one knew what the other was thinking.

"Your wife was at fault. But that did not alter the facts. as the saying goes. her wrath was loosed on all the land and not just on the offender. Umuazu. it was in large. They saw the iron horse and went away again. "there is no slave or free. The rain fell in thin. and the meeting continued. Neither of the other wives had. urging the others to hurry up. The moon was definitely rising." Ezinma offered. "Every day I tell you that jigida and fire are not friends. Nwoye. the farthest village in the clan.

now desperate. Can you tell me. my great friend. Nothing happened at its proper time. because there was no humanity there. and evil fortune followed him to the grave. But in this case she ran away to save her life. and the tuber was pulled out. drank a little and handed back the horn."Evil Forest then turned to the other group and addressed the eldest of the three brothers. If we should try to drive out the white men in Umuofia we should find it easy. you have become a woman indeed. He had five other sons and he would bring them up in the way of the clan. But his fondness only showed on very rare occasions." said Ezinma. trying to minimize Ojiugo's thoughtlessness." came her voice.

he broke it and they ate. But the really exciting moments were when a man was thrown. touching the earth. twenty years or more."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."Uzowulu's body. the twins still remained where they had been thrown away. Hisspeech was so eloquent that all the birds were glad they had brought him. As she buried one child after another her sorrow gave way to despair and then to grim resignation. Ekwefi brought her to the fireplace." Ezinma began. It had to be done slowly and carefully. "Let us give them a portion of the Evil Forest. He still missed his mother and his sister and would be very glad to see them. and men. and she was notorious for her late cooking. he burst out laughing.

entered their mothers' wombs to be born again.As he broke the kola. He passed her a piece of fish. Uchendu ground his teeth together audibly.Ekwefi ladled her husband's share of the pottage into a bowl and covered it. "honest men and thieves." he said as he broke it. On his head were two powerful horns. and the polite name for leprosy was "the white skin. as most people were." said the priestess. And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion - to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. She wore the anklet of her husband's titles. astride the steaming pot. building a new red-earth and thatch house for their teacher. And now he was going to take the Idemili title. and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back.

"Do what you are told. He put them in the pot and Ekwefi poured in some water. Okonkwo had slaughtered a goat for her.""That is true. They thought the priestess might be going to her house. Men and women. But 1 thought you would need the money now and so I brought it. The titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin. Her heart beat violently and she stood still. Ukegbu. Why is that? Your mother was brought home to me and buried with my people. "But what is good in one place is bad in another place. She explained to her why they should not marry yet. The imagery of an efulefu in the language of the clan was a man who sold his machete and wore the sheath to battle. which every man kept in his obi and with which his guests drew lines on the floor before they ate kola nuts. and the man growled at him to go on and not stand looking back. because an old man was very close to the ancestors.