"Let us not presume to do so now. and he loved the first kites that returned with the dry season.

Okonkwo brought out his snuff-bottle and offered it to Ogbuefi Ezenwa
Okonkwo brought out his snuff-bottle and offered it to Ogbuefi Ezenwa. "When did you become one of the ndichie of Umuofia?"And so Nwoye's mother took Ikemefuna to her hut and asked no more questions. on the other hand. He had not hoped to get more than four hundred seeds. It must have been a very long time. And then Nkechi came in. as you know." she answered. Nwoye passed and repassed the little red-earth and thatch building without summoning enough courage to enter. You have many wives and many children??more children than I have. And so it was time for the final ceremony of confession. Some of them will even ride the iron horse themselves. making music and feasting."One of them passes here frequently. This one had only one hand and it carried a basket full of water. It came from the direction of the ilo. If you turn against me when I am dead I will visit you and break your neck. "before I kill you!" He seized a heavy stick that lay on the dwarf wall and hit him two or three savage blows. Tortoise was very happy and voluble as he flew among the birds." Obierika thought. moved to the center.

fresh yams and not the shriveled and fibrous crop of the previous year. a cake of salt and smoked fish which she would present to Obierika's wife. became for Ekwefi mere physical agony devoid of promise."Ezinma is dying."What is iyi-uwa?" she asked in return.'When Ekwefi brought the hoe. One man tied his cloth to a tree branch and hanged himself.It was not yet noon on the second day of the New Yam Festival."After the Week of Peace every man and his family began to clear the bush to make new farms."Umuofia kwenu!""Yaa!""Umuofia kwenu!""Yaa!"Evil Forest then thrust the pointed end of his rattling staff into the earth. all the descendants of Okolo. her left palm closed on her fish and her eyes gleaming with tears. The crowd had surrounded and swallowed up the drummers. The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did. The white man has no sense. Old men nodded to the beat of the drums and remembered the days when they wrestled to its intoxicating rhythm. now desperate.Okonkwo and his family worked very hard to plant a new farm. Later in the day he called Ikemefuna and told him that he was to be taken home the next day. Bring me my daughter. else it would break and the thousand tiny rings would have to be strung together again.

the Evil Forest was a fit home for such undesirable people. She had about three teeth and was always smoking her pipe." Okonkwo said. They were grieved by the indignity and mourned for their neglected farms. No! he could not be. They asked who the king of the village was. He knew that he had lost his place among the nine masked spirits who administered justice in the clan. her voice terrible as it echoed through the dark void. Chielo. They told the white man and he smiled benevolently. Ezinma? You are older than Obiageli but she has more sense.The priestess screamed. "When I think that it is only eighteen months since the Seed was first sown among you. and any time he passed her way he told Ear that he was still alive. he was already one of the greatest men of his time. and did as you have been told.The royal python was the most revered animal in Mbanta and all the surrounding clans.""Let us not reason like cowards. I kill a man on the day that his life is sweetest to him. as if that was paying the big debts first. And then Nkechi came in.

"Your wife was at fault. but that year-had been enough to break the heart of a lion. He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. They argued for a short while and fell into silence again." said Ezinma. and in the end they were received by them They asked for a plot of land to build on. and all the tragedy and sorrow of her life were packed in those words." He paused for a long while. "before 1 put any crop in the earth. If your death was the death of nature. such as befitted a noble warrior. having enough in his barn to feed the ancestors with regular sacrifices. Okonkwo rose to speak. And whenever the moon forsook evening and rose at cock-crow the nights were as black as charcoal. Some of them did become tired of their evil rounds of birth and death."No. They called him the little bird nza who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his chi. My mother's people have been good to me and 1 must show my gratitude. holding her breasts with her hands to stop them flapping noisily against her body. The birth of her children. How a woman could carry a child of that size so easily and for so long was a miracle.

They were mostly the kind of people that were called efulefu. he was not afraid now. this feeling. met to hear a report of Okonkwo's mission.But there were many others who saw the situation differently.When they had all gathered. If you had died young. "I sold the big ones as soon as you left. had crawled out of the shrine on her belly like a snake. and went into the village in the morning to preach the gospel. she thought. Nwakibie brought down his own horn. nearly all the osu in Mbanta followed their example. Ekwefi was the only person in the happy company who went about with a cloud on her brow. They never answered yes for fear it might be an evil spirit calling. A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi." she answered. Uzowulu and his relative. Almost immediately the women came in with a big bowl of foo-foo. Uchendu. the third highest in the land.

and so were his cousins and their wives when he sent for them and told them who his guest was. and the tuber was pulled out. Nwoye's mother. It was the first time for many years that a man had broken the sacred peace."That will not be enough. When all was laid out. But good men who worshipped the true God lived forever in His happy kingdom. somewhat lamely. The women weeded the farm three times at definite periods in the life of the yams. had entered his eye. 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. everybody knew by instinct that they were very good to eat.' said the young kite."Nwoye did not fully understand. father? You are beyond our knowledge. And so although Okonkwo was still young. If I were you I would have stayed at home. Amalinze was a wily craftsman."Ekwefi.Okagbue went back into the pit. and the crowd answered.

Uzowulu stepped forward and presented his case. We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers. The crowd burst into a thunderous roar." said Obiageli." the men said among themselves. and he never saw her again. He made him feel grown-up. 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. The women had come to the church with empty waterpots. Okonkwo's son." said Okonkwo. When a man was afflicted with swelling in the stomach and the limbs he was not allowed to die in the house. Ezinma. "They want to ruin us. it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut.The daughters of the family were all there.The nine villages of Umuofia had grown out of the nine sons of the first father of the clan. They thought the priestess might be going to her house. "I sold the big ones as soon as you left." she replied. and Ikemefuna.

and before they began to speak in low tones Nwoye and Ikemefuna were sent out.""Not before you have had your breakfast. metallic and thirsty clap. They guarded the prison.They came in the cold harmattan season after the harvests had been gathered. the king of crops."Every year."No. But there were some too who came because they had friends in our town. his harvest will be good or bad according to the strength of his arm. who was once the village beauty. and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten. The story had arisen among the Christians themselves. with love. The white man has no sense. "It is enough. She was used to Chielo calling her "my daughter. And that is why we say that mother is supreme. Many years ago when she was the village beauty Okonkwo had won her heart by throwing the Cat in the greatest contest within living memory." He turned to Uzowulu's group and allowed a short pause. She was peeling new yams.

"You fear that you will die." said some of the elders. saw clearly that Okonkwo had yielded to despair and he was greatly troubled. because the cold and dry harmattan wind was blowing down Irom the north. saluted the spirits and began his story. and he was grateful. closely followed by Nwoye and his two younger brothers. He was a man of action. When they had gone round the circle they settled down in the center. Another one was wailing near his right ear. 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. Ezinma's voice soon faded away and only Chielo was heard moving farther and farther into the distance.Low voices. Tortoise had no wings. His two younger brothers are more promising. and the burial was near. You do not know what it is to speak with one voice. picking his words with great care:"It is Okonkwo that 1 primarily wish to speak to. about their women." But before they went he whispered something to his first wife. and he was grateful.

He had lost the chance to lead his warlike clan against the new religion. When one came to think of it. Suppose when he died all his male children decided to follow Nwoye's steps and abandon their ancestors? Okonkwo felt a cold shudder run through him at the terrible prospect." said his eldest brother. But very few people had ever seen that kind of wrestling before. It tried Okonkwo's patience beyond words." said Uchendu. Kiaga." And after a pause she said: "Can I bring your chair for you?""No. She was nine then and was just recovering from a serious illness. He was greatly surprised. 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 there that her third child was born and circumcised on the eighth day. and about some effeminate men who had refused to come with them. Tears of gratitude filled her eyes. It was the justice of the earth goddess. and his happiest moments were the two or three moons after the harvest when the village musicians brought down their instruments."The white man's court has decided that it should belong to Nnama's family."When he killed Oduche in the fight over the land. Near the barn was a small house. A sickly odor hung in the air wherever he went.

Okonkwo was."That was many years ago. Then came the voices of the egwugwu." said Ibe. And they were all gay. There is not a single clan in these parts that I do not know very well. She determined to nurse her child to health. Her arms were folded across her bare breasts. The three white men and a very large number of other men surrounded the market."Thank you." said the interpreter. long way from home. But the Hills and the Caves were as silent as death. Unoka would play with them. talking was the next best. Evil Forest rose to his feet and order was immediately restored.Okonkwo's wives. father? You are beyond our knowledge. let your sister go with him. Elumelu. rubbing her eyes and stretching her spare frame.

and the new faith was a mad dog that had come to eat it up. He still remembered the song:Eze elina. The people surged forward. He knew the names of all the birds and could set clever traps for the little bush rodents. When one came to think of it. without serious danger to his own health. among the missionaries in Umuofia." said Obierika. They settled on every tree and on every blade of grass. Mgbafo and her brothers were as still as statues into whose faces the artist has molded defiance. Okonkwo's youngest wife. beginning with the eldest man. They set out early that morning." She sat down and stretched her legs in front of her.""Don't cry. He accepted the half-full horn from his brother and drank it." said Okonkwo as he took his machete and went into the bush to collect the leaves and grasses and barks of trees that went into making the medicine for iba. She thought of all the terrors of the night. Okonkwo said yes very strongly. He had not hoped to get more than four hundred seeds. went into an inner room and came back with a kola nut.

The drummers took up their sticks and the air shivered and grew tense like a tightened bow. and a girl. "My father.""Is he staying long with us?" she asked. Ogbuefi Idigo was talking about the palm-wine tapper.Everybody agreed that Igwelo should drink the dregs. And she enjoyed above all the secrecy in which she now ate them. "I remember when I was a young boy there was a song about them. And then Nkechi came in. His name was Okagbue Uyanwa. "They are young tubers. just emerged from the earth."'We know you too well. They all have food in their own homes. 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. Amikwu. when they came. Every woman in the neighborhood knew the sound of Nwayieke's mortar and pestle." Some of them had big sticks and some even machetes. Maduka vanished into the compound like lightning. and even now he could still hear it as it grew dimmer and dimmer in the distance.

met to hear a report of Okonkwo's mission.Seven years was a long time to be away from one's clan. She slowed down her pace so as to increase the distance between them. A sickly odor hung in the air wherever he went. But Ekwefi and Ezinma had heard the noise and run out to see what it was. "Amadiora will break your head for you!"Some days later. and of the forces of nature.- you stay at home and offer sacrifices to a reluctant soil. and the dry. Obiageli. relaxed again. A man's place was not always there." he said. seeing that the new religion welcomed twins and such abominations. in a body. Fireflies went about with their tiny green lamps. He is always in a hurry. They saluted one another and then reappeared on the ilo. She broke a piece in two and gave it to Ezinma. the priestess of Agbala. It was only on his fourth trip that he had found Ekwefi.

They set fire to his houses. 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. There must have been about ten thousand men there. But when she lived on to her fourth. At the end of it Okonkwo was fully convinced that the man was mad. But Tortoise jumped to his feet and asked: Tor whom have you prepared this feast?'"'For all of you. so that he was full of food and drink and his body filled out in his shell. I would have asked you to get life. had crawled out of the shrine on her belly like a snake."Is this yours?" he asked Ezinma. It was then uncertain whether the low rumbling of Amadiora's thunder came from above or below. Nwoye remembered this period very vividly till the end of his life. She was about sixteen and just ripe for marriage.He went back to the church and told Mr. It was a good riddance. then. But Ekwefi was not thinking about that. is a beast. They then set about painting themselves with cam wood and drawing beautiful black patterns on their stomachs and on their backs. a man of war. of how his father.

"Are you afraid you may dissolve?"The harvesting was easy. astride the steaming pot. spears. It was only then that they exchanged greetings and shook hands over what was left of the food. They were both Uzowulu's neighbors. by Okonkwo's brusqueness in dealing with less successful men."Your half-sister. One mind said to her: "Woman. dead. He lelt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul. and the man growled at him to go on and not stand looking back. I shall give you twice four hundred yams. Now Ekwefi was a woman of forty-five who had suffered a great deal in her time." she answered.Ogbuefi Ezeudu. The daughters of the clan did not return to their homes immediately but spent two more days with their kinsmen. that night. and they began to go back the way they had come. she could bear no other person but her father. in their due proportions. unlike most children.

The children made endless trips to the stream. But the Christians had told the white man about the accident. So he waited impatiently for the dry season to come. and he gave to Vulture rain wrapped in leaves of coco-yam.On the third day he asked his second wife.""That cannot be. Ekwefi mopped her with a piece of cloth and she lay down on a dry mat and was soon asleep."Ekwefi went to bring the pot and Okonkwo selected the best from his bundle. carried him shoulder high and danced through the cheering crowd. Some of them were too angry to eat. All others stood except those who came early enough to secure places on the few stands which had been built by placing smooth logs on forked pillars. who had joined in plucking the feathers. succulent breasts. to the boys and they passed it round the wooden stays and then back to him. and he who could feed his family on yams from one harvest to another was a very great man indeed. This man told him that the child was an ogbanje. A bond of sympathy had grown between them as the years had passed. Okonkwo. But he had recently fallen ill. When they returned Ukegbu handed the bundle of sticks back to Obierika. who was two years younger.

Okonkwo was not a man of thought but of action. His mother and sisters worked hard enough. not even for fear of a goddess. I cannot yet find a mouth with which to tell the story. "But you can explain to her. cutting down every tree or animal they saw. It had not happened for many a long year. His name was Okagbue Uyanwa. sat on a mat on the floor. The rainy season was approaching when they would go away until the dry season returned. The harvest was over. his son's crime stood out in its stark enormity. He did not know who the girl was. He sighed again. As soon as Unoka understood what his friend was driving at. "I remember now. others said he was not the equal of Ikezue. Nwoye remembered this period very vividly till the end of his life."But Nwoye's mother dropped her pot of hot soup the other day and it broke on the floor.He went back to the church and told Mr. Sometimes another village would ask Unoka's band and their dancing egwugwu to come and stay with them and teach them their tunes.

who had brought it from her mother's hut. and we shall all perish. Obierika's relatives counted the pots as they came. It was a different woman??the priestess of Agbala. Do you hear that. They were called kotma."On what market-day was it born?" he asked.""They have indeed soiled the name of ozo.It was a great funeral.Okonkwo's wives.Okonkwo returned from the bush carrying on his left shoulder a large bundle of grasses and leaves. It was the poetry of the new religion. That woman. Then he poured out for the others. and the burial was near. Then something had given way inside him." said another woman. in a cleared spot. Fireflies went about with their tiny green lamps. But no one was sure where it was coming from. what do we do? Do we go and stop his mouth? No.

Ikemefuna came first with the biggest pot. It was not very easy getting the men of high title and the elders together after the excitement of the first day. One man tied his cloth to a tree branch and hanged himself. especially these days when young men are afraid of hard work. as Ekwefi had said." she began.""That is true. I am not afraid of work."We shall be going." he announced when he sat down.Ezeudu had been the oldest man in his village. We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas. Our elders say that the sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them. He told them that the true God lived on high and that all men when they died went before Him for judgment. like a son.Then the tragedy of his first son had occurred. How could she know that Ekwefi's bitterness did not flow outwards to others but inwards into her own soul. We heard of it.Okonkwo's wives. The locusts settled in the bushes for the night and their wings became wet with dew. into a healthy.

which was shaved in beautiful patterns. anxiety. thirty-five."Your half-sister. when his father walked in that night after killing Ikemefuna. sandy beach. There were huge bowls of foo-foo and steaming pots of soup. he sat down in his obi and mourned his friend's calamity. and. As soon as she became pregnant she went to live with her old mother in another village. You yourselves took her. It was Nwoye's mother. "Ee-e-e!""We are giving you our daughter today. A sudden fury rose within him and he felt a strong desire to take up his machete. Ekwefi broke into a run as though to stop them. Spirits of good children lived in that tree waiting to be born. Ezinma brought her two legs together and stretched them in front of her. bending very low at the eaves. a loud cheer rose from the crowd. "Let us not presume to do so now. and he loved the first kites that returned with the dry season.