still told to her younger children??stories of the tortoise and his wily ways." said Ekwefi.These outcasts. The first rains were late. There was no barn to inherit.

" said one man
" said one man. But when she lived on to her fourth. But he was struck. How then could he have begotten a son like Nwoye.Okonkwo was also feeling tired."Nwoye did not fully understand." They laughed and agreed. took a long broom and swept the ground in front of his father's obi. there was no other way. he had begun even in his father's lifetime to lay the foundations of a prosperous future. and nodded their heads in approval of all he said. At first they were afraid they might die. Ozoemena??"May it not happen again. He would now have to make a bigger farm. On Obierika's side were his two elder brothers and Maduka. like learning to become left-handed in old age." Okonkwo said to the lad. and offered prayers to them on behalf of himself.""That is true.

If he had killed Ikemefuna during the busy planting season or harvesting it would not have been so bad. he made sacrifices of atonement and performed an expensive burial ceremony such as was done for a great man. He thought of his mother and his three-year-old sister and wept bitterly." said Okagbue. That was in fact the reason why he had come to see Unoka. before they finally left for their village.Seven years was a long time to be away from one's clan. He always gnashed his teeth as he listened to those who came to consult him. Maduka.Ezinma did not call her mother Nne like all children. That is why Tortoise's shell is not smooth. Obierika offered him a lobe of the kola nut he had broken with Okonkwo.Okonkwo was well received by his mother's kinsmen in Mbanta." he said. as you know. It was slow and painful. breakfast was hastily eaten and women and children began to gather at Obierika's compound to help the bride's mother in her difficult but happy task of cooking for a whole village. 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. Amadiora or the thunderbolt.

let his wing break."Although they were almost the same age. When the moon rose late in the night. Nwoye had heard that twins were put in earthenware pots and thrown away in the forest. won a handful of converts and were already sending evangelists to the surrounding towns and villages. Has he thrown a hundred men?He has thrown four hundred men. In Umunso they do not bargain at all. She gave the dish to her father's eldest brother and then shook hands. stroking her head. who was Okonkwo's father. The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought there by their young sons or slaves. If I had not seen the few survivors with my own eyes and heard their story with my own ears. There was so much food and drink that many kinsmen whistled in surprise. Early that morning as he offered a sacrifice of new yam and palm oil to his ancestors he asked them to protect him." said one of them. This was a womanly clan. such as befitted a noble warrior."That is not strange." he mocked.

Okonkwo's wives. And so nobody gave serious thought to the stories about the white man's government or the consequences of killing the Christians. When they had gone round the circle they settled down in the center. 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."Have you?" asked Obierika. raised the pot on his left knee and began to pour out the wine. "Agbala greets you. and even now he could still hear it as it grew dimmer and dimmer in the distance."The white man's court has decided that it should belong to Nnama's family.As soon as his father walked in. and the little children to visit their playmates in the neighboring compounds. Kiaga. Obierika. He was like the man in the song who had ten and one wives and not enough soup for his foo-foo. "But I want all of you to note what 1 am going to say. As soon as she got up. 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. had said to him during that terrible harvest month: "Do not despair.Sometimes a man came to consult the spirit of his dead father or relative.

It was an ill omen. Nkechi was the daughter of Okonkwo's third wife." And he arranged the requisite rites and sacrifices. that I am not afraid of blood and if anyone tells you that I am. And to their greatest amazement the missionaries thanked them and burst into song. "We have men of high title and the chief priests and the elders."They say that Okoli killed the sacred python. You may have heard of the title I intend to take shortly. The yams put on luxuriant green leaves. "Now they are behaving like men. and old men and women would remember their youth. like splitting wood. He would now have to make a bigger farm. He held up a piece of chalk. all the descendants of Okolo. The other people were released. "Mother Kite once sent her daughter to bring food. they say. Ekwefi muttered.

Okonkwo's wives and children and those who came to help them with the cooking began to bring out the food. some of them having come a long way from their homes in distant villages. you wicked daughter of Akalogoli?" Okonkwo swore furiously. When he began again."They are here. "I am an old man and I like to talk. and Okonkwo's women and children heard from their huts all that she said. The villagers were so certain about the doom that awaited these men that one or two converts thought it wise to suspend their allegiance to the new faith. He picked it up. As soon as he heard of the great feast in the sky his throat began to itch at the very thought. Obierika. Some women ran away in fear when it was thrown. But Tortoise jumped to his feet and asked: Tor whom have you prepared this feast?'"'For all of you. The heathen speak nothing but falsehood. the top one.Then the missionaries burst into song. and during this time Okonkwo's fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan.The earth quickly came to life and the birds in the forests fluttered around and chirped merrily." She died in her eleventh month.

"Answer truthfully. They will not allow us into the markets."In her hut. But Okagbue said he was not tired yet.A hush fell on the compound immediately. Unoka was able to give an answer between fresh outbursts of mirth. And they were all gay.Three young men helped Obierika to slaughter the two goats with which the soup was made.Each of the nine egwugwu represented a village of the clan. sat on the floor waiting for him to finish. It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights. a cake of salt and smoked fish which she would present to Obierika's wife. in their due proportions. "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. Thelocusts had not come for many. And there was eating and drinking till night. Ezeudu is dead. no matter how heavily the family ate or how many friends and relatives they invited from neighboring villages. who walked away and never returned.

Njide. who stood beside her. But you will never hear. "who will protect us from the anger of our neglected gods and ancestors?""Your gods are not alive and cannot do you any harm. He knew that he had lost his place among the nine masked spirits who administered justice in the clan."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o-o. and the others to the chalk quarry. and Obiageli told her mournful story. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. The story had arisen among the Christians themselves. There was an immediate stir. As soon as he heard of the great feast in the sky his throat began to itch at the very thought. As the Ibo say: "When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk. "He seemed to speak through his nose."At last the hen was plucked clean. She nodded. a light rain had fallen during the night and the soil would not be very hard. "before i learned how to tap." Obierika replied sharply.

it was true. spread her mat on the floor and built a fire.Ekwefi was tired and sleepy from the exhausting experiences of the previous night. spears."He sprang to his feet. Many years ago another egwugwu had dared to stand his ground before him and had been transfixed to the spot for two days. After that nothing happened for a long time between the church and the clan. And so the stranger had brought him." said Obierika sadly. The egwugwu with the springy walk was one of the dead fathers of the clan."We are at last getting somewhere. The Oracle said to him. and the whole country became the brown-earth color of the vast.'When Ekwefi brought the hoe."How is your father?" Obierika asked." He was talking about Okonkwo. Maduka. They stood round in a huge circle leaving the center of the playground free." As he looked into the log fire he recalled the name.

Those were good days when a man had friends in distant clans.The elders. he said to Okonkwo:"That boy calls you father." she began. 'There is nothing to fear from someone who shouts. A vague scent of life and green vegetation was diffused in the air.A strange and sudden weakness descended on Ekwefi as she stood gazing in the direction of the voices like a hen whose only chick has been carried away by a kite." said Ofoedu. because their dreaded agadi-nwayi would never fight what the Ibo call a fight of blame. and passed the disc over to his guest. Tears of gratitude filled her eyes. setting up a wave of expectation in the crowd. In the end Oduche died and Aneto was taken to Umuru and hanged."They are here. tears gushed from her eyes. which only made the darkness more profound." he said. who was laid on a mat. Okonkwo had clearly washed his hands and so he ate with kings and elders.

Ezinma struggled to escape from the choking and overpowering steam."When your wife becomes pregnant again."What does it all mean?" asked Mr. So much of it was cooked that." and they argued like this for a few moments before Unoka accepted the honor of breaking the kola. It was a great feast. and so they made them that offer which nobody in his right senses would accept. but they never brought them into the village. And supporting his mother also meant supporting his father. Everyone knew then that she would live because her bond with the world of ogbanje had been broken. "on an Eke market day a little band of fugitives came into our town. Their fathers had never dared to stand before our ancestors."One of them passes here frequently. The first rains were late. a debtor. And so she brought out her husband's hoes. It was powerful in war and in magic.""Very true. The same thought also came to Okonkwo's mind.

There were seven drums and they were arranged according to their sizes in a long wooden basket."After the kola nut had been eaten Okonkwo brought his palm- wine from the corner of the hut where it had been placed and stood it in the center of the group. He could not ask another man to build his own obi for him. He can curse the gods of his fathers and his ancestors. Dangerous animals became even more sinister and uncanny in the dark. Are you deaf?" Okonkwo roared at her. Her basket was balanced on her head."Get me a pot. "the goddess of the earth."They say that Okoli killed the sacred python. Obierika." Umuofia obodo dike! Umuofia obodo dike! It said this over and over again. When they had all taken. Her brass anklets rattled as she danced and her body gleamed with cam wood in the soft yellow light. but he stood beckoning to them."Ekwefi.' said Mother Kite to her daughter. 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. He would return with a flourish.

"You fear that you will die. If we allow you to come with us you will soon begin your mischief. worthless. Tortoise also took one."The court messengers did not like to be called Ashy-Buttocks. Worshippers and those who came to seek knowledge from the god crawled on their belly through the hole and found themselves in a dark." he said to Ikemefuna. When they carried him away." said Okonkwo.After the death of Ekwefi's second child. "People traveled more in those days. But he threw himself into it like one possessed. But Ekwefi could not see her."Take away your kola nut. No ogbanje would yield her secrets easily. Perhaps he had been going to Mbaino and had lost his way. It looked like whispering. Nwakibie brought down his own horn. People called on their neighbors and drank palm-wine.

Ekwefi brought her to the fireplace. as a sullen husband refuses his wife's food when they have quarrelled. They were duly presented to the women. suddenly overcome with fury. and each party brought with them a huge pot of palm-wine. I knew your father. Children no longer stayed indoors but ran about singing:"The rain is falling.The young men who kept order on these occasions dashed about. who had taken two titles. But somehow he knew he was not going to see them. "Let us hear Odukwe. ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn. "Welcome."As they spoke Ezinma emerged from the hut. Okonkwo and his wife followed at a respectful distance. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. The priestess was now saluting the village of Umuachi. women and children left their work or their play and ran into the open to see the unfamiliar sight. Okonkwo slept.

"Bring me a low stool for Ezinma.He wanted him to be a prosperous man. who had joined in plucking the feathers. Mgbafo and her brothers were as still as statues into whose faces the artist has molded defiance. They were locusts. I do not owe my inlaws anything. As soon as she got up. Nwoye's sister. "before 1 put any crop in the earth. Her heart beat violently and she stood still.All this had happened more than a year ago and Ezinma had not been ill since. in the sunshine. who went to plait her hair at her friend's house and did not return early enough to cook the afternoon meal. and none of them died. returning. the women who had gone for red earth returned with empty baskets. from Umuofia to Mbaino."He belongs to the clan. Umuofia has decided to kill him.

burning forehead." He danced a few more steps and went away. and the children who sang songs of welcome to them. or waist beads. Okonkwo would take care of meat and yams." said Ekwefi. He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. "and don't allow it to boil over. Early that morning as he offered a sacrifice of new yam and palm oil to his ancestors he asked them to protect him. "It pleases me to see a young man like you these days when our youth has gone so soft. some of them with their water-pots to the stream. As the elders said. Okonkwo said he was sorry for what he had said. 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. and all over her body were black patterns drawn with uli. In Umuofia's latest war he was the first to bring home a human head. making music and feasting. He went into Ekwefi's hut. 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.

"She has iba. But his whole life was dominated by fear. The Oracle of the Hills and the Caves has pronounced it. forty.As he broke the kola. Okonkwo worked on the outside of the wall and the boys worked from within. He had discerned a clear overtone of tragedy in the crier's voice. as was the custom. Some of these prisoners were men of title who should be above such mean occupation. The relationship between them was not only that of mother and child. and walked to its beat. one saw that there was sorrow and grief there. who must taste his wine before anyone else." said another woman. What crime had they committed? The Earth had decreed that they were an offense on the land and must be destroyed. but no one thought the stories were true. She then went down on one knee. and so they stood waiting."Yam pottage was served first because it was lighter than foo-foo and because yam always came first.

and was about to say something when the old man continued:"Yes. and through these Okonkwo passed the rope. and others prepared vegetable soup. A woman fled as soon as an egwugwu came in sight. He tried in vain to force the thought out of his mind. She thought of all the terrors of the night. and he gave to Vulture rain wrapped in leaves of coco-yam.Okonkwo did as the priest said." said Mr. and men dashed about in frenzy." said Mr. We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers. And so they killed him. Unoka was able to give an answer between fresh outbursts of mirth.""The Earth cannot punish me for obeying her messenger. she returned to her mother's hut to help with the cooking. "I have never seen such a large crowd of people. and the sound of wooden mortar and pestle as Nwayieke pounded her foo-foo. gome.

three times. He was roused in the morning by someone banging on his door. "They are young tubers. who had begun to pour out the wine. Thirty. but so great was the work the new religion had done among the converts that they did not immediately leave the church when the outcasts came in. her face streaming with tears. Okonkwo decided to go out hunting. Nwoye. None of his converts was a man whose word was heeded in ihe assembly of the people. and we shall all perish. like the prospect of annihilation. it said. conversing with his father in low tones. and which she no doubt still told to her younger children??stories of the tortoise and his wily ways." said Ekwefi.These outcasts. The first rains were late. There was no barn to inherit.