song. their hoes and machetes. who had been walking about aimlessly in his compound in suppressed anger." said Ekwefi with a heavy sigh.

Such was Unoka's fate
Such was Unoka's fate. It was a sad miscalculation. The ill-fated lad was called Ikemefuna. May all you took out return again tenfold. Was it not on an Eke day that they fled into Umuofia?" he asked his two companions. What did they know about the man?" He ground his teeth again and told a story to illustrate his point. was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness. 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. "that was why the snake-lizard killed his mother. He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else - with a heavy hand. And so he changed the subject and talked about music. The old man who received him was his mother's younger brother. Ekwefi brought her to the fireplace. 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.""What will I see?" she asked. 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. beat me up and took my wife and children away. Everyone was puzzled. It is not bravery when a man fights with a woman. But on further thought he told himself that Nwoye was not worth fighting for. And then it became known that the white man's fetish had unbelievable power. We heard of it. into a healthy.The footway had now become a narrow line in the heart of the forest. with which they sat on the floor. He is not my father.

and so the victim could not be buried in her bowels. He could not ask another man to build his own obi for him. Their fathers had never dared to stand before our ancestors. The rainy season was approaching when they would go away until the dry season returned. Although he had prospered in his motherland Okonkwo knew that he would have prospered even more in Umuofia. tangled and dirty hair. when the land had been moistened by two or three heavy rains. An osu could not attend an assembly of the free-born." Okonkwo said. who was laid on a mat. The birds were silenced in the forests. especially at festivals and also when an old man died.Ekwefi went into her hut to cook yams. The air was full of dust and the smell of gunpowder. No one had ever beheld Agbala. But they dared not complain openly. But all of a sudden she would go down again. passing back the disc. The elders said locusts came once in a generation. And so the two of them refused every offer of marriage in Mbanta. he took up the rag with his left hand and began to untie it. Anasi was the first wife and the others could not drink before her. Every child loved the harvest season. She had got ready her basket of coco-yams and fish." the medicine man told Okonkwo in a cool. yellow and dark green.

That is all I am good for now. He stretched himself and scratched his thigh where a mosquito had bitten him as he slept. The fowl Ekwefi had just killed was in the wooden mortar. Now that she walked slowly she had time to think. With the help of his mother's kinsmen he built himself an obi and three huts for his wives. They have joined his religion and they help to uphold his government."Ekwefi did as she was asked.Uzowulu stepped forward and presented his case. her voice terrible as it echoed through the dark void. Now Ekwefi was a woman of forty-five who had suffered a great deal in her time. And they were right. ivory spoon. And so he killed her. He then roused Ezinma and placed her on the stool."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."No. he beat her again so that if the neighbors had not gone in to save her she would have been killed. He had lost the years in which he might have taken the highest titles in the clan.Ekwefi put a few live coals into a piece of broken pot and Ezinma carried it across the clean swept compound to Nwoye's mother." Okonkwo said. holding the ancestral staff of the family. Their church stood on a circular clearing that looked like the open mouth of the Evil Forest. and Umuofia was still swallowed up in sleep and silence when the ekwe began to talk. He still remembered the song:Eze elina. which was shaved in beautiful patterns. and before they began to speak in low tones Nwoye and Ikemefuna were sent out.

Uzowulu. They were talking excitedly among themselves because the white man had said he was going to live among them. If you turn against me when I am dead I will visit you and break your neck. others Abame or Aninta.' replied the man. Sometimes he decided that a yam was too big to be sown as one seed and he split it deftly along its length with his sharp knife. then.""The world is large. and the rest went back. the white men had also brought a government. taking their bride home to spend seven market weeks with her suitor's family.""Somebody told me yesterday. and he owed every neighbor some money.""Let us not reason like cowards. using some of the chicken. Smoke poured out of his head. Nwoye's mother thanked her and she went back to her mother's hut. Kiaga.It seemed to Ekwefi that the night had become a little lighter. Tortoise looked down from the sky and saw his wife bringing things out. The women had come to the church with empty waterpots. But the Hills and the Caves were as silent as death. The yams were then staked. He held out his hands to them when they came into his obi."Where do you sleep with your wife. His name was Nwoye.

" he said. But it had gone on living and gradually becoming stronger. carrying his stool and his goatskin bag.' he said as they flew on their way. and brought back a duckling. Such a man was Ogbuefi Ugonna. Listen to me and I shall tell you.When she had shaken hands."Ekwefi went into her hut and came out again with Ezinma. and nodded their heads in approval of all he said. She ran faster. But she refused them all.The confusion that followed was without parallel in the tradition of Umuofia. Okonkwo said he was sorry for what he had said. and the world lay panting under the live. The people of the sky thought it must be their custom to leave all the food for their king. And they were right. It was clear that the bags were full of cowries. He who brings kola brings life. The moon had been rising later and later every night until now it was seen only at dawn. It was true they were rescuing twins from the bush. as she had accepted others??with listless resignation.Uchendu had been told by one of his grandchildren that three strangers had come to Okonkwo's house. Okagbue worked tirelessly and in silence. But there was one woman who had no doubt whatever in her mind. As the rain began to fall more soberly and in smaller liquid drops.

Everyone was now about. "that he repeated over and over again a word that resembled Mbaino."Do you know Ogbuefi Ndulue?" Ofoedu asked. and others prepared vegetable soup."You must watch the pot carefully. The earth goddess whom you have insulted may refuse to give us her increase. "I thought he was a strong man in his youth. 'There is something ominous behind the silence. on the other hand." Okonkwo said.Okonkwo returned from the bush carrying on his left shoulder a large bundle of grasses and leaves. And indeed he was possessed by the fear of his father's contemptible life and shameful death. Ezinma? You are older than Obiageli but she has more sense. had gone to consult the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves to find out why he always had a miserable harvest. He would stamp out the disquieting signs of laziness which he thought he already saw in him. in their due proportions.Dusk was already approaching when their contest began. And what is the result? Their clan is full of the evil spirits of these unburied dead. Worshippers and those who came to seek knowledge from the god crawled on their belly through the hole and found themselves in a dark.""I think it is good that our clan holds the ozo title in high esteem. She trudged slowly along. this medicine stands on the market ground in the shape of an old woman with a fan. These sudden bouts of sickness and health were typical of her kind. He would stamp out the disquieting signs of laziness which he thought he already saw in him. guttural and awesome. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon.

None of them was a man of title. one saw that there was sorrow and grief there. Another one was wailing near his right ear. welcoming it back from its long. He had been cast out of his clan like a fish onto a dry. then. and on her waist four or five rows of jigida. took a long broom and swept the ground in front of his father's obi. All the grass had long been scorched brown. A woman fled as soon as an egwugwu came in sight. not for hearing. He was in fact an outcast. made up her mind.In this way the moons and the seasons passed. when she had seen Ogbu-agali-odu. He then installed his personal god and the symbols of his departed fathers. It is the law of our fathers. But Chielo ignored what he was trying to say and went on shouting that Agbala wanted to see his daughter. by Ezeani."He was not an albino. "Let us go.""You sound as if you question the authority and the decision of the Oracle." said Nwoye's mother. it was true. but if one picked out the flute as it went up and down and then broke up into short snatches. 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.

He had called the first child born to him in exile Nneka??"Mother is Supreme"??out of politeness to his mother's kinsmen. Mr. but he had been too surprised to weep. and Okonkwo's women and children heard from their huts all that she said." said the woman. It was the day on which her suitor (having already paid the greater part of her bride-price) would bring palm-wine not only to her parents and immediate relatives but to the wide and extensive group of kinsmen called umunna. men." He paused. unless it be the emotion of anger. The dark top soil soon gave way to the bright red earth with which women scrubbed the floors and walls of huts. He raised it carefully with the hoe and threw it to the surface. there was no other way." He put it down to his inflexible will. "If a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor. But that was only to be expected. who was greatly perplexed. Nwoye overheard it and burst into tears. The medicine man ignored him. It was the poetry of the new religion. Your duty is to comfort your wives and children and take them back to your fatherland after seven years. "I have even heard that in some tribes a man's children belong to his wife and her family.The elders. I have done my best to make Nwoye grow into a man. Then he burst out:"Never kill a man who says nothing. because you understand us and we understand you. She gave the dish to her father's eldest brother and then shook hands.

and drinking palm-wine copiously. with love. After a few more hoe-fuls of earth he struck the iyi-uwa." said the leader of the ecjwucjwu."Why is Okonkwo with us today? This is not his clan. also had a basket of plantains and coco-yams and a small pot of palm-oil. That was the way people answered calls from outside. what did the mother of this duckling say when you swooped and carried its child away?' 'It said nothing. Okonkwo brought out kola nut and placed it before the priest. What crime had they committed? The Earth had decreed that they were an offense on the land and must be destroyed. He warmed himself in the fire and ate the entrails. each brought her bowl of foo-foo and bowl of soup to her husband.He did not sleep at night. and old men and women would remember their youth. "I marvel at what the Lord hath wrought. and when they had seen it and thanked him. Neither of the other wives had." He paused. He addressed Nwakibie. The other wives drank in the same way.""And so everybody comes. Ukegbu counted them."You need some sleep yourself. You see. This year they talked of nothing else but the nso-ani which Okonkwo had committed." suggested Okonkwo.

"At last the party arrived in the sky and their hosts were very happy to see them." she said. drew some lines on the floor. 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. go home before Agbala does you harm. called the converts the excrement of the clan."Do you think you are cutting up yams for cooking?" he asked Nwoye. We should have waited for the sun to rise and dry the leaves. A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland. Even the very little children seemed to know. Ekwefi's mind went back to the days when they were young. turning to Obierika. Her back was turned on the footpath that led out of the hills. each brought her bowl of foo-foo and bowl of soup to her husband.These outcasts. If we put ourselves between the god and his victim we may receive blows intended for the offender."I beg you to accept this little kola. But he thought that one could not begin too early. At first they were afraid they might die. He exchanged greetings with Okonkwo and led the way into his obi. and so the victim could not be buried in her bowels. sat on a mat on the floor."Have you?" asked Obierika. Many of these messengers came from Umuru on the bank of the Great River. "Okoli told me himself that it was false. "In Abame and Aninta the title is worth less than two cowries.

He had had the same kind of feeling not long ago. 1 know you will not despair. his half-sister. and he was grateful. It was the ekwe talking to the clan. She walked numbly along." and they argued like this for a few moments before Unoka accepted the honor of breaking the kola. sang for mercy. as the saying goes. It is a bad custom because it always leads to a quarrel. who was also the youngest man in the group. and they each gave him a feather. whereupon his father beat him heavily. and on their way they paid short courtesy visits to prominent men like Okonkwo. nearly half a day's journey away.Okonkwo was sitting on a goatskin already eating his first wife's meal. he had begun even in his father's lifetime to lay the foundations of a prosperous future. She called her by her name. Stories about these strange men had grown sim one of them had been killed in Abame and his iron horse tied to the sacred silk-cotton tree. But his wives and young children were not as strong. 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." said Okonkwo." said Ekwefi."Just then Obierika's son. "So look after him. It began by naming the clan: Umuofia obodo dike! "the land of the brave.

It was a smooth pebble wrapped in a dirty rag."Oho. "I am an old man and I like to talk. Chielo never ceased in her chanting. yellow and dark green. This was before the planting season began. "He seemed to speak through his nose. It descended on him again. where he built his headquarters and from where he paid regular visits to Mr. and the meeting continued. it would have been impossible to eat. endless space in the presence of Agbala. And they began to shoot. I have cleared a farm but have no yams to sow. She did not return to Okonkwo's compound until three days before the naming ceremony. the king of crops. and the elders of his family. If I had not seen the few survivors with my own eyes and heard their story with my own ears.- that she did not blame others for their good fortune but her own evil chi who denied her any?At last Ezinma was born."What is iyi-uwa?" she asked in return. the king of crops. He was merely led into greater complexities. He called his son. 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." The boy smiled. it is play'.

Brown. not only in his motherland but also in Umuofia. Five matches ended in this way. The suitor was a young man of about twenty-five."In her hut. 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. when the sun's heat had softened. now said"You told us with your own mouth that there was only one god. Ekwefi could now discern the figure of the priestess and her burden.' Why is that?"There was silence. He grew rapidly like a yam tendril in the rainy season. He then roused Ezinma and placed her on the stool. he sat down in his obi and mourned his friend's calamity."Uzowulu's body." replied Uzowulu. Everybody in the crowd was talking." he said.Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. It was a very expensive ceremony and he was gathering all his resources together. The crowd roared and clapped and for a while drowned the frenzied drums. 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."Having spoken plainly so far. He died of the swelling which was an abomination to the earth goddess."Why is Okonkwo with us today? This is not his clan. his face beaming with blessedness and peace. he fled to Aninta to escape the wrath of the earth.

'Ask my dead father if he ever had a fowl when he was alive. and then painted his big toe. Okonkwo's fear was greater than these. others Abame or Aninta." said Nwoye's mother. He dared not go too near the missionaries for fear of his father. That was a favorite saying of children. The crowd roared and clapped and for a while drowned the frenzied drums. Every man can see it in his own compound. He had no patience with unsuccessful men."I am calling a feast because I have the wherewithal. she was in close communion with the departed fathers of the clan whose bodies had been committed to earth. urging the others to hurry up. and it seldom did. or the children of Eru. and after that the dry season. who must taste his wine before anyone else. It is the law of our fathers. to the boys and they passed it round the wooden stays and then back to him."At last the hen was plucked clean. There was authority in her bearing and she looked every inch the ruler of the womenfolk in a large and prosperous family. And it was not too hot either. folded her arms across her breast and sighed. They came when misfortune dogged their steps or when they had a dispute with their neighbors. As far as the villagers were concerned. When they finished.

"Now they are behaving like men. The story was always told of a wealthy man who set before his guests a mound of foo-foo so high that those who sat on one side could not see what was happening on the other. These court messengers were greatly hated in Umuofia because they were foreigners and also arrogant and high-handed. 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.Okonkwo and his family worked very hard to plant a new farm. a long. He had lost the years in which he might have taken the highest titles in the clan. Only the really great men in the clan were able to do this."Ezeudu was a great man. his harvest will be good or bad according to the strength of his arm. The birds were silenced in the forests.Okonkwo planted what was left of his seed-yams when the rains finally returned. The relationship between them was not only that of mother and child. the man saw it vaguely in the darkness." said Okagbue. Okonkwo stood by. Nwoye's mind had gone immediately to Nwayieke."The white man's court has decided that it should belong to Nnama's family. We put our fingers into our ears to stop us hearing." He paused. and a little hoe for digging out the tuber. It was a brief resting period between the exacting and arduous planting season and the equally exacting but light-hearted month of harvests. She broke them into little pieces across the sole of her foot and began to build a fire. "If you split another yam of this size. He had a bad chi or personal god. if one finger brought oil it soiled the others.

She will be a good wife to you. Unoka stood before her and began his story. But it was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth."Okonkwo was very lucky in his daughters. the shouting and the firing of guns. three times.And then quite suddenly a shadow fell on the world. The first voice gets to Chukwu."We have heard both sides of the case."They say that Okoli killed the sacred python. was passing by the church on his way from the neighboring village. Such a thing could never happen in his fatherland. He knew the names of all the birds and could set clever traps for the little bush rodents. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten. and Ekwefi recoiled. followed by Akueke. And indeed he was possessed by the fear of his father's contemptible life and shameful death. pushed back the bolt on his door and ran into Ekwefi's hut. It had been early in the morning. the people of the sky set before their guests the most delectable dishes Tortoise had even seen or dreamed of. He looked at each yam carefully to see whether it was good for sowing. He had lost the years in which he might have taken the highest titles in the clan.The Feast of the New Yam was approaching and Umuofia was in a festival mood. who will hold his head up among my people.The priestess had now reached Okonkwo's compound and was talking with him outside his hut. malevolent.

And it was not too hot either. And so they each took a new name. The total effect was gay and brisk.' said the young kite. moved to the center. the sky."Five women stayed behind to look after the cooking-pots. I cannot live on the bank of a river and wash my hands with spittle. was quite harmless. whose sad story is still told in Umuofia unto this day. He would have liked to return earlier and build his compound that year before the rains stopped. greeted themselves in their esoteric language. to help them in their cooking. And then like the sound of his cannon he crashed on the compound. sad and pleading. Only a week ago a man had contradicted him at a kindred meeting which they held to discuss the next ancestral feast. The same thought also came to Okonkwo's mind. Fireflies went about with their tiny green lamps. If you turn against me when I am dead I will visit you and break your neck. But after a while this custom was stopped because it spoiled the peace which it was meant to preserve. "Ozoemena was. "The world has no end. And let me tell you one thing. and saw those who stood or sat next to them.' said the young kite. "Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?""Where they bury children.

his sixteen-year-old son. Anyone seeing Chielo in ordinary life would hardly believe she was the same person who prophesied when the spirit of Agbala was upon her. and brought back a duckling. He is always in a hurry. In fact." Okonkwo and Obierika said together. "Three or four of us should stay behind. If your death was the death of nature. She greeted her god in a multitude of names??the owner of the future. "Whoever has a job in hand." Ezinma pointed out. She had balanced it on her head. but not today."And it died this morning?"Okonkwo said yes. and all were happy. they became the lords of the land. And if the clan did not exact punishment for an offense against the great goddess. "I had something better to do.When the heat of the sun began to soften. now desperate. Their hosts took him as the king of the birds.Mr.""It is already too late. just emerged from the earth.""How did they get hold of Ancto to hang him?" asked Okonkwo. and Ojiugo's daughter.

How then could he have begotten a son like Nwoye. "Life to you. I cannot live on the bank of a river and wash my hands with spittle." he said. for his father's relatives to see. yams of the old year were all disposed of by those who still had them. And it began to shake and rattle.' Those men of Abame were fools. Okonkwo told him. They had no hatred in their hearts against Okonkwo. she sat down on a stony ledge and waited.There were twelve men on each side and the challenge went from one side to the other. and scorched all the green that had appeared with the rains. "She should have been a boy. He had not hoped to get more than four hundred seeds. a light rain had fallen during the night and the soil would not be very hard.As the palm-wine was drunk one of the oldest members of the umunna rose to thank Okonkwo:"If I say that we did not expect such a big feast I will be suggesting that we did not know how openhanded our son. He exchanged greetings with Okonkwo and led the way into his obi. and about the locusts?? Then quite suddenly a thought came upon him. Okonkwo took up his goatskin bag to go." said some of the elders. Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood. Work no longer had for him the pleasure it used to have. Okonkwo made a present of two cocks to them. 'You have done very well. it could also mean a man who had taken no title.

" said Uchendu.Uzowulu stepped forward and presented his case. How else could they say that Ani and Amadiora were harmless? And Idemili and Ogwugwu too? And some of them began to go away. It was only then that they exchanged greetings and shook hands over what was left of the food.Each of the nine egwugwu represented a village of the clan. She began to run. He had lost the chance to lead his warlike clan against the new religion. like a hunter's dog that suddenly goes mad and turns on his master. and was now accorded great respect in all the clan.All this had happened more than a year ago and Ezinma had not been ill since. Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things. He could not take any of the four titles of the clan. who with his brothers and half-brothers had been dancing the traditional farewell to their father. the owner of all land.There were no stars in the sky because there was a rain-cloud. The bride's mother led the way. He would speak to him after the isa-ifi ceremony."When this was interpreted to the men of Mbanta they broke into derisive laughter.' said Mother Kite to her daughter." she replied. But it was impossible to refuse Ezinma anything. Some said Okafo was the better man. who was also the youngest man in the group. Later on I sold some of the seed-yams and gave out others to sharecroppers. 'There is something ominous behind the silence. All the women shouted with joy because Ekwefi's troubles were at last ended.

Some people even said that they had heard the spirits flying and flapping their wings against the roof of the cave. raised the pot on his left knee and began to pour out the wine." they said to the women. The white man had gone back to Umuofia. facing the elders and grandees of the clan." Ezinma began. Obierika. It was like pouring grains of corn into a bag full of holes. My mother was one of you. what did the mother of this duckling say when you swooped and carried its child away?' 'It said nothing. They told the white man and he smiled benevolently. who had given much money to the white man's messengers and interpreter. And supporting his mother also meant supporting his father. and a powerful flute blew a high-pitched blast. Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing. But there were some too who came because they had friends in our town. Trees were uprooted and deep gorges appeared everywhere. But they were still alive. Ezinma was crying loudly now. He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. persistent and unchanging. "Who will drink the dregs?" he asked.""What has happened to that piece of land in dispute?" asked Okonkwo. It was a very expensive ceremony and he was gathering all his resources together. 'Your dead father wants you to sacrifice a goat to him. It is the law of our fathers.

I forgot to tell you another thing which the Oracle said. Okonkwo.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. Some of these prisoners were men of title who should be above such mean occupation."They do not understand.He did not sleep at night. or God's house. trying to minimize Ojiugo's thoughtlessness. and of the bird eneke-nti-oba who challenged the whole world to a wrestling contest and was finally thrown by the cat. The suitor was a young man of about twenty-five." They laughed and agreed. "all the birds were invited to a feast in the sky.But it was really not true that Okonkwo's palm-kernels had been cracked for him by a benevolent spirit. 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. who had taken two titles. He sang. She broke a piece in two and gave it to Ezinma. boomed the hollow metal."At last the great day came and Tortoise was the first to arrive at the meeting place."Everybody thanked Okonkwo and the neighbors brought out their drinking horns from the goatskin bags they carried. But Ekwefi was not thinking about that. I salute you. When they had all taken. Has he thrown a hundred men?He has thrown four hundred men. She would die with her." asked another man.

They each made nine or ten trips carrying Okonkwo's yams to store in Obierika's barn. What would she do when they got to the cave? She would not dare to enter. I did not hang myself. She believed because it was that faith alone that gave her own life any kind of meaning. 'When mother-cow is chewing grass its young ones watch its mouth. closely followed by Nwoye and his two younger brothers.Okonkwo was also feeling tired. 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. "my eyelid is twitching." said one of them. and he said so with much threatening. all talking in low voices. He does not belong here."Don't you know what kind of man Uzowulu is? He will not listen to any other decision. Ekwefi muttered. And so although Okonkwo was still young. Tortoise had no wings. And." And he told him what an osu was. The heathen speak nothing but falsehood. and washed away the yam heaps. He stretched himself and scratched his thigh where a mosquito had bitten him as he slept. The ill-fated lad was called Ikemefuna."The two outcasts shaved off their hair. "Let us go.The moon was now up and she could see Chielo and Ezinma clearly.

" He paused for a long time and then said: "I told you on my last visit to Mbanta how they hanged Aneto. Go ahead and prepare your farm. The imagery of an efulefu in the language of the clan was a man who sold his machete and wore the sheath to battle. and the hosts looked at each other as if to say. Okonkwo and his wife followed at a respectful distance."Where have you been?" he stammered. everybody knew by instinct that they were very good to eat. they have killed me!" as he ran towards him.The Oracle was called Agbala. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone. and so all the clan was at his funeral. why it is that one of the commonest names we give our children is Nneka."Okonkwo bit his lips as anger welled up within him. But they were still alive." They all laughed. Spirits of good children lived in that tree waiting to be born."At last the great day came and Tortoise was the first to arrive at the meeting place. They did not really want them near to the clan. because there was no humanity there." answered his first wife. Igwelo had a job in hand because he had married his first wife a month or two before. But you lived long. Nwakibie sent for his wives."Three moons ago. this medicine stands on the market ground in the shape of an old woman with a fan. He tried not to think about Ikemefuna.

She placed Ezinma carefully on the bed and went away without saying a word to anybody. Nwoye's mother swore at her and settled down again to her peeling. 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. the fear of the forest. woman. What she had seen was the shape of a man climbing a palm tree.The crowd set out with Ezinma leading the way and Okagbue following closely behind her.As night fell. Alone Nnadi is cooking and eating. and one almost heard them stretching to breaking point.' said the young kite. He still missed his mother and his sister and would be very glad to see them. It was even heard in the surrounding villages. They had built their church there. Okonkwo walked behind him. 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. Amikwu."You need some sleep yourself. its sullenness over. She determined to nurse her child to health. In her hand was the cloth pad on which the pot should have rested on her head. Why had Okonkwo withdrawn to the rear? Ikemefuna felt his legs melting under him. Okonkwo made a present of two cocks to them. which was now surrounded by spectators.""The Earth cannot punish me for obeying her messenger. emerged from her hut.

as on that day. The suitor just goes on bringing bags of cowries until his in-laws tell him to stop. An osu could not attend an assembly of the free-born. also carrying an oil lamp. 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. he was treated with great honor and respect. But before they left each took back the feather he had lent to Tortoise. But Okagbue said he was not tired yet. eating the peelings. a machete for cutting down the soft cassava stem."Is this yours?" he asked Ezinma.Onwumbiko was not given proper burial when he died. But the Ibo people have a proverb that when a man says yes his chi says yes also. only more holy than the village variety. "when she was pregnant. and he owed every neighbor some money.When the women retired. It was said that they had built a place of judgment in Umuofia to protect the followers of their religion."Umezulike.There were seven drums and they were arranged according to their sizes in a long wooden basket. But everybody knew that he was going to die and Aneto got his belongings together in readiness to flee. feeling with her palm the wet. "1 shall think of another one with a song. their hoes and machetes. who had been walking about aimlessly in his compound in suppressed anger." said Ekwefi with a heavy sigh.