accompanied by the wail of his wives and children. They were merely cleansing the land which Okonkwo had polluted with the blood of a clansman.

It was on the seventh day that he died
It was on the seventh day that he died. There was authority in her bearing and she looked every inch the ruler of the womenfolk in a large and prosperous family. They were called kotma. especially with the children. But somehow he knew he was not going to see them. emerged from her hut.That was years ago. from Umuofia to Mbaino. There was something in it like the companionship of equals." she said."1 don't know. It is against the will of God. They sang songs as they went. Each of his three wives had her own hut." said Obierika. Had she been running too? How could she go so fast with Ezinma on her back? Although the night was cool. Sometimes it was not necessary to dig. His mind went to his latest show of manliness. Then Chielo's renewed outburst came from only a few paces ahead. Two judges walked around the wrestlers and when they thought they were equally matched. Okonkwo and his wife followed at a respectful distance. She will be a good wife to you. No matter how prosperous a man was."Ezinma went outside and brought some sticks from a huge bundle of firewood. He neither inherited a barn nor a title. 1 know you will not despair.

This happened in the rainy season.But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through. His visitor was amazed. Everybody was killed. but six. A bond of sympathy had grown between them as the years had passed. The Lord shall have them in derision." He turned again to Okonkwo and said. Unoka." said Okagbue.' "I have no more to say to you. you sow your yams on exhausted farms that take no labor to clear. and he owed every neighbor some money. It was unbelievable." Okonkwo said. leaving a regular pattern of hair. Unoka was. The sun breaking through their leaves and branches threw a pattern of light and shade on the sandy footway. The story was told in Umuofia. Not long after." They were hard and painful on the body as they fell. which was now surrounded by spectators. This one had only one hand and it carried a basket full of water.As Okonkwo sat in his hut that night. carrying a pot of palm-wine on his head. There were three men in one group and three men and one woman in the other.

and so were his cousins and their wives when he sent for them and told them who his guest was. from where he had espied a fire. and was full of the sap of life." he said and cleared his throat. "and her child is not twenty-eight days yet. 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. Nwoye overheard it and burst into tears."The missionary ignored him and went on to talk about the Holy Trinity. I salute you.She wore a coiffure which was done up into a crest in the middle of the head. and people came from far and near to consult it." He drank his palm-wine. A bowl of pounded yams can throw him in a wrestling match. The world was now peopled with vague. A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. When they carried him away."Don't be foolish. Obierika sent word that the two huts had been built and Okonkwo began to prepare for his return.""They were fools. meanwhile. unhappily."Umuofia kwenu!""Yaa!""Umuofia kwenu!""Yaa!"Evil Forest then thrust the pointed end of his rattling staff into the earth. Kiaga. It was therefore understood that Ekwefi would provide cassava lor the feast."We are all well. He stretched himself and scratched his thigh where a mosquito had bitten him as he slept.

Why do they always go for one's ears? When he was a child his mother had told him a story about it. It was Nwoye's mother. In Umunso they do not bargain at all." Obierika again drank a little of his wine. Smoke poured out of his head. was a widely-traveled man who knew the customs of different peoples. Okonkwo was only a boy then and Uchendu still remembered him crying the traditional farewell: "Mother. You grew your ears for decoration. Nwoye's mother is already cooking. "on an Eke market day a little band of fugitives came into our town. The harmattan was in the air and seemed to distill a hazy feeling of sleep on the world. She had about three teeth and was always smoking her pipe. She was about sixteen and just ripe for marriage.The crowd set out with Ezinma leading the way and Okagbue following closely behind her. he beat her again so that if the neighbors had not gone in to save her she would have been killed. Those things a man built for himself or inherited from his father. Okonkwo had called in another medicine man who was famous in the clan for his great knowledge about ogbanje children." said Obierika. young and old. will not understand me." Okonkwo thought within himself. and in the end it was decided to ostracize the Christians.It was clear from the way the crowd stood or sat that the ceremony was for men.Okonkwo and his family worked very hard to plant a new farm. When your neighbors go out with their ax to cut down virgin forests. On receiving such a message through a younger brother or sister.

" said Obiageli. You have committed a great evil."Uzowulu's body. Between Chielo's outbursts the night was alive with the shrill tremor of forest insects woven into the darkness.When all the egwugwu had sat down and the sound of the many tiny bells and rattles on their bodies had subsided. The men trod dry leaves on the sand."No. three times. Okonkwo's first son. Kiaga. It filled him with fire as it had always done from his youth. They were among the best wrestlers in all the nine villages. he burst out laughing. women and children. Near the barn was a small house." said Obierika to his son."No. silence returned to the world. If such a thing were ever to happen." said Okonkwo.""That is very bad. but they all refused. His visitor was amazed. which was rubbed with red earth so that it shone. not only in his motherland but also in Umuofia."Get me a pot.

His wife had played him false. But if you allow sorrow to weigh you down and kill you they will all die in exile. There was no barn to inherit. People made way for him on all sides and the noise subsided. "She must have broken her waterpot. and each party brought with them a huge pot of palm-wine. He held out his hands to them when they came into his obi."Another woman said. and one almost heard them stretching to breaking point. I have cleared a farm but have no yams to sow. "My father.""Not before you have had your breakfast." replied Uzowulu."Go and bring me some cold water. But he was so weak that his legs could hardly carry him. to Obierika's compound. who had been talking. making music and feasting. and he said so with much threatening. go in peace. using some of the chicken. "In Abame and Aninta the title is worth less than two cowries. "She should have been a boy.His life had been ruled by a great passion??to become one of the lords of the clan. And they might also have noticed that Okonkwo was not among the titled men and elders who sat behind the row of egwugwu. Ikemefuna came first with the biggest pot.

but nothing came out."My hand is on the ground.""There is no song in the story. It was even heard in the surrounding villages. 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. it would not be done. who was now in charge of the infant congregation. When one came to think of it. She greeted her god in a multitude of names??the owner of the future. who at once paid the heavy fine which the village imposed on anyone whose cow was let loose on his neighbors' crops. Today Okonkwo was not bringing his mother home to be buried with her people. The neighbors sat around watching the pit becoming deeper and deeper. But they dared not complain openly. Her heart beat violently and she stood still. They have said so. I am Fire-that-burns-without-faggots. and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back. The men were seized and beaten until they streamed with blood. who at once paid the heavy fine which the village imposed on anyone whose cow was let loose on his neighbors' crops."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Chielo began once again to chant greetings to her god. and we would be like Abame.At last they took a turning and began to head for the caves. people said it was refusing food.From that day Amikwu took the young bride and she became his wife. the men returned with a pot of wine. "it is this eyelid.

A steady cloud of smoke rose from his head. I have already spoken to you about him. who was fat and whose body shone as if oil was rubbed on it??"She broke off because at that very moment a loud and high-pitched voice broke the outer silence of the night. like a son. Anasi was the first wife and the others could not drink before her. It was a day old.'When Ekwefi brought the hoe. and they no longer spent the evenings in his mother's hut while she cooked." said Obierika's eldest brother. facing the elders.""It is true. And he was afraid to look back. Three men beat them with sticks. As they emerged into the open village from the narrow forest track the darkness was softened and it became possible to see the vague shape of trees. first with little sticks and later with tall and big tree branches. they said to themselves. Then from the distance came the faint beating of the ekwe."Tortoise saw all these preparations and soon discovered what it all meant. They were already far enough where they stood and there was room for running away if any of them should go towards them."You do not know the answer? So you see that you are a child. But the one knew what the other was thinking. who had joined in plucking the feathers." said Ogbuefi Ezeudu. it was true. Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly. Nwoye's mother.

They argued for a short while and fell into silence again." He prayed especially for Okonkwo and his family.He was a person dedicated to a god. Almost immediately the women came in with a big bowl of foo-foo. It very quickly went damp. silence returned to the world. Wherever he went he carried with him the mark of his forbidden caste??long. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut.She walked up to her husband and accepted the horn from him.- that she did not blame others for their good fortune but her own evil chi who denied her any?At last Ezinma was born.""They have indeed soiled the name of ozo. How could such a man be a follower of Christ?"He needs Christ more than you and I. The cannon seemed to rend the sky. It was Ekwefl's turn to tell a story. and thank Okonkwo for having looked after him so well and for bringing him back. But although Okonkwo was a great man whose prowess was universally acknowledged.' Those men of Abame were fools. I want you to be there. too busy to argue."He said nothing. Her husband's first wife had already had three sons. and had just married his third wife. At first it appeared as if it might prove too great for his spirit. He did not understand it.Okonkwo was provoked to justifiable anger by his youngest wife. but they never brought them into the village.

and gave it to Ibe to fill. somewhat indulgently. beat him up and took our sister and her children away." and they argued like this for a few moments before Unoka accepted the honor of breaking the kola. sad and pleading. She presented the cock to the musicians and began to dance. Ikemefuna was equally excited. he took with him his flute. during the last harvest season. and he prayed to the ancestors." Obierika said to Nwoye. Evil Forest represented the village of Umueru. As soon as she became pregnant she went to live with her old mother in another village."Yam pottage was served first because it was lighter than foo-foo and because yam always came first. perhaps for the first time.""Oho. nine of the greatest masked spirits in the clan came out together it was a terrifying spectacle. It was full of meat and fish. the whole clan gathers there. There was an immediate stir. But Ekwefi could not see her. thus completing a circle with their hosts. and that first man was their harbinger sent to explore the terrain."Don't be afraid. moved to the center.The footway had now become a narrow line in the heart of the forest.

""I don't know how we got that law. Obiageli brought up the rear. But it was impossible to refuse Ezinma anything. "She has iba. Obierika nodded in agreement.' Maduka has been watching your mouth. These women never saw the inside of the hut. she has told me about it. He was light in complexion and his eyes were red and fiery. His own home had gradually become very faint and distant.'Ask my dead father if he ever had a fowl when he was alive. "If you had been poor in your last life I would have asked you to be rich when you come again. Obiageli. It was a sad miscalculation. all its metal taken out of it by the vast emptiness of the cave. of how his father. "is it true that when people are grown up. You think you are still a child. We all know him. And every man whose arm was strong. And to their greatest amazement the missionaries thanked them and burst into song. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Drums beat violently and men leaped up and down in frenzy. It was difficult to say which the people enjoyed more. And it was not too hot either.He took a pot of palm-wine and a cock to Nwakibie.

Before the day was over he was dead.As Okonkwo sat in his hut that night. twenty years or more. Okonkwo. the men returned with a pot of wine. it would not be done. women and children. She greeted her god in a multitude of names??the owner of the future. only more holy than the village variety. because it would hear. And so he did now. broke into life and activity." replied Uzowulu. These moods descended on her suddenly and for no apparent reason. ivory spoon. and asking it if it had brought home any lengths of cloth. It was even said that they had hanged one man who killed a missionary.At that moment they heard someone crying just outside their compound. but he did not know where to begin. Thank you."Once upon a time. "My daughter's suitor is coming today and I hope we will clinch the matter of the bride-price. or old woman. He spoke through an interpreter who was an Ibo man. some alligator pepper and a lump of white chalk. "I shall survive anything.

"The body of Odukwe. Their wives also. go in peace. and the children reveled in the thought of being spoiled by these visitors from the motherland. and everybody agreed that he was as sharp as a razor. No. Okoye was a great talker and he spoke for a long time. took a long broom and swept the ground in front of his father's obi. The people of the sky thought it must be their custom to leave all the food for their king.Ikemefuna came to Umuofia at the end of the carefree season between harvest and planting. When Okonkwo brought him home that day he called his most senior wife and handed him over to her. 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. In the center of the crowd a boy lay in a pool of blood."You will blow your eyes out. Behind them was the big and ancient silk-cotton tree which was sacred."We are at last getting somewhere.Everyone was now about." he said. "That is the story." He looked in the direction of Okonkwo. The three white men and a very large number of other men surrounded the market. and Nwakibie's two grown-up sons were also present in his obi. as if that was paying the big debts first. Does a man speak when a god speaks? Beware!"She walked through Okonkwo's hut into the circular compound and went straight toward Ekwefi's hut."I sometimes think he is too sharp. People laughed at him because he was a loafer.

you wicked daughter of Akalogoli?" Okonkwo swore furiously. It was powerful in war and in magic. "The bell-man announced it last night. If you are sending him on an errand he flies away before he has heard half of the message. "It wounds my heart to see these young men killing palm trees in the name of tapping."We have now built a church. the old man supporting himself with his stick." said Ekwefi.Okonkwo's family was astir like any other family in the neighborhood. and drinking palm-wine copiously. We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas. bending very low at the eaves.' Why is that?"There was silence. She had balanced it on her head. Okonkwo ground his teeth in disgust. Every child loved the harvest season.Soon after Ofoedu left.""Too much of his grandfather.""I did not know that."Why is Okonkwo with us today? This is not his clan." replied her mother." He paused for a long while. pointing with his finger. years ago." Ekwefi said firmly. are known in all the clan for the weakness of your machete and your hoe.

Another one was wailing near his right ear. "I have felt it. It is a poor soil and that is why the tubers are so small. They usually stay if they do not die before the age of six. So Nwoye and Ikemefuna would listen to Okonkwo's stories about tribal wars." replied her mother. It was in fact one of them who in his zeal brought the church into serious conflict with the clan a year later by killing the sacred python. and flies went with him. He passed her a piece of fish." He turned again to Okonkwo and said. folded her arms across her breast and sighed. Nobody thought that such a thing could ever happen. for you people. Each of his three wives had her own hut. The interpreter explained each verse to the audience. Okonkwo's house was on the way to the stream. The children were also decorated. one of them did something which no one could describe because it had been as quick as a flash. had crawled out of the shrine on her belly like a snake. gome. The wailing of the women would not be heard beyond the village. "I thought he was a strong man in his youth. "But I cannot understand these things you tell me. All the family were there and some of the neighbors too. his head pointing to the earth and his legs skywards. who had begun to pour out the wine.

" He pulled his staff from the hard earth and thrust it back. Yam stood for manliness. As long as they lasted. "That boy calls you father. "All the gods you have named are not gods at all. "You fear that you will die. and of the bird eneke-nti-oba who challenged the whole world to a wrestling contest and was finally thrown by the cat. should he. They surged forward as the two young men danced into the circle. just as he would not attempt to start it in the heart of the dry season."Bring me my bag. three times."Once upon a time. How then could he have begotten a son like Nwoye. another man asked a question: "Where is the white man's horse?" he asked. "Ee-e-e!""We are giving you our daughter today. Thirty." she replied and disappeared in the darkness. It was a different woman??the priestess of Agbala.""They dare not bring fewer than thirty pots. was a very exacting king. as she had accepted others??with listless resignation. And then appeared on the horizon a slowly-moving mass like a boundless sheet of black cloud drifting towards Umuofia. and it ended on the left. At last Sky was moved to pity. They formed a circular ring with a break at one point through which the foot-track led to the center of the circle.

who would not lend his knife for cutting up dogmeat because the dog was taboo to him."They are here. He still remembered the song:Eze elina. He passed them over to his eldest brother.The night was impenetrably dark. But it would be impolite to rush him."Umuofia kwenu!" he roared. The man who dug it up was the same Okagbue who was famous in all the clan for his knowledge in these matters. They boast about victory over death. Some of them were too angry to eat.As they spoke two other groups of people had replaced the first before the egwugwu. Obierika.""It is like the story of white men who. as if he was going to pounce on somebody.Okonkwo's prosperity was visible in his household. Okonkwo stood by the pit. Ani. tears gushed from her eyes. Okonkwo made a present of two cocks to them. he was not afraid now. He would remember his own childhood. What she had seen was the shape of a man climbing a palm tree. You may ask why I am saying all this." He paused.It was well known among the people of Mbanta that their gods and ancestors were sometimes long-suffering and would deliberately allow a man to go on defying them. who was laid on a mat.

Her eyes went constantly from Ezinma to the boiling pot and back to Ezinma. welcoming it back from its long. and the sun seemed hidden behind a thick cloud. and there was too much saltpeter in it. It tried Okonkwo's patience beyond words. unless it be the emotion of anger. Amikwu. lest he should be found to resemble his father. and within a short time all the birds agreed that he was a changed man.Sometimes a man came to consult the spirit of his dead father or relative. Nwoye's mother. And so she brought out her husband's hoes. It was like the pulsation of its heart. But before they left each took back the feather he had lent to Tortoise. if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man."Then listen to me. The heathen speak nothing but falsehood. You grew your ears for decoration. But it was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth."The weeping was now quite close and soon the children filed in. they ought to know that Akueke is the bride for a king. The law of Umuofia is that if a woman runs away from her husband her bride-price is returned. but when they went away Okonkwo sat still for a very long time supporting his chin in his palms. Do you know how many children I have buried??children I begot in my youth and strength? Twenty-two. setting up a wave of expectation in the crowd.Ezinma grew up in her father's exile and became one of the most beautiful girls in Mbanta.

But there is just one question I would like to ask him. 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. when his father walked in that night after killing Ikemefuna. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart. Okonkwo decided to go out hunting. and had just married his third wife. It was even heard in the surrounding villages. yams of the old year were all disposed of by those who still had them.But it was really not true that Okonkwo's palm-kernels had been cracked for him by a benevolent spirit. It was only then that they exchanged greetings and shook hands over what was left of the food."He belongs to the clan. She could hear the priestess' voice. Thank you. This happened in the rainy season. would wipe them off the face of the earth. It was like pouring grains of corn into a bag full of holes. as if he was going to pounce on somebody. Okonkwo had returned home and sat waiting. We all know him.Very soon after. And so they each took a new name.The young church in Mbanta had a few crises early in its life. On the last night before the festival. If we were all afraid of blood. Okonkwo's son. How could such a man be a follower of Christ?"He needs Christ more than you and I.

" said Obierika."Where is Mgbogo?" asked one of them. They thought the priestess might be going to her house. and they. He knew that he was a fierce fighter. and asked no questions. The moon must be preparing to rise. He still remembered the song:Eze elina. he burst out laughing." said Okonkwo. they take new names for the occasion." he said. and they agreed about the beating." Obierika said to his son."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. and his children the while praying to the white man's god. Earth's emissary.Anasi was a middle-aged woman.""There is no song in the story. They set fire to his houses." said Idigo. Kiaga restrained them.But Ezinma's iyi-uwa had looked real enough. But the arrivees persevered. He had no patience with unsuccessful men. But you were a fearless warrior.

But the arrivees persevered. His wives and children were very happy too. lest he should be found to resemble his father. That had been his life-spring. They were already far enough where they stood and there was room for running away if any of them should go towards them."Is that enough?" she asked when she had poured in about half of the water in the bowl."What are you doing here?" Obierika had asked when after many difficulties the missionaries had allowed him to speak to the boy.As they trooped through Okonkwo's obi he asked: "Who will prepare my afternoon meal?""I shall return to do it."Looking at a king's mouth."But you said it was where they bury children?" asked the medicine man. "What will the heathen say of us when they hear that we receive osu into our midst? They will laugh. Nma. Ekwefi then became defiant and called her next child Onwuma??"Death may please himself. that Chielo had stopped her chanting. He did not cry. now desperate. Not long after. He had an old rusty gun made by a clever blacksmith who had come to live in Umuofta long ago. talking was the next best. "1 have brought you this little kola. Smoke poured out of his head. and he was soon chosen as the man to speak for the party because he was a great orator. from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts."1 am one of them. It was not the mad logic of the Trinity that captivated him. yet young people ran about happily picking up the cold nuts and throwing them into their mouths to melt.

There were no stars in the sky because there was a rain-cloud.As the men ate and drank palm-wine they talked about the customs of their neighbors." Then more pots came. But somehow he knew he was not going to see them. But in spite of these disadvantages. Okonkwo pleaded with her to come back in the morning because Ezinma was now asleep.Later.Ekwefi ladled her husband's share of the pottage into a bowl and covered it. father? You are beyond our knowledge." he announced when he sat down. Even the sacred fish in their mysterious lake have fled and the lake has turned the color of blood. And if they could not help in digging up the yams. just beyond the borders of Mbaino. as a sullen husband refuses his wife's food when they have quarrelled." said his daughter Ezinma when she brought the food to him. "We are going directly. She felt cold.She set the pot on the fire and Okonkwo took up his machete to return to his obi. You yourselves took her.Perhaps it never did happen. and Okonkwo filled his horn again." said Obiageli.""If we leave our gods and follow your god. She is called Ozoemena. She had married Anene because Okonkwo was too poor then to marry. as was the custom.

thirty-five." She died in her eleventh month." said the interpreter.Nneka had had four previous pregnancies and child-births. He turned it on to his left palm. They sat in a half-moon." said Ezinma.As the last heavy rains of the year began to fall. But it was impossible to refuse Ezinma anything. That is why Tortoise's shell is not smooth. do you know me?" asked the spirit. broke into life and activity. just emerged from the earth.And then the priestess screamed. spread her mat on the floor and built a fire. but not today.That night he collected his most valuable belongings into head-loads. In front of them was a row of stools on which nobody sat. They sang songs as they went."Where are her children? Did she take them?" he asked with unusual coolness and restraint." said his daughter Ezinma when she brought the food to him."No. As she stood gazing at the circular darkness which had swallowed them.Large crowds began to gather on the village ilo as soon as the edge had worn off the sun's heat and it was no longer painful on the body. A few moments later he went behind the hut and began to vomit painfully. and so they stood waiting.

into a healthy. Her basket was balanced on her head." The man who had contradicted him had no titles. and they no longer spent the evenings in his mother's hut while she cooked. 'You have done very well. there was no other way. and his children the while praying to the white man's god. The hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and in fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul??the question of the twins crying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killed. love returned once more to her mother. called on Okonkwo in his obi. A sudden hush had fallen on the women. and the elders of his family." said his daughter Ezinma when she brought the food to him. Why is it that when a woman dies she is taken home to be buried with her own kinsmen? She is not buried with her husband's kinsmen."What are you doing here?" Obierika had asked when after many difficulties the missionaries had allowed him to speak to the boy. the suitor. and the world lay panting under the live.Nwoye struggled to free himself from the choking grip. The crowd followed her silently. And he was already beginning to know some of the simple stories they told. Many of them spoke at great length and in fury. perhaps for the first time. It was one of those gay and rollicking tunes of evangelism which had the power of plucking at silent and dusty chords in the heart of an Ibo man. She nodded. and you are afraid. The people surged forward.

"He said nothing. and the crowd yelled in answer. He could not understand it until he looked back and saw that what he led at the end of the tether was not a goat but a heavy log of wood. Obierika sent word that the two huts had been built and Okonkwo began to prepare for his return. looking at Nwakibie's elder son Igwelo with a malicious twinkle in his eye. I do not owe my inlaws anything. The next child was a girl."Leave her to me. They were duly presented to the women. But now she found the half-light of the incipient moon more terrifying than darkness. he took with him his flute. It had been early in the morning. and he saw himself taking the highest title in the land. who had begun to pour out the wine.Onwumbiko was not given proper burial when he died. Uzowulu and his relative. He died and rotted away above the earth. "that Okonkwo and I were talking about Abame and Aninta."How can I know?" Ekwefi wanted her to work it out herself. He was greatly surprised.An iron gong sounded. who at once paid the heavy fine which the village imposed on anyone whose cow was let loose on his neighbors' crops. Children were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits.""Do you think a thief can do that kind of thing single-handed?" asked Nwankwo."Don't be afraid. At first they were afraid they might die.

It was a fierce contest. Obierika and half a dozen other friends came to help and to console him. My mother was one of you."We have now built a church. Uzowulu should recover from his madness and come in the proper way to beg his wife to return she will do so on the understanding that if he ever beats her again we shall cut off his genitals for him.Okonkwo took the bowl from her and gulped the water down.""What will I see?" she asked. Obiageli. They sang the latest song in the village:" If I hold her handShe says. and the sun seemed hidden behind a thick cloud.The contest began with boys of fifteen or sixteen.""And so everybody comes. But for a young man whose father had no yams. It was said that they had built a place of judgment in Umuofia to protect the followers of their religion. Once upon a time there was a great famine in the land of animals. Nwoye's sister. Ani. When they carried him away. "I am an old man and I like to talk. Ogbuefi Ezeugo was a powerful orator and was always chosen to speak on such occasions. and with him were his father and uncle. Aninta. the fear of the forest. "that I shall bring many iron horses when we have settled down among them. He pressed the trigger and there was a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children. They were merely cleansing the land which Okonkwo had polluted with the blood of a clansman.