deeper."That will not be enough. You are a great family.One day a neighbor called Okoye came in to see him.

" And so they all went to help Obierika's wife??Nwoye's mother with her four children and Ojiugo with her two
" And so they all went to help Obierika's wife??Nwoye's mother with her four children and Ojiugo with her two. but they had never in all their lives heard of women being debarred from the stream. But he has not come to wake me up in the morning for it. Nwayieke lived four compounds away. He rounded off his prayer and went to see what it was all about. pointing at the far wall of his hut. and his eyes were red and fierce like the eyes of a rat when it was caught by the tail and dashed against the floor. "Mother Kite once sent her daughter to bring food. Some said Ezimili. children sat around their mother's cooking fire telling stories. He could hardly imagine that Okonkwo was not his real father." shouted Chielo. The priestess bent down on one knee and Ezinma climbed on her back. greeted themselves in their esoteric language. Is it true that Okonkwo nearly killed you with his gun?""It is true indeed."Ee-e-e!"The kola was eaten and the drinking of palm-wine began.' replied the young kite.

" Okonkwo thundered. and the elders of his family. And if anybody was so foolhardy as to pass by the shrine after dusk he was sure to see the old woman hopping about. She thought of all the terrors of the night. Ekwefi was also awakened and her benumbed fears revived." said his father. But this is a matter which we know. Once she tripped up and fell. But she picked her way easily on the sandy footpath hedged on either side by branches and damp leaves."We have now built a church. That had been his life-spring. She went in and knocked at his door and he came out. the farthest village in the clan. Unoka. And so one Sunday two of them went into the church. Ekwefi had nothing but good wishes for her."I have heard.

""If we leave our gods and follow your god. Only the really great men in the clan were able to do this." he said. The conversation at once centered on him. His wives. with a full beard and a bald head. She immediately dropped her pestle with which she was grinding pepper.""We have seen it. Smoke poured out of his head. But he had recently fallen ill."1 am one of them. He turned again to Ezinma. the top one. But in this case she ran away to save her life."Evil Forest then turned to the other group and addressed the eldest of the three brothers. I have learned that a man who makes trouble for others is also making it for himself. She felt cold.

nor the walls of his compound. guns and cannon were fired. The imagery of an efulefu in the language of the clan was a man who sold his machete and wore the sheath to battle. Of course they had all heard the bell-man. feeling with her palm the wet. greeted themselves in their esoteric language. A great evil has come upon their land as the Oracle had warned. who clung to her.The world was silent except for the shrill cry of insects. "What about you? Can you answer my question?"They all shook their heads. We all know him. solid drops of frozen water which the people called "the nuts of the water of heaven.The night was impenetrably dark. "You will find a pot of wine there. "1 thought you were going into the shrine with Chielo. Nwakibie brought down his own horn. but there is too much of his mother in him.

and everyone filled his bags and pots with locusts. and had just married his third wife." He drank his palm-wine. And what was more. which. and because of their ash-colored shorts they earned the additional name of Ashy Buttocks. She was very heavy with child. to sit with him in his obi. He can curse the gods of his fathers and his ancestors. Nwakibie sent for his wives. I cannot yet find a mouth with which to tell the story. Inwardly. "We will allow three or four women to stay behind."I beg you to accept this little kola. "Use the fan. He rounded off his prayer and went to see what it was all about. 'What did the mother of this chick do?' asked the old kite.

They were both Uzowulu's neighbors. But as he walked through the market he realized that people were pointing at him as they do to a madman."He said nothing. They must have used a powerful medicine to make themselves invisible until the market was full. A snake was never called by its name at night. He dared not go too near the missionaries for fear of his father. For two or three moons the sun had been gathering strength till it seemed to breathe a breath of fire on the earth. unearthly voice and completely covered in raffia. indeed. a long. wiping the foam of wine from his mustache with the back of his left hand. The crowd roared and clapped and for a while drowned the frenzied drums."Nwakibie cleared his throat. She could hear the priestess' voice. carrying the stamp of their mutilation??a missing finger or perhaps a dark line where the medicine man's razor had cut them. Then the foo-foo was served. or what?"The interpreter spoke to the white man and he immediately gave his answer.

where he built his headquarters and from where he paid regular visits to Mr. The interpreter explained each verse to the audience.And then the priestess screamed. "I will tell Obierika's wife that you are coming later. And yet we say Nneka - 'Mother is Supreme. When his wife Ekwefi protested that two goats were sufficient for the feast he told her that it was not her affair." said one of the younger men. 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. Okonkwo knew how to kill a man's spirit. with her suitor and his relatives. The personal dynamism required to counter the forces of these extremes of weather would be far too great for the human frame."We have now built a church. Three converts had gone into the village and boasted openly that all the gods were dead and impotent and that they were prepared to defy them by burning all their shrines. And when he did this he saw that his father was pleased." said Machi. It was unheard of to beat somebody during the sacred week. and he loved the first kites that returned with the dry season.

Why did they not fight back? Had they no guns and machetes? We would be cowards lo compare ourselves with the men of Abame. Kiaga had asked the women to bring red earth and white chalk and water to scrub the church for Easter. He then roused Ezinma and placed her on the stool." said Ezinma. They came when misfortune dogged their steps or when they had a dispute with their neighbors. Ekwefi hurried to the main footpath and turned left in the direction of the voice. You may ask why I am saying all this. a length of cloth and a hundred cowries. whom she called her daughter. At first the bride was not among them." replied Okonkwo." said Obierika. empty men. nearly all the osu in Mbanta followed their example. That is all I am good for now. Then he tried to settle the matter the way he used to settle such matters when he was a little boy. The drums beat the unmistakable wrestling dance - quick.

to inquire what was amiss. I am Fire-that-burns-without-faggots. guns and even his cannon. Nwoye's mother swore at her and settled down again to her peeling. Evil Forest represented the village of Umueru. If a man kills the sacred python in the secrecy of his hut. Ekwefi even gave her such delicacies as eggs.Okagbue had again taken over the digging from Okonkwo. to help them in their cooking. His wives wept bitterly and their children wept with them without knowing why.As the men drank."I am following Chielo. Unoka. "He hardly ever walks. He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else - with a heavy hand. and you are afraid. They guarded the prison.

and when there was no work to do he sat in a silent half-sleep."Who are the young men with you?" he asked as he sat down again on his goatskin." resumed Obierika.But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through.Okonkwo was given a plot of ground on which to build his compound.""They were fools. He immediately set to work digging a pit where Ezinma had indicated. and the sun seemed hidden behind a thick cloud. The ill-fated lad was called Ikemefuna. Ezinma struggled to escape from the choking and overpowering steam."Take away your kola nut. in turn. Then they washed them and cut them up for the women who prepared the soup. the troublesome nanny goat. "Your friend Anene asked me to greet you. Okagbue was a very striking figure. Then he took it away to bury in the Evil Forest.

and I am happy you have come to see us. And immediately Okonkwo's eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. There was once a man who went to sell a goat. And such was the deep fear that their enemies had for Umuofia that they treated Okonkwo like a king and brought him a virgin who was given to Udo as wife. For many market weeks nothing else happened. and the lad Ikemefuna. He picked it up.It was late afternoon before Nwoye returned.As the years of exile passed one by one it seemed to him that his chi might now be making amends for the past disaster. "You look very tired. Dew fell heavily and the air was cold." he said quietly to Ezinma. It was a very expensive ceremony and he was gathering all his resources together.An iron gong sounded. How could he have begotten a woman for a son? At Nwoye's age Okonkwo had already become famous throughout Umuofia for his wrestling and his fearlessness. because it had been inadvertent. She knelt on her knees and hands at the threshold and called her husband.

He asked Okagbue to come up and rest while he took a hand. and they knocked against each other as he searched. It was a fierce contest. May all you took out return again tenfold. Cam wood was rubbed lightly into her skin. Ezeudu was to be buried after dark with only a glowing brand to light the sacred ceremony. and on the other the offer of a young man and a virgin as compensation."Has Nweke married a wife?" asked Okonkwo.Okonkwo was sitting on a goatskin already eating his first wife's meal.-but the more he tried the more he thought about him.The drums beat and the flutes sang and the spectators held their breath. 1 know how to deal with them. They asked who the king of the village was."We still have a long way to go. They said that some young men had chased them away from the stream with whips. The sun breaking through their leaves and branches threw a pattern of light and shade on the sandy footway. Ekwefi tried to pull out the horny beak but it was too hard.

about the next ancestral feast and about the impending war with the village of Mbaino. a long and thin strip of cloth wound round the waist like a belt and then passed between the legs to be fastened to the belt behind. "lest Agbala be angry with you."He will do great things. Ikemefuna called him father. "1 shall wait here. They too sat just in front of the huge circle of spectators.""Yes."Do you know me?""No man can know you. she has told me about it. She started to cry. her left palm closed on her fish and her eyes gleaming with tears."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o-o. At one stage Ekwefi was so afraid that she nearly called out to Chielo for companionship and human sympathy.Very soon after. The first cock has crowed. "My daughter's suitor is coming today and I hope we will clinch the matter of the bride-price.

It was already dusk when the two parties came to this agreement. Had she been running too? How could she go so fast with Ezinma on her back? Although the night was cool. But Ekwefi was not thinking about that." said Uchendu"I swear. All the women shouted with joy because Ekwefi's troubles were at last ended. We would then not be held accountable for their abominations. with which he made two wings. It had not happened for many a long year. He heard the voice of singing and although it came from a handful of men it was loud and confident. Kiaga that he had decided to go to Umuofia where the white missionary had set up a school to teach young Christians to read and write."Abame has been wiped out. and so have Uchendu and Unachukwu and Emefo. who drank a cup or two each. Elumelu. It was Nwoye's mother. It was unbelievable. women and children.

for Mr."Have you?" asked Obierika."Take away your kola nut. and all were happy.In this way the moons and the seasons passed.""It is the result of a great medicine. She nodded. They all have food in their own homes." replied Uzowulu. And there he stood in his hard shell full of food and wine but without any wings to fly home." He got up painfully."When nearly two years later Obierika paid another visit to his friend in exile the circumstances were less happy. and he was soon chosen as the man to speak for the party because he was a great orator.No work was done during the Week of Peace. but in doing so he would have taken something from the full penalty of seven years."Ezinma is dying. Okonkwo had not bought snuff from him for a long time.

"It's true that a child belongs to its father.Okonkwo and his family worked very hard to plant a new farm. When they finished. as most people were. It was the poetry of the new religion. I salute you. Kiaga stood firm. And for many days this rare food was eaten with solid palm-oil. Tortoise's wife sent for him and he gathered all the bits of shell and stuck them together. spears. He does not belong here. go home before Agbala does you harm. before they finally left for their village."Unoka was like that in his last days. "It is enough. They were all fully dressed as if they were going to a big clan meeting or to pay a visit to a neighboring village."Is Anasi not in?" he asked them.

went into an inner room and came back with a kola nut. the people of the sky set before their guests the most delectable dishes Tortoise had even seen or dreamed of. Nwoye turned round to walk into the inner compound when his father. Her suitor and his relatives surveyed her young body with expert eyes as if to assure themselves that she was beautiful and ripe. Two elderly neighbors were sent for. They went outside again. She prepared it the way he liked??with slices of oil-bean and fish. As soon as she became pregnant she went to live with her old mother in another village. And for many days this rare food was eaten with solid palm-oil. It was only when he had got there that it had occurred to him that the priestess might have chosen to go round the villages first.""What has happened?" asked Okonkwo. a huge wooden face painted white except for the round hollow eyes and the charred teeth that were as big as a man's fingers. and Okeke says we should pretend not to see. The neighbors sat around watching the pit becoming deeper and deeper."That will not be enough. You are a great family.One day a neighbor called Okoye came in to see him.