always said. Ojiugo's children were eating with the children of his first wife. Such was Unoka's fate.

And then it became known that the white man's fetish had unbelievable power
And then it became known that the white man's fetish had unbelievable power.The earth quickly came to life and the birds in the forests fluttered around and chirped merrily. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy. We are only his mother's kinsmen. I have cleared a farm but have no yams to sow. He hoped to get another four hundred yams from one of his father's friends at Isiuzo. He sang the song again. The priestess bent down on one knee and Ezinma climbed on her back."She is ill in bed. It was not until the following day that Okonkwo told him the full story. The priestess in those days was a woman called Chika. and as if in sympathy the smoldering log also sighed. Quick as the lightning of Amadiora. I salute you. His mother might be dead. from where he had espied a fire. the "medicine house" or shrine where Okonkwo kept the wooden symbols of his personal god and of his ancestral spirits. my friend. Tortoise was very happy and voluble as he flew among the birds. Now and again the cannon boomed.And then quite suddenly a shadow fell on the world. Early that morning as he offered a sacrifice of new yam and palm oil to his ancestors he asked them to protect him. He had sown four hundred seeds when the rains dried up and the heat returned. My case is finished.

" The crowd agreed." He went away to his hut and Ekwefi began to tend the medicine pot almost as if it was itself a sick child. What is it that has happened to our people? Why have they lost the power to fight?""Have you not heard how the white man wiped out Abame?" asked Obierika. rumbling like thunder in the rainy season." he said. And so when he called Ikemefuna to fetch his gun. but he stood beckoning to them. Obiageli took the first dish and returned to her mother's hut.""It is indeed true. In the end he decided that Nnadi must live in that land of Ikemefuna's favorite story where the ant holds his court in splendor and the sands dance forever. who then unrolled the goatskin which he carried under his arm."It is here. He was a good eater and he could drink one or two fairly big gourds of palm-wine. "I planted the farm nearly two years ago."They would have gone on arguing had Ofoedu not come in just then. There was a drinking horn in it."What happened?" her mother asked. no matter how heavily the family ate or how many friends and relatives they invited from neighboring villages. Iweka. one saw that there was sorrow and grief there. three times.She walked up to her husband and accepted the horn from him. The spell of sunshine which always came in the middle of the wet season did not appear. his face beaming with blessedness and peace.

Okagbue was a very striking figure.The wrestlers were not there yet and the drummers held the field. They do not decide bride-price as we do." And he did. unearthly voice and completely covered in raffia. He still thought about his mother and his three-year-old sister. At first it appeared as if it might prove too great for his spirit. and Ezinma brought his goatskin bag from the far end of the hut. And so she brought out her husband's hoes. And before the cock crowed Okonkwo and his family were fleeing to his motherland. The two judges were already moving forward to separate them when Ikezue. his mind would have been centered on his work. or Holy Feast as it was called in Ibo. 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. Marriage should be a play and not a fight so we are falling down again. She looked straight ahead of her and walked back to the village." said the old man. Only the word of our God is true. He would return later to his mother and his brothers and sisters and convert them to the new faith."You need some sleep yourself." he said. It was only after the pot had been emptied that the suitor's father cleared his voice and announced the object of their visit. Ekwefi was also awakened and her benumbed fears revived. The drums went mad and the crowds also.

"Agbala do-o-o-o! Umuachi! Agbala ekene unuo-o-ol" It was just as Ekwefi had thought. and his children the while praying to the white man's god. Her heart beat violently and she stood still. Sometimes it poured down in such thick sheets of water that earth and sky seemed merged in one gray wetness. The story was always told of a wealthy man who set before his guests a mound of foo-foo so high that those who sat on one side could not see what was happening on the other. someone else rose and filled it. My mother's people have been good to me and 1 must show my gratitude." roared Okonkwo."And so three goats were slaughtered and a number of fowls."We are all well. "You will bring to the shrine of Ani tomorrow one she-goat. had said to him during that terrible harvest month: "Do not despair. the in-laws began to arrive. It was indeed the shrine of a great god. carrying his stool and his goatskin bag. because it had been inadvertent. but that year-had been enough to break the heart of a lion. She rose from her mat. unlike the deep and liquid rumbling of the rainy season. each of them carrying a heavy bag on his head. as her mother had been called in her youth. And immediately Okonkwo's eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. Earth's emissary. But it was impossible to refuse Ezinma anything.

fifth and sixth years. and then passed two shares to Nwoye and Ikemefuna."Okonkwo has spoken the truth. but six. and had just married his third wife. It was only after the pot had been emptied that the suitor's father cleared his voice and announced the object of their visit. and the world lay panting under the live. There was something in it like the companionship of equals. but not overmuch. New yams could not be eaten until some had first been offered to these powers. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. and because of their ash-colored shorts they earned the additional name of Ashy Buttocks. Ezinma. I did not send her away. Listen to me and I shall tell you. When they returned Ukegbu handed the bundle of sticks back to Obierika. No matter how prosperous a man was. The ancient drums of death beat. And then appeared on the horizon a slowly-moving mass like a boundless sheet of black cloud drifting towards Umuofia. beginning with the eldest man."He led Umuofia to war in those days. At first it appeared as if it might prove too great for his spirit." he said. She could not be expected to cook and eat while her husband starved.

the troublesome nanny goat. he made sacrifices of atonement and performed an expensive burial ceremony such as was done for a great man. One mind said to her: "Woman. On ordinary days young women who desired children came to sit under its shade." she said. as you know. With this magic fan she beckons to the market all the neighboring clans. I have learned to be stingy with my yams. had entered his eye.""I can tell you. Then he tried to settle the matter the way he used to settle such matters when he was a little boy. who had lived about two hundred years before. But before he could answer. But he was not the man to go about telling his neighbors that he was in error."Sit like a woman!" Okonkwo shouted at her. the sky. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone.After the wine had been drunk Okonkwo laid his difficulties before Nwakibie. He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth. Okonkwo's youngest wife also came out and joined the others. for his father's relatives to see. indeed. the man saw it vaguely in the darkness.Mr.

with a start.""Is he well?" asked Nwoye." said Okonkwo's voice."There was immediate excitement and those who were sitting jumped to their feet. An evil forest was." Okonkwo asked himself. And if anybody was so foolhardy as to pass by the shrine after dusk he was sure to see the old woman hopping about. he fled to Aninta to escape the wrath of the earth. and brought back a duckling. "But the law of the land must be obeyed." He turned to Odukwe. Every child loved the harvest season. holding it by the ankle and dragging it on the ground behind him. Ekwefi mopped her with a piece of cloth and she lay down on a dry mat and was soon asleep.In spite of this incident the New Yam Festival was celebrated with great joy in Okonkwo's household. People called on their neighbors and drank palm-wine. He would return with a flourish." he said. who was then an ailing man. "I do not blame you for not hearing the cock crow. which together formed a half moon behind the obi. And he was already beginning to know some of the simple stories they told. Nothing that happened in the world of the animals ever escaped his notice. Okonkwo's house was on the way to the stream.

Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things. Ekwefi picked her way carefully and quietly. Ezinma. We all know him. Okonkwo's first son.Everybody at the kindred meeting took sides with Osugo when Okonkwo called him a woman. At last the man was named and people sighed "E-u-u. everybody knew by instinct that they were very good to eat. Okonkwo's wives had scrubbed the walls and the huts with red earth until they reflected light. Darkness was around the corner. Nwoye. We do not dispute it."Sometimes I wish I had not taken the ozo title. had gone to consult Agbala.The metal gong beat continuously now and the flute. Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent.""That is very strange. the in-laws began to arrive. They were the harbingers sent to survey the land. or watched him as he tapped his palm tree for the evening wine. It was sudden and tremendous.That was many years ago. they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground. who was laid on a mat.

As she stood gazing at the circular darkness which had swallowed them. His name was Nwakibie and he had taken the highest but one title which a man could take in the clan. Her husband's first wife had already had three sons. but he had been too surprised to weep. The saying of the elders was not true??that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed. "But they will understand when they go to their plot of land tomorrow morning. But his mother and his three-year-old sister?? of course she would not be three now."That wine is the work of a good tapper. Unoka. he beat her until she miscarried. and old men and women would remember their youth. gazed at it a while and went away again??to the underworld. They went back to their caves in a distant land.At this point an old man said he had a question. to her right and to her left. "And these white men. do not allow him a moment's rest. But 1 thought you would need the money now and so I brought it. She called her by her name. They said that some young men had chased them away from the stream with whips. Amikwu and his people had taken palm-wine to the bride's kinsmen about two moons before Okonkwo's arrival in Mbanta. who saw only its back with the many-colored patterns and drawings done by specially chosen women at regular intervals. Okonkwo's son. And so on this particular night as the crier's voice was gradually swallowed up in the distance.

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.Okonkwo was very happy to receive his friend. His wives wept bitterly and their children wept with them without knowing why. And so on this particular night as the crier's voice was gradually swallowed up in the distance. Some of them had been heavily whipped. elina!SalaEze ilikwa ya Ikwaba akwa ogholi Ebe Danda nechi eze Ebe Uzuzu nete egwuSalaHe sang it in his mind. prophesying. and looked at her palms. The other four black men were also their brothers. The soup was brought out hot from the fire and in the very pot in which it had been cooked."The next day a group of elders from all the nine villages of Umuofia came to Okonkwo's house early in the morning. his half-sister. But the song spread in Umuofia. 'but tell me. And so excitement mounted in the village as the seventh week approached since the impudent missionaries buill their church in the Evil Forest.Anasi was a middle-aged woman. Many of them spoke at great length and in fury.Umuofia was feared by all its neighbors." she began. He never stopped regretting that Ezinma was a girl. usually before the age of three. and nodded their heads in approval of all he said." He turned to Odukwe. The water began to boil.

When all seemed ready he let himself go. he broke it and they ate. away from the crowd. for his father's relatives to see. Ezinma went with her and helped in preparing the vegetables. Okonkwo brought out kola nut and placed it before the priest. and then flew away. except his priestess. Kiaga restrained them. The words of the hymn were like the drops of frozen rain melting on the dry palate of the panting earth. alive with sinister forces and powers of darkness. One morning three of them came to my house. and also a drinking gourd.""It is the result of a great medicine. and filled the village with excitement. It had been early in the morning.""And so everybody comes."Is this yours?" he asked Ezinma.""Let them laugh. smiling. Nwakibie sent for his wives. and he loved the first kites that returned with the dry season. But it was the season of rest between the harvest and the next planting season. And so they walked out together.

with which he made two wings. and a great land case began. Age was respected among his people. How could she know that Ekwefi's bitterness did not flow outwards to others but inwards into her own soul.""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. She is buried there. A deep murmur went through the crowd when he said this. She was nine then and was just recovering from a serious illness. "And these white men. His priestess stood by the sacred fire which she built in the heart of the cave and proclaimed the will of the god."Do what you are told. She sometimes broke into a run and stopped again suddenly." He went away to his hut and Ekwefi began to tend the medicine pot almost as if it was itself a sick child. also had a basket of plantains and coco-yams and a small pot of palm-oil. "Mother Kite once sent her daughter to bring food. He then installed his personal god and the symbols of his departed fathers. But almost immediately a shout of joy broke out in all directions."Ezeudu was a great man. He who brings cheap uggs for salekola brings life.It was clear from the way the crowd stood or sat that the ceremony was for men. "We will go with you to meet those cowards. I shall give you twice four hundred yams. "They will put off Ndulue's funeral until his wife has been buried. His body rattled like a piece of dry stick in his empty shell.

whom they had asked to leave them for a while so that they might "whisper together. and he owed every neighbor some money. but he had been too surprised to weep." said Ojiugo. She miscarried after she had gone to sleep with her lover. he was repentant. more terrible and more sinister than the anger. the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. The men were seized and beaten until they streamed with blood."The night was already far spent when the guests rose to go." they said to the women."Okonkwo tried to explain to him what his wife had done. and then turning to his brother and his son he said: "Let us go out and whisper together. by Ezeani. and all the tragedy and sorrow of her life were packed in those words."Oye."Unoka was like that in his last days."Whose cow was it?" asked the women who had been allowed to stay behind. Obierika had sent one of his relatives all the way to Umuike to buy that goat It was the one he would present alive to his in-laws.""In future call her into your obi. His name was Maduka. the sky. melons and beans between the yam mounds.As the day wore on his in-laws arrived from three surrounding villages.

pointing at the far wall of his hut. He had lost the chance to lead his warlike clan against the new religion. the feasting and fellowship of the first day or the wrestling Contest of the second. The crowd had surrounded and swallowed up the drummers." pleaded from a reasonable distance. When he died this morning. Obierika pointed at the two heavy bags.The youngest of Uchendu's five sons. "They are thirty?" he asked. 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. He still missed his mother and his sister and would be very glad to see them. It very quickly went damp. She did not marry him then because he was too poor to pay her bride-price. like something agitating with a metallic life. saluted the spirits and began his story. We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas. "In Abame and Aninta the title is worth less than two cowries. He tried in vain to force the thought out of his mind.""I don't know how we got that law. The married women wore their best cloths and the girls wore red and black waist-beads and anklets of brass." said Obiageli. came first. my hand has touched the ground. that man was okonkwo.

" said the medicine man. And he went.So Okonkwo encouraged the boys to sit with him in his obi. blowing it with her breath. when the rains had stopped and the sun rose every morning with dazzling beauty. "Let us not presume to do so now. he made sacrifices of atonement and performed an expensive burial ceremony such as was done for a great man. This was before the planting season began. long ago. It was Chielo. His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it was the sacred week." This was interpreted to them but very few of them heard. "that was why the snake-lizard killed his mother. The drums beat the unmistakable wrestling dance - quick. Its most potent war-medicine was as old as the clan itself. 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 all the tragedy and sorrow of her life were packed in those words." said Ezinma." said Idigo. and its priests and medicine men were feared in all the surrounding country. succulent breasts. calling on her mother. as usual." said Ofoedu.

but he stood beckoning to them. The people of the sky thought it must be their custom to leave all the food for their king. His future sons-in-law would be men of authority in the clan. called on Okonkwo in his obi. and old men and women would remember their youth. They sat in a half-moon. They formed a circular ring with a break at one point through which the foot-track led to the center of the circle." said Obierika. But she had got worse and worse.""You do not understand."Abame has been wiped out. It was a good riddance. In his day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow." said Obierika. that my children do not resemble me. and when he died he was buried by his kind in the Evil Forest.Ezinma and her mother sat on a mat on the floor after their supper of yam foo-foo and bitter-leaf soup. She understood things so perfectly. and our clan can no longer act like one. 1 know more about the world than any of you. The hosts nodded in approval and seemed to say. A child belongs to its father and his family and not to its mother and her family. Ukegbu counted them. But I want you to have nothing to do with it.

At the most one could say that his chi or personal god was good." he began. and gave it to Ibe to fill. palm-oil and pepper for the soup."I must go home to tap my palm trees for the afternoon."How can I know you. The youngest of them was four years old.During the planting season Okonkwo worked daily on his farms from cock-crow until the chickens went to roost.""I can tell you. He addressed Nwakibie."You know what it is. Once he got up from bed and walked about his compound. but he went to the birds and asked to be allowed to go with them. rubbing off the grains of sand that clung to his thighs. unhappily. the priestess of Agbala. all the descendants of Okolo. He ate a few more pieces of plaintain and pushed the dish aside."It is iba. Nwoye overheard it and burst into tears. and so they suffered. Every man can see it in his own compound. It had to be done slowly and carefully. and each hut seen from the others looked like a soft eye of yellow half-light set in the solid massiveness of night.

At an early age he had achieved fame as the greatest wrestler in all the land. Many of these messengers came from Umuru on the bank of the Great River."Okoli was not there to answer. Drums beat violently and men leaped up and down in frenzy.' Those men of Abame were fools. only waking to full life when Chielo sang. pointing at the far wall of his hut. and filled the village with excitement. Quick as the lightning of Amadiora."Don't you know what kind of man Uzowulu is? He will not listen to any other decision. "God will laugh at them on the judgment day. and the crowd answered. But it would be impolite to rush him. It is against the will of God."Obiageli broke her pot today. They passed their cloths under the right arm-pit. was a widely-traveled man who knew the customs of different peoples. The cannon seemed to rend the sky. The elders said locusts came once in a generation. Ekwefi then became defiant and called her next child Onwuma??"Death may please himself."The next day.Later. Ikeocha."The birds gathered round to eat what was left and to peck at the bones he had thrown all about the floor.

Ezinma? Agbala wants to see her. It was not that they had been lazy. Nwoye returned home. that the girl should go to Ogbuefi Udo to replace his murdered wife. I salute you. They were silent for a long time. and went back to her hut.""I can tell you. took out two leaves and began to chew them." And he told him what an osu was. "Where are you going?" he asked. was marrying a new wife. for in spite of the palm fruit hung across the mouth of the pot to restrain the lively liquor. "But I have also heard that Abame people were weak and foolish.""Once upon a time. Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. Kiaga. Unfortunately for her Okonkwo heard it and ran madly into his room for the loaded gun." And he did. which was shaved in places." he said to Okonkwo."Answer me!" he roared again. Where are the young suckers that will grow when the old banana tree dies? If Ezinma had been a boy I would have been happier. It was not the same Chielo who sat with her in the market and sometimes bought beancakes for Ezinma.

and the rest went back.But some of the egwugwu were quite harmless. and they no longer spent the evenings in his mother's hut while she cooked. The total effect was gay and brisk. setting up a wave of expectation in the crowd. She was called Crystal of Beauty. He had fallen ill on the previous night. despite his madness.""What has happened to that piece of land in dispute?" asked Okonkwo." He then added ten sticks to the fifteen and gave the bundle to Ukegbu. It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman. Then he tried to settle the matter the way he used to settle such matters when he was a little boy.As the men drank. She thought of all the terrors of the night. "Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?""Where they bury children. Sometimes when he went to big village meetings or communal ancestral feasts he allowed Ikemefuna to accompany him."You must watch the pot carefully. No woman ever asked questions about the most powerful and the most secret cult in the clan. "They use medicine. was the wife of Ogbuefi Udo. drank a little and handed back the horn. and the dry. The imagery of an efulefu in the language of the clan was a man who sold his machete and wore the sheath to battle.Perhaps it never did happen.

The moon was now up and she could see Chielo and Ezinma clearly. Now that she walked slowly she had time to think. for in spite of their worthlessness they still belonged to the clan. He was imprisoned with all the leaders of his family. she was dead. who had given much money to the white man's messengers and interpreter. twenty years or more." said Obierika's other companion. or old woman."Yaa!" replied the thunderous crowd.Ekwefi was tired and sleepy from the exhausting experiences of the previous night. Stories about these strange men had grown sim one of them had been killed in Abame and his iron horse tied to the sacred silk-cotton tree. many years. The faint and distant wailing of women settled like a sediment of sorrow on the earth."Do you know me?""No man can know you. That was the only time Ekwefi ever saw Ogbu-agali-odu. but the elders counseled patience till nightfall. In the other group were her husband. And for many days this rare food was eaten with solid palm-oil." suggested Okonkwo. And he did pounce on people quite often."You have not eaten for two days. As for his converts.He brought with him two young men.

Nwoye's mind had gone immediately to Nwayieke. Each of Uchendu's five sons contributed three hundred seed-yams to enable their cousin to plant a farm. He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages. the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. He heard the blow. full of power and beauty. It was not very easy getting the men of high title and the elders together after the excitement of the first day.- then silence descended from the sky and swallowed the noise.Okonkwo's head was bowed in sadness as Obierika told him these things. As the elders said. Umuazu. If any money came his way. She was used to Chielo calling her "my daughter."Tell them. The suitor was a young man of about twenty-five.As they spoke two other groups of people had replaced the first before the egwugwu. "Three or four of us should stay behind. Nwoye. "and we want you all to come in every seventh day to worship the true God."Why is Okonkwo with us today? This is not his clan. egusi soup and bitter-leaf soup and pots and pots of palm-wine." He turned to Uzowulu's group and allowed a short pause."Where is Ojiugo?" he asked his second wife. and Ezinma brought his goatskin bag from the far end of the hut.

The yams put on luxuriant green leaves. "Life to you. He had a large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth. Once or twice he tried to run away. If it ended on his left. Okonkwo's gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy's heart. Is it true that Okonkwo nearly killed you with his gun?""It is true indeed. Hisspeech was so eloquent that all the birds were glad they had brought him.The night was very quiet. my hand has touched the ground. He looked terrible with the smoked raffia "body. Who knows what may happen tomorrow? Perhaps green men will come to our clan and shoot us. she has told me about it." replied Okukwe. some of whom now stood enthralled. Her husband's wife took this for malevolence. And then one morning three white men led by a band of ordinary men like us came to the clan. Their leader was called Evil Forest. The harvest was over. and so they stood waiting. he was terribly afraid. But they dared not complain openly.The Christians had grown in number and were now a small community of men. all the same.

"people should not talk when they are eating or pepper may go down the wrong way. and old men and women would remember their youth. he had already put aside his goatskin bag and his big cloth and was in his underwear. He had sown four hundred seeds when the rains dried up and the heat returned. Only then did she realize. They boast about victory over death. What crime had they committed? The Earth had decreed that they were an offense on the land and must be destroyed. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace.""It is like the story of white men who. rubbing off the grains of sand that clung to his thighs. She wore the anklet of her husband's titles.""That is so. Yam. If such a thing were ever to happen. and the children who sang songs of welcome to them. He was quite different. "As for me. Ekwefi had nothing but good wishes for her."You need some sleep yourself. Two judges walked around the wrestlers and when they thought they were equally matched. It is a bad custom because it always leads to a quarrel." he always said. Ojiugo's children were eating with the children of his first wife. Such was Unoka's fate.