wrestling before. He spoke through an interpreter who was an Ibo man. If your in-law brings wine to you. At first the clan had assumed that it would not survive.

" said the interpreter
" said the interpreter." came the voice like a sharp knife cutting through the night. We are only his mother's kinsmen. Three young men from the victorious boy's team ran forward. children sought for shelter. There was a drinking horn in it. The man who had whispered now called out aloud. talking excitedly and praying that the locusts should camp in Umuofia for the night. Without looking at the man Okonkwo had said: "This meeting is for men. He had discerned a clear overtone of tragedy in the crier's voice. Would he recognize her now? She must have grown quite big. He was in fact an outcast. She saw the other children with their water-pots and remembered that they were going to fetch water for Obierika's wife. her moments of depression when she would snap at everybody like an angry dog. "All the gods you have named are not gods at all. "Yaa!".""Does the white man understand our custom about land?""How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are bad. burning forehead. only waking to full life when Chielo sang.""What did the white man say before they killed him?" asked Uchendu. closely followed by Nwoye and his two younger brothers. in the land of his fathers where men were bold and warlike. and the other an old and faint shadow.But the war that now threatened was a just war.'"He began to eat and the birds grumbled angrily.

As soon as he heard of the great feast in the sky his throat began to itch at the very thought.As he broke the kola. And he had all but achieved it. At the end of it Okonkwo was fully convinced that the man was mad. which together formed a half moon behind the obi. was marrying a new wife. decorating them with a colorful and plaintive tune. and Ekwefi asked Nwoye's mother and Ojiugo to explain to Obierika's wife that she would be late. Okonkwo helped them put down their loads. and all were happy. Okonkwo was one of them. Five matches ended in this way. And so they each took a new name. Obiako. If your in-law brings wine to you. they said to themselves." Obierika again drank a little of his wine. Ezinma shook every tree violently with a long stick before she bent down to cut the stem and dig out the tuber. came into the obi from outside. Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. my friend."Listen to me. they held them over an open fire to burn off the hair. The daughters of the clan did not return to their homes immediately but spent two more days with their kinsmen. Ezinma sneezed.

'"None of the birds had heard of this custom but they knew that Tortoise. And then the locusts came. The next child was a girl. with which he carried the brown snuff to his nostrils. And when he got there he found it was a man making a sacrifice. Okonkwo was among them. 'There is something ominous behind the silence."Do you know Ogbuefi Ndulue?" Ofoedu asked. whose feeling of importance was manifest in her sprightly walk. that my children do not resemble me. unless it be the emotion of anger. the women who had gone for red earth returned with empty baskets. The seven wasted and weary years were at last dragging to a close. And what was more.Everybody at the kindred meeting took sides with Osugo when Okonkwo called him a woman. A man stood there with a machete in his hand. and very strong. That is why Tortoise's shell is not smooth. this medicine stands on the market ground in the shape of an old woman with a fan." Ezinma said. and they no longer spent the evenings in his mother's hut while she cooked. the white man began to speak to them. 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. the harvest of the previous year.Then the tragedy of his first son had occurred.

"As they stood there together. Umuofia has decided to kill him. when the sun's heat had softened. Okonkwo's second wife had merely cut a few leaves off it to wrap some food. Obiageli.The sun rose slowly to the center of the sky."Abame has been wiped out. Okonkwo came after her. Okafo seized it.Ezinma was an only child and the center of her mother's world. Thelocusts had not come for many. But whenever they came to preach in the open marketplace or the village playground. She is buried there. raised the pot on his left knee and began to pour out the wine. And he told them about this new God. "I have never seen such a large crowd of people. and the women had formed themselves into three groups for this purpose. 'It cried and raved and cursed me. A young man from one team danced across the center to the other side and pointed at whomever he wanted to fight. his son's crime stood out in its stark enormity. I shall pay you. whose feeling of importance was manifest in her sprightly walk. If I had not seen the few survivors with my own eyes and heard their story with my own ears. It was a day old. They were not the real wrestlers.

If we allow you to come with us you will soon begin your mischief. An evil forest was where the clan buried all those who died of the really evil diseases. his mother was alive. so his chi agreed. and two others after her. her left palm closed on her fish and her eyes gleaming with tears. "There must be a reason for it. his wives and children in their houses could hear him breathe. "and a thick mat.But Mr. Somewhere a man was taking one of the titles of his clan."Yes. We have tried to settle their quarrels time without number and on each occasion Uzowulu was guilty??""It is a lie!" Uzowulu shouted.The night was impenetrably dark."Ezinma began to cry. His own home had gradually become very faint and distant. Their sound was no longer a separate thing from the living village." said another woman.Ekwefi had suffered a good deal in her life. who will hold his head up among my people. welcoming it back from its long. beat me up and took my wife and children away.""That is very strange. Okonkwo." suggested Okonkwo.

This roasted yam soaked in red palm-oil and eaten in the open farm was sweeter than any meal at home. the top one. It was an angry.The woman with whom she talked was called Chielo. and the smallest group had ten lines. In short."Okonkwo has spoken the truth. As soon as he left. His love of talk had grown with age and sickness. They all have food in their own homes. When he brought out the snuff-bottle he tapped it a few times against his knee-cap before taking out some snuff on the palm of his left hand. It must be the thought of going home to his mother." And he arranged the requisite rites and sacrifices. The crowd followed her silently. The story was told in Umuofia. reappeared every year for seven years and then disappeared for another lifetime. He spoke through an interpreter who was an Ibo man.The woman with whom she talked was called Chielo. He died and rotted away above the earth. who was greatly perplexed. taking their bride home to spend seven market weeks with her suitor's family. he won his first three converts." said Ogbuefi Ezeudu. And when he got there he found it was a man making a sacrifice. They then set about painting themselves with cam wood and drawing beautiful black patterns on their stomachs and on their backs.

""Why?" asked Obierika and Okonkwo together." He danced a few more steps and went away. he had not slept at all last night." she replied. The young ailing girl who had caused her mother so much heartache had been transformed. The new year must begin with tasty.The drums were still beating. fire does not burn them?" Ezinma. for he knew certainly that something was amiss." said Okonkwo.Okonkwo returned from the bush carrying on his left shoulder a large bundle of grasses and leaves. But when he reached Tortoise's house he told his wife to bring out all the hard things in the house. a good harvest and happiness.""In future call her into your obi. 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. They just pulled the stump. neither getting too near nor keeping too far back. It was even heard in the surrounding villages. He was always alone and was shaped like a coffin. Later in the day he called Ikemefuna and told him that he was to be taken home the next day. Everybody soon knew who the boy was. and in its place a sort of smile hovered. It ended on the right." Okonkwo threatened. "You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the children.

who said he should die. When he finished his kola nut he said:"The things that happen these days are very strange." said Obierika. But the third created a big sensation even among the elders who did not usually show their excitement so openly. As soon as he found one he would sing with his whole being. Everybody was killed.He went back to the church and told Mr." He danced a few more steps and went away. The interpreter explained each verse to the audience. and although it had not yet appeared on the sky its light had already melted down the darkness. We do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. saluted the spirits and began his story. which had been dutifully eating yam peelings."You are right.Okonkwo spent the next few days preparing his seed-yams. 'Then we can eat the chick. They boast about victory over death. Everyone looked in the direction of the egwugwu house. But it only lasted till the end of the service.But there was a young lad who had been captivated. Why did they not fight back? Had they no guns and machetes? We would be cowards lo compare ourselves with the men of Abame. It is the kind of action for which the goddess wipes out whole families. and cut them up. But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship. A few moments later he went behind the hut and began to vomit painfully.

The men in the obi had already begun to drink the palm-wine which Akueke's suitor had brought. He could not stop the rain now. We should have waited for the sun to rise and dry the leaves.Onwumbiko was not given proper burial when he died. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy. alive with sinister forces and powers of darkness. Some of them were not at home and only four came in. What you have done will not please the Earth. "that in some clans it is an abomination for a man to die during the Week of Peace. He exchanged greetings with Okonkwo and led the way into his obi. "Mother Kite once sent her daughter to bring food."'We know you too well. A new cover of thick palm branches and palm leaves was set on the walls to protect them from the next rainy season. and she was notorious for her late cooking. He was a very strong man and rarely felt fatigue. and she put all her being into it. and she agreed also. A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. Ezinma's fire was now sending up thick clouds of smoke."Evil Forest then turned to the other group and addressed the eldest of the three brothers. that is not the beginning. and they each gave him a feather. asked on behalf of the clan to look after him in the interim.""You sound as if you question the authority and the decision of the Oracle. because their dreaded agadi-nwayi would never fight what the Ibo call a fight of blame.

"1 shall wait here."Our father. He then adjusted his cloth. She was nine then and was just recovering from a serious illness." said Obierika.Everybody at the kindred meeting took sides with Osugo when Okonkwo called him a woman. and what is good among one people is an abomination with others. and kill him there. he was repentant."Ezinma went outside and brought some sticks from a huge bundle of firewood.It was not yet noon on the second day of the New Yam Festival. Ezenwa took it.""You do not understand.And then quite suddenly a shadow fell on the world. Obiageli brought up the rear. the feasting and fellowship of the first day or the wrestling Contest of the second. her wrath was loosed on all the land and not just on the offender. "Now they are behaving like men. their legs and feet. It was a little village called Mbanta. She knelt on her knees and hands at the threshold and called her husband. They will take him outside Umuofia as is the custom.Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had. food was presented to the guests. One of the things every man learned was the language of the hollowed-out wooden instrument.

boomed the hollow metal. "Your daughter will bear us sons like you. No punishment was prescribed for a man who killed the python knowingly.Ezinma took the dish in one hand and the empty water bowl in the other and went back to her mother's hut." she answered simply. At the end of it Okonkwo was fully convinced that the man was mad. With this magic fan she beckons to the market all the neighboring clans. And then like the sound of his cannon he crashed on the compound. my friend. It was indeed the shrine of a great god. The saying of the elders was not true??that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed. The faint and distant wailing of women settled like a sediment of sorrow on the earth. You yourselves took her.And so nature was not interfered with in the middle of the rainy season. Every nerve and every muscle stood out on their arms. The white missionary was very proud of him and he was one of the first men in Umuofia to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion. and Maduka brought in a pot of palm-wine."They do not understand.""How did they get hold of Ancto to hang him?" asked Okonkwo. And he was afraid to look back. They made single mounds of earth in straight lines all over the field and sowed the yams in them. The first people who saw him ran away. "They use medicine. "So he must have a wife and all of them must have buttocks. He had no patience with unsuccessful men.

should bring to your mother a heavy face and refuse to be comforted? Be careful or you may displease the dead. When they were out of earshot. that Ekwensu. and any time he passed her way he told Ear that he was still alive. his mother was alive. and he spoke as he performed them:"1 hope our in-laws will bring many pots of wine.Ekwefi had suffered a good deal in her life. She ran faster. Some people even said that they had heard the spirits flying and flapping their wings against the roof of the cave. It was even heard in the surrounding villages. now said"You told us with your own mouth that there was only one god."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Chielo began once again to chant greetings to her god. and old men and women would remember their youth. He saw himself and his fathers crowding round their ancestral shrine waiting in vain for worship and sacrifice and finding nothing but ashes of bygone days. They were returning home with baskets of yams from a distant farm across the stream when they heard the voice of an infant crying in the thick forest. But when she lived on to her fourth. and it was said that."Ekwefi did as she was asked. They were mostly the kind of people that were called efulefu.The elders. There was no barn to inherit. that was how it looked to his father. and two days later he returned home with a lad of fifteen and a young virgin.At last the rain came. It is against the will of God.

"Father. was called a flaming fire. They all admired it and said that that was the way things should be done.Although such stories were now often told they looked like fairy-tales in Mbanta and did not as yet affect the relationship between the new church and the clan. I salute you. floated on the chaos. He was ill for three market weeks. There was a famine in those days and Tortoise had not eaten a good meal for two moons." said Obierika. Only the word of our God is true. The birth of her children. Ezinma took it to him in his obi. The drums begin at noon but the wrestling waits until the sun begins to sink. The neighbors sat around watching the pit becoming deeper and deeper. They also drank water from small pots and ate kola nuts. They will not allow us into the markets. 'It just walked away. each brought her bowl of foo-foo and bowl of soup to her husband. which was fastened to the rafters. yams of the old year were all disposed of by those who still had them. but she went to Okonkwo's compound. the grown-up. having enough in his barn to feed the ancestors with regular sacrifices. Maduka vanished into the compound like lightning."Is this yours?" he asked Ezinma.

""Oho. His mother had wept bitterly. He looked terrible with the smoked raffia "body. and the others to the chalk quarry. Nwoye's mother was very kind to him and treated him as one of her own children. She understood things so perfectly. He knew that he had lost his place among the nine masked spirits who administered justice in the clan. But somehow he knew he was not going to see them. holding the ancestral staff of the family. The whole church raised a protest and was about to drive these people out. which was full of men who had offended against the white man's law. He was like an elder brother to Nwoye. Our elders say that the sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them. the emanation of the god of water.But some of the egwugwu were quite harmless. Her husband's first wife had already had three sons." replied her mother. It always surprised him when he thought of it later that he did not sink under the load of despair. His name was Okagbue Uyanwa. And they might also have noticed that Okonkwo was not among the titled men and elders who sat behind the row of egwugwu." he said sadly."Yes. He knew that Nwakibie would not refuse him. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace. and filled the village with excitement.

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. She was nine then and was just recovering from a serious illness. He had many friends here and came to see them quite often. also had a basket of plantains and coco-yams and a small pot of palm-oil. Mr. and Nwakibie's two grown-up sons were also present in his obi. Ekwefi believed deep inside her that Ezinma had come to stay. A vague scent of life and green vegetation was diffused in the air. bending very low at the eaves. and the burial was near.Ezinma was an only child and the center of her mother's world. During those years no single day passed in the sky without his beating the woman." said one of them. The earth burned like hot coals and roasted all the yams that had been sown. Okonkwo. All the grass had long been scorched brown. They have joined his religion and they help to uphold his government. The sound of her benumbed steps seemed to come from some other person walking behind her. with Ezinma sleeping on her back. one of them did something which no one could describe because it had been as quick as a flash."Go to your in-laws with a pot of wine and beg your wife to return to you. The men stood outside the circle. "In Abame and Aninta the title is worth less than two cowries. and piling up his debts. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace.

I shall give you some fish to eat. He had felt very anxious but did not show it.""It is like the story of white men who. It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman.The young men who kept order on these occasions dashed about. and evil fortune followed him to the grave. The Oracle of the Hills and the Caves has pronounced it. And what is the result? An abominable religion has settled among you. and so they stood waiting.Uchendu had been told by one of his grandchildren that three strangers had come to Okonkwo's house." said Uchendu to his peers when they consulted among themselves. It was unbelievable." said one of the younger men. talking and laughing among themselves and with others who stood near them. She thought of all the terrors of the night. the beating of drums and the brandishing and clanging of machetes increased." said Obierika. and kill him there. when Mr. or God's house. Why do the nations rage and the peoples imagine a vain thing? He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. People laughed at him because he was a loafer. "I remember now. They guarded the prison. A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it hatches.

He woke up once in the middle of the night and his mind went back to the past three days without making him feel uneasy. one hen. I clear the bush and set fire to it when it is dry. She was used to Chielo calling her "my daughter. go home before Agbala does you harm."Okonkwo was very lucky in his daughters. We do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen.All this anthill activity was going smoothly when a sudden interruption came.' said the birds when they had heard him. And so one Sunday two of them went into the church. the "medicine house" or shrine where Okonkwo kept the wooden symbols of his personal god and of his ancestral spirits.Many young men and prosperous middle-aged men of Mbanta came to marry her. It was only on his fourth trip that he had found Ekwefi. They chose to fly home on an empty stomach. and they agreed about the beating. and the planting began. Onwumbiko??"Death. and he spoke as he performed them:"1 hope our in-laws will bring many pots of wine. The cut bush was left to dry and fire was then set to it.Okonkwo was given a plot of ground on which to build his compound. and two others after her. he was at a loss. His name was Okagbue Uyanwa. The rainbow began to appear. And he had all but achieved it.

he was at a loss. she thought. the earth goddess and the source of all fertility. The crowd roared and clapped and for a while drowned the frenzied drums. tears gushed from her eyes. And he was already beginning to know some of the simple stories they told." ';.And then quite suddenly a shadow fell on the world. The moon was shining."It has not always been so.""That is so. gome. talking was the next best. touching the earth. He went into the obi and saluted his father. especially their hair. He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's return. His mother's kinsmen had been very kind to him. the grown-up. and people came from far and near to consult it. each carrying a pot of wine. He had a large barn full of yams and he had three wives. The saying of the elders was not true??that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed." said Obierika. Ezinma's fire was now sending up thick clouds of smoke.

Okonkwo said yes very strongly. in their proper order. "God will laugh at them on the judgment day." Some of them had big sticks and some even machetes. But they have cast you out like lepers. guns and even his cannon. The sun breaking through their leaves and branches threw a pattern of light and shade on the sandy footway."You need some sleep yourself." she replied. Nwoye's mother is already cooking." he said when Okonkwo had spoken. It was a very good wine and powerful.""That is so. 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.' said the birds when they had heard him. When all the birds had gathered together. unless it was one of the stubborn ones who returned. and they knocked against each other as he searched. But on further thought he told himself that Nwoye was not worth fighting for. blowing it with her breath. Have you not heard the song they sing when a woman dies?"'For whom is it well. When they returned Ukegbu handed the bundle of sticks back to Obierika. and the quiet spectators murmured to themselves. It had to be done slowly and carefully. He asked them for health and children.

Mr. and it came floating on the wind. You are a great man in your clan." said Obierika. He did not understand it. and we would be like Abame." said Okonkwo. Another one was wailing near his right ear. You yourselves took her." he said quietly to Ezinma. "All the gods you have named are not gods at all. Umuofia. I shall pay my big debts first. They were silent for a long time. He had five other sons and he would bring them up in the way of the clan. But she had grown so bitter about her own chi that she could not rejoice with others over their good fortune."Go to your in-laws with a pot of wine and beg your wife to return to you. It said that other white men were on their way. Your generation does not know that." she began.As Okonkwo sat in his hut that night."Ezinma went outside and brought some sticks from a huge bundle of firewood. He was merely led into greater complexities. and before they began to speak in low tones Nwoye and Ikemefuna were sent out. Then he took it away to bury in the Evil Forest.

Some of these prisoners had thrown away their twins and some had molested the Christians." said Ekwefi with a heavy sigh. and did as you have been told." said Ezinma to her mother. and so they made them that offer which nobody in his right senses would accept. What you have done will not please the Earth. "Are you afraid you may dissolve?"The harvesting was easy."Have you?" asked Obierika. Why should that be? How are you different from other men who shave their hair? The same God created you and them. who was then an ailing man. because their dreaded agadi-nwayi would never fight what the Ibo call a fight of blame. She was full of the power of her god."Be patient. Two judges walked around the wrestlers and when they thought they were equally matched. Then they washed them and cut them up for the women who prepared the soup. But for a young man whose father had no yams. another man asked a question: "Where is the white man's horse?" he asked. But at that very moment Chielo's voice rose again in her possessed chanting. It was full of meat and fish. every man with his goatskin bag hung on one shoulder and a rolled goatskin mat under his arm. No. It was always quiet except on moonlight nights." He turned to Odukwe. his mind would have been centered on his work. mother is going.

"I shall carry you on my back. It was on the seventh day that he died." Ofoedu agreed." lied Nwoye's mother.Nwoye struggled to free himself from the choking grip. Nwoye's mother is already cooking.' 'You must return the duckling. Ezeudu is dead.Many years ago when Okonkwo was still a boy his father. The bush was alive with the tread of feet on dry leaves and sticks and the moving aside of tree branches."No." he answered.As soon as his father walked in. He brought out a sharp razor from the goatskin bag slung from his left shoulder and began to mutilate the child."The medicine man then ordered that there should be no mourning for the dead child. The children made endless trips to the stream. He had a slight stammer and whenever he was angry and could not get his words out quickly enough. but to settle the dispute. I salute you. I shall pay you. A vague chill had descended on him and his head had seemed to swell." she replied. about the next ancestral feast and about the impending war with the village of Mbaino. Elumelu. something felt in the marrow.

" answered his first wife. As the evening wore on. Even the oldest men could only remember one or two other occasions somewhere in the dim past. and people came from far and near to consult it. another group with hoes and baskets to the village earth pit. Uchendu. But it is not so. Her back was turned on the footpath that led out of the hills. At an early age he had achieved fame as the greatest wrestler in all the land. lest he strike you in his anger. They faced the elders."Uzowulu's body. nearly all the osu in Mbanta followed their example. Surely the earth goddess would not visit the sins of the missionaries on the innocent villagers?But on one occasion the missionaries had tried to over step the bounds. The woman was Mgbafo and the three men with her were her brothers.Each of the nine egwugwu represented a village of the clan. But the Ibo people have a proverb that when a man says yes his chi says yes also. It said that other white men were on their way. It is a bad custom which these people observe because they lack understanding. the "medicine house" or shrine where Okonkwo kept the wooden symbols of his personal god and of his ancestral spirits. On the second day Uchendu called together his sons and daughters and his nephew. Kiaga's congregation at Mbanta. He shrugged his shoulders and went away to tap his afternoon palm-wine. was telling two other men who came to visit him that the punishment for breaking the Peace of Ani had become very mild in their clan. facing the elders.

It was then uncertain whether the low rumbling of Amadiora's thunder came from above or below."I am Evil Forest. had crawled out of the shrine on her belly like a snake. A deathly silence descended on Okonkwo's compound. On ordinary days young women who desired children came to sit under its shade. and the polite name for leprosy was "the white skin. Amikwu and his people had taken palm-wine to the bride's kinsmen about two moons before Okonkwo's arrival in Mbanta. Okafo seized it. He just hung limp. but Ezeani seemed to pay no attention.""It is the result of a great medicine. The people of the sky thought it must be their custom to leave all the food for their king." ';. There were six of them and one was a white man. Then he burst out:"Never kill a man who says nothing. He sang. she could bear no other person but her father. A razor was taboo to him. "The children are still very young."Come. Obierika's second wife followed with a pot of soup. He asked Okagbue to come up and rest while he took a hand. Uzowulu. Ikemefuna looked back. went into an inner room and came back with a kola nut.

might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springywalk of Okonkwo. or osu. Ezinma was always surprised that her mother could lift a pot from the fire with her bare hands. I say it because I fear for the younger generation."Ezinma looked at her mother. like a mother and her daughter. Igwelo had a job in hand because he had married his first wife a month or two before. Her husband's first wife had already had three sons. Everybody was killed. Every woman in the neighborhood knew the sound of Nwayieke's mortar and pestle."Yes. and they."You do not know the answer? So you see that you are a child. Then came the voices of the egwugwu. 'It cried and raved and cursed me. Nwoye's mother thanked her and she went back to her mother's hut. But they dared not complain openly.Perhaps it never did happen. Ekwefi. but they were really talking at the top of their voices."Locusts are descending. But very few people had ever seen that kind of wrestling before. He spoke through an interpreter who was an Ibo man. If your in-law brings wine to you. At first the clan had assumed that it would not survive.