clan were able to do this. conversing with his father in low tones. Her arms were folded across her bare breasts. empty men. and after that the dry season.

" resumed Obierika
" resumed Obierika. and Obiageli told her mournful story. who was also a diviner of the Afa Oracle. Kiaga. People laughed at him because he was a loafer. You do not know what it is to speak with one voice. The two voices disappeared into the thick darkness. women and children. passed through his obi and into Ekwefi's hut and walked into her bedroom. pointing at the far wall of his hut. It was Ekwefl's turn to tell a story. whom she called "my daughter. Okonkwo helped them put down their loads. folded her arms across her breast and sighed. but he had never yet come across them. The ancestral spirits of the clan were abroad. Uchendu. "If I had a son like him I should be happy. Palm trees swayed as the wind combed their leaves into flying crests like strange and fantastic coiffure.

I have only called you together because it is good for kinsmen to meet. will you go to see the wrestling?" Ezinma asked after a suitable interval. The daughters of the clan did not return to their homes immediately but spent two more days with their kinsmen. but many of them believed that the strange faith and the white man's god would not last. into a healthy. not even for fear of a goddess.The priestess screamed." said Ezinma. Is it right that you.""I think she has. The inhabitants of Mbanta expected them all to be dead within four days. I shall do that every year until you return. Yam stood for manliness. and even in the trees. The sun breaking through their leaves and branches threw a pattern of light and shade on the sandy footway." came the voice like a sharp knife cutting through the night.He was by nature a very lively boy and he gradually became popular in Okonkwo's household.An iron gong sounded. As the elders said.

"Okonkwo has spoken the truth. But you are still a child. Okonkwo. and no longer rebuked him or beat him. He had called the first child born to him in exile Nneka??"Mother is Supreme"??out of politeness to his mother's kinsmen. and his children after him. Okonkwo had committed the female." said Ofoedu." said his eldest brother. Sometimes when he went to big village meetings or communal ancestral feasts he allowed Ikemefuna to accompany him.Then the missionaries burst into song. It was not external but lay deep within himself. As for the boy.And then the egwugwu appeared. from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts." urged the other women"None?" asked Njide. But Unoka was such a man that he always succeeded in borrowing more. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. "Whoever has a job in hand.

" said Obierika. So I have brought the matter to the fathers of the clan. and his relatives. He said he was one of them. "They will put off Ndulue's funeral until his wife has been buried. And he found that Okonkwo did not wish to speak about Nwoye. The story had arisen among the Christians themselves. She remembered that night. his face beaming with blessedness and peace.The wrestlers were now almost still in each other's grip."Get me a pot. Unoka.The priestess' voice was already growing faint in the distance. Now and again the cannon boomed. But I want you to have nothing to do with it. "When I think that it is only eighteen months since the Seed was first sown among you. Nwoye's mother is already cooking. Idigo was the man who knew how to grind good snuff. Okonkwo sprang to his feet and quickly sat down again.

Evil Forest represented the village of Umueru."Ezinma went outside and brought some sticks from a huge bundle of firewood."Although they were almost the same age. At last I went to my in-laws and said to them. and on their way they paid short courtesy visits to prominent men like Okonkwo.""The only other person is Udenkwo."How is your father?" Obierika asked. A great evil has come upon their land as the Oracle had warned. and no longer rebuked him or beat him. I would sooner strangle him with my own hands. and so all the clan was at his funeral. It is like Dimaragana." she replied. as you know. But they have cast you out like lepers. Her deepening despair found expression in the names she gave her children. Okonkwo had gone to a medicine man. it is play'.""Is he well?" asked Nwoye.

Then the tragedy of his first son had occurred.Ezinma lay shivering on a mat beside a huge fire that her mother had kept burning all night. especially the youngest. 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."What does it all mean?" asked Mr. Her daughter was only ten years old but she was wiser than her years. But at that very moment Chielo's voice rose again in her possessed chanting. But he thought that one could not begin too early. He had become wholly absorbed into his new family.""The world is large. taking each string separately. but he had not expected he would be so generous. He tried in vain to force the thought out of his mind." Okonkwo thundered.Am oyim de de de de! flew around the dark. She had about three teeth and was always smoking her pipe. But you were rich. But all he said was: "When shall I go home?" When Okonkwo heard that he would not eat any food he came into the hut with a big stick in his hand and stood over him while he swallowed his yams. He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else - with a heavy hand.

and was full of the sap of life. and the burial was near. woman."Go and burn your mothers' genitals. And so he was always happy when he heard him grumbling about women.""How did they get hold of Ancto to hang him?" asked Okonkwo.Ekwefi rose early on the following morning and went to her farm with her daughter. and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back. She walked numbly along. Ezinma took it to him in his obi. She was rewarded by occasional spells of health during which Ezinma bubbled with energy like fresh palm-wine. He brought another seven baskets and cooked them himself. Only the word of our God is true.' Maduka has been watching your mouth." he said. Unoka stood before her and began his story. I do not owe my inlaws anything. The suitor was a young man of about twenty-five. talking excitedly and praying that the locusts should camp in Umuofia for the night.

" Ukegbu said. Ekwefi muttered. But the arrivees persevered.""UGG SlippersToo much of his grandfather. woman. Their children carried pots of water. But good men who worshipped the true God lived forever in His happy kingdom.All the umunna were invited to the feast. As the rains became heavier the women planted maize. Somewhere a man was taking one of the titles of his clan."When they had eaten. consulting among themselves and with the leaders of the two wrestling teams. and the whole country became the brown-earth color of the vast. But he had recently fallen ill. They were beaten in the prison by the kotma and made to work every morning clearing the government compound and fetching wood for the white Commissioner and the court messengers. They were locusts. it is play'. The birds were silenced in the forests. "Tortoise and Cat went to wrestle against Yams??no.

Ezinma turned left as if she was going to the stream. red in tooth and claw. He had a large barn full of yams and he had three wives. "I warned Nwankwo to keep a sharp eye and a sharp ear. And as if they had been waiting for that. But Ekwefi and Ezinma had heard the noise and run out to see what it was. but he had not expected he would be so generous."We still have a long way to go."Ezeudu was a great man. Okonkwo's first son. called the converts the excrement of the clan. Do you not think that they came to our clan by mistake.Okonkwo spent the next few days preparing his seed-yams. The moon had been rising later and later every night until now it was seen only at dawn. gome. People called on their neighbors and drank palm-wine. but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders. Tortoise had no wings. was expected to invite large numbers of guests from far and wide.

Ezeudu had taken three titles in his life. who must taste his wine before anyone else. 'It just walked away."Come and show me the exact spot. "They are young tubers. and they had quickened their steps. She called her by her name. He had discerned a clear overtone of tragedy in the crier's voice.And the little church was at that moment too deeply absorbed in its own troubles to annoy the clan. He thought of his mother and his three-year-old sister and wept bitterly. The pots of wine stood in their midst. "They had been warned that danger was ahead. Umuofia.The elders. He would now have to make a bigger farm." replied Uzowulu."Ezinma's voice from the darkness warmed her mother's heart. But somehow he knew he was not going to see them. where his friend gave them out year by year to sharecroppers.

" said Ogbuefi Ezeudu. Okonkwo. "In those other clans you speak of. and long stacks of yam stood out prosperously in it."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o-o. The personal dynamism required to counter the forces of these extremes of weather would be far too great for the human frame. Then he and another man went before Ikemefuna and set a faster pace. She was about sixteen and just ripe for marriage. and he never saw her again. as was the custom. Am I dead? They said I would die if i took care of twins. But before he could answer."Do you think you are cutting up yams for cooking?" he asked Nwoye. The dark top soil soon gave way to the bright red earth with which women scrubbed the floors and walls of huts. very much shaken and frightened but quite unhurt. spears. That was a source of great sorrow to the leaders of the clan.Thus the men of Umuofia pursued their way. They will take him outside Umuofia as is the custom.

"Okonkwo has spoken the truth. Once or twice he tried to run away. came first."Before God. she was dead. He could hardly imagine that Okonkwo was not his real father. His death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles. and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back. Ezinma went with her and helped in preparing the vegetables. But tonight she was addressing her prophecy and greetings to Okonkwo. And so Tortoise ate the best part of the food and then drank two pots of palm-wine. That was a source of great sorrow to the leaders of the clan. She was very friendly with Ekwefi and they shared a common shed in the market. Each of them carried a long cane basket." said Ekwefi. untouched by the ax and the bush-fire. Ekwefi muttered. She walked numbly along. Ezigbo.

"Bear no hand in his death. gome. The men trod dry leaves on the sand. She went on fanning it until it burst into flames. Mgbafo and her brothers were as still as statues into whose faces the artist has molded defiance. His enemies said his good fortune had gone to his head. and asked no questions. and kill him there. Anyone who knew his grim struggle against poverty and misfortune could not say he had been lucky. Now he has won our brothers. There was once a man who went to sell a goat.""Ee-e-e!""And this will not be the last. He was ill for three market weeks. And then one morning three white men led by a band of ordinary men like us came to the clan. and Ojiugo's daughter.- that she did not blame others for their good fortune but her own evil chi who denied her any?At last Ezinma was born."I did not say He had a wife. He would stamp out the disquieting signs of laziness which he thought he already saw in him." answered his first wife.

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. as if that was paying the big debts first. It was already dusk when the two parties came to this agreement. Unoka."Odukwe's body. 'Ogbuefi Ndulue. or playground."Umuofia kwenu." the convert maintained."What are you doing here?" Obierika had asked when after many difficulties the missionaries had allowed him to speak to the boy.""Is he well?" asked Nwoye. and in a basket beside her were green vegetables and beans. the man saw it vaguely in the darkness. Once in a while two young men carrying palm fronds ran round the circle and kept the crowd back by beating the ground in front of them or. Okonkwo and the two boys were working on the red outer walls of the compound. And supporting his mother also meant supporting his father. Unoka loved it all. and Umuofia. As soon as he heard of the great feast in the sky his throat began to itch at the very thought.

and the quiet spectators murmured to themselves.But Ekwefi did not hear these consolations."You know what it is. Of all his children she alone understood his every mood.Okonkwo returned when he felt the medicine had cooked long anough. But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship. and he told them stories of the land??masculine stories of violence and bloodshed. As soon as he heard of the great feast in the sky his throat began to itch at the very thought. He had an old rusty gun made by a clever blacksmith who had come to live in Umuofta long ago. My in-law. but it was too far to see what they were." And he took another pinch of snuff."You think you are the greatest sufferer in the world? Do you know that men are sometimes banished for life? Do you know that men sometimes lose all their yams and even their children? I had six wives once. The men were seized and beaten until they streamed with blood. It was on the seventh day that he died. They were called kotma. And then appeared on the horizon a slowly-moving mass like a boundless sheet of black cloud drifting towards Umuofia. But it was the season of rest between the harvest and the next planting season. and it seldom did.

And so for three years Ikemefuna lived in Okonkwo's household.- one could not have known where one's mouth was in the darkness of that night. He can curse the gods of his fathers and his ancestors. And what do you think the Oracle would do then?""You know very well."Our father. who are known in all the nine villages for your valor in war? How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo. Whenever Nwoye's mother sang this song he felt carried away to the distant scene in the sky where Vulture. "Blessed is he who forsakes his father and his mother for my sake. Ezinma wielded a strong influence over her half-sister. he was terribly afraid. And in a clear unemotional voice he told Umuofia how their daughter had gone to market at Mbaino and had been killed. for in spite of the palm fruit hung across the mouth of the pot to restrain the lively liquor.Ekwefi rose early on the following morning and went to her farm with her daughter. He neither inherited a barn nor a title. "Your friend Anene asked me to greet you. brought in a pot of sweet wine tapped from the raffia palm."Our father. Kiaga was going to send into the village for his men-converts when he saw them coming on their own. Dum! Dum! Dum! boomed the cannon at intervals.

A sickly odor hung in the air wherever he went. "And so they killed the white man and tied his iron horse to their sacred tree because it looked as if it would run away to call the man's friends. May all you took out return again tenfold. and it came floating on the wind. and he told them stories of the land??masculine stories of violence and bloodshed. And she enjoyed above all the secrecy in which she now ate them. all alone in that fearful place. Anasi was the first wife and the others could not drink before her. An osu could not attend an assembly of the free-born. His death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles."Obiako has always been a strange one. He passed her a piece of fish. Because he had taken titles."Nwoye did not fully understand. Some of them will even ride the iron horse themselves. They throw away large numbers of men and women without burial.""It means you are going to cry. broke into life and activity. Some were great farmers.

Okonkwo always asked his wives' relations. one of those wicked children who." came her voice. He told you that he came to take back her bride-price and we refused to give it him.""That is very true. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy. not even with broomsticks. Okonkwo and his wife followed at a respectful distance.Okagbue had again taken over the digging from Okonkwo. As Idigo had said. The sun breaking through their leaves and branches threw a pattern of light and shade on the sandy footway. paid regular visits to them. this medicine stands on the market ground in the shape of an old woman with a fan. have no toes. Nwoye overheard it and burst into tears. He died of the swelling which was an abomination to the earth goddess. Go home and work like a man."Oye." They all laughed.

He would return later to his mother and his brothers and sisters and convert them to the new faith. Many people laughed at his dialect and the way he used words strangely. Ekwefi was the only person in the happy company who went about with a cloud on her brow. The old man who received him was his mother's younger brother." And so they all went to help Obierika's wife??Nwoye's mother with her four children and Ojiugo with her two. His fame rested on solid personal achievements."Ezinma's voice from the darkness warmed her mother's heart."Nwakibie cleared his throat. It was a sad miscalculation. was a failure. They should have armed themselves with their guns and their machetes even when they went to market. "I remember when I was a young boy there was a song about them. too old to attend Ndulue during his illness. who had given much money to the white man's messengers and interpreter. Only the really great men in the clan were able to do this. conversing with his father in low tones. Her arms were folded across her bare breasts. empty men. and after that the dry season.