bringing the third dish. especially with the children. but the ekwe carried the news to all the nine villages and even beyond.

I cannot live on the bank of a river and wash my hands with spittle
I cannot live on the bank of a river and wash my hands with spittle. His mother and sisters worked hard enough. The sun breaking through their leaves and branches threw a pattern of light and shade on the sandy footway."When nearly two years later Obierika paid another visit to his friend in exile the circumstances were less happy. Such a man was Ogbuefi Ugonna.""They have indeed soiled the name of ozo. and one almost heard them stretching to breaking point. and no longer rebuked him or beat him. unearthly voice and completely covered in raffia.-but the more he tried the more he thought about him. They faced the elders. "Where are you going?" he asked. and the sands felt like live coals to the feet.""Is he staying long with us?" she asked. followed by Akueke.

the harvest of the previous year. So he began to plan how he would go to the sky.Ekwefi ladled her husband's share of the pottage into a bowl and covered it. Ojiugo's children were eating with the children of his first wife. "In many other clans a man of title is not forbidden to climb the palm tree.The confusion that followed was without parallel in the tradition of Umuofia. "I thought he was a strong man in his youth. the whole clan gathers there. Okonkwo had not bought snuff from him for a long time. But they were still alive. who was also a diviner of the Afa Oracle. He had fallen ill on the previous night. Would he recognize her now? She must have grown quite big. the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves.The last match was between the leaders of the teams.

Unoka was able to give an answer between fresh outbursts of mirth. who has promised everlasting life to all who believe in His holy name. Yam foo-foo and vegetable soup was the chief food in the celebration. Okonkwo wondered what was amiss. And this was the message." And after a pause she said: "Can I bring your chair for you?""No. Ozoemena??"May it not happen again. Unoka. Once in a while Chielo was possessed by the spirit of her god and she began to prophesy. "I shall survive anything."It is false. He was a great man. I think. How his mother would weep for joy. and it was not until late in the evening that one of them saw for the first time his in-law who had arrived during the course of the meal and had fallen to on the opposite side.

closed hut like tongues of fire. Almost immediately the women came in with a big bowl of foo-foo. Ekwefi mopped her with a piece of cloth and she lay down on a dry mat and was soon asleep."Bring me a low stool for Ezinma. His sons brought out the pots of palm-wine."Don't be afraid. "Who will drink the dregs?" he asked. It throbbed in the air. that Ekwensu. using some of the chicken. Nwoye turned round to walk into the inner compound when his father. After the pot-bearers came Ibe. Obierika pointed at the two heavy bags. he won his first three converts. He stepped forward.

And then suddenly like one possessed he shot out his left hand and pointed in the direction of Mbaino. I would have asked you to get life. he thought. and you are afraid. carrying his stool and his goatskin bag. for as soon as the first rain came farming would begin. She could not see beyond her nose. But he thought that one could not begin too early. Nwoye. The house was now a pandemonium of quavering voices: Am oyim de de de de! filled the air as the spirits of the ancestors. And so excitement mounted in the village as the seventh week approached since the impudent missionaries buill their church in the Evil Forest. suddenly found an outlet. prophesying.Ikemefuna came to Umuofia at the end of the carefree season between harvest and planting. There were only four titles in the clan.

Amikwu.""Some people say the Oracle warned him that he would fall off a palm tree and kill himself. in a cleared spot. It said that other white men were on their way. all strong and healthy. Everybody had been invited??men. The drums beat the unmistakable wrestling dance - quick. my daughter. He had never been fond of his real father. had said to him during that terrible harvest month: "Do not despair. I sacrifice a cock to Ani. One of them was so old and infirm that he leaned heavily on a stick. But Chielo's voice was still a long way away. His priestess stood by the sacred fire which she built in the heart of the cave and proclaimed the will of the god. he had gone to consult the Oracle.

Rain fell as it had never fallen before. When all the birds had gathered together. Can you tell me. my friend. He then adjusted his cloth. Has he thrown a hundred men?He has thrown four hundred men." pleaded from a reasonable distance."Leave her to me. food was presented to the guests." said Obierika. A man's place was not always there. And he told them about this new God. It was unheard of to beat somebody during the sacred week. 'If I fall down for you and you fall down for me. Unoka had a sense of the dramatic and so he allowed a pause. whose eyes."Who taps your tall trees for you?" asked Obierika. It was said that when such a spirit appeared. and after that the dry season. He told them that the true God lived on high and that all men when they died went before Him for judgment. But it is your turn now."Answer me!" he roared again. But there is one more question I shall ask you. and a great land case began. But there were some too who came because they had friends in our town. I am Dry-meat-that-fills-the-mouth.

The birds were silenced in the forests. A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. who would not lend his knife for cutting up dogmeat because the dog was taboo to him. Because of her size she made her way through trees and creepers more quickly than her followers. when she had seen Ogbu-agali-odu. When they finished. and the little children to visit their playmates in the neighboring compounds. The neighbors sat around watching the pit becoming deeper and deeper. the third highest in the land. "In many other clans a man of title is not forbidden to climb the palm tree. On Obierika's side were his two elder brothers and Maduka. "Life to you. "But I am greatly afraid. Ukegbu. He wanted Nwoye to grow into a tough young man capable of ruling his father's household when he was dead and gone to join the ancestors. And he went. She is called Ozoemena. They had built a court where the District Commissioner judged cases in ignorance. or "Mother is Supreme?" We all know that a man is the head of the family and his wives do his bidding." said Nwoye's mother.; "Did he die?" asked Ezinma. had died ten years ago. folded her arms in front of her and began to sway her waist like a grown-up young lady." she called. where every woman had a shallow well for fermenting her cassava. the son of Obierika.

He was greatly surprised. "one would think he never sucked at his mother's breast. He searched in it for his snuff-bottle. he sat down in his obi and mourned his friend's calamity. Inwardly.Ikemefuna heard a whisper close behind him and turned round sharply. He heard the voice of singing and although it came from a handful of men it was loud and confident. They set out early that morning. with which he made two wings. Anyone seeing Chielo in ordinary life would hardly believe she was the same person who prophesied when the spirit of Agbala was upon her.Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son's development.On the following morning the entire neighborhood wore a festive air because Okonkwo's friend.""Is he well?" asked Nwoye. So he waited impatiently for the dry season to come.Just then the distant beating of drums began to reach them. It was an ill omen. It might happen again this year. But the drought continued for eight market weeks and the yams were killed."I do not know the answer."I am following Chielo. When he walked. a long and thin strip of cloth wound round the waist like a belt and then passed between the legs to be fastened to the belt behind. And then after another lifetime these men opened the caves again and the locusts came to Umuofia. Nwoye's mother was very kind to him and treated him as one of her own children. He was imprisoned with all the leaders of his family.""Ee-e-e!""Prosperous men and great warriors.

"I have come to you for help. where they were guarded by a race of stunted men." she replied. His name was Okagbue Uyanwa. the wife who had just been beaten murmured something about guns that never shot. If there is any one among you who thinks he knows more let him speak up. and the children reveled in the thought of being spoiled by these visitors from the motherland. full of power and beauty. butwhenever she thought she saw their shape it immediately dissolved like a melting lump of darkness. others said he was not the equal of Ikezue. "It is not to pay you back for all you did for me in these seven years." he said when Okonkwo had spoken. but they never brought them into the village." She died in her eleventh month."Yam pottage was served first because it was lighter than foo-foo and because yam always came first.""Too much of his grandfather. At such times she seemed beyond danger. holding it by the ankle and dragging it on the ground behind him." he said. He breathed heavily. They also said I would die if I built my church on this ground." said Ekwefi with a heavy sigh. every man with his goatskin bag hung on one shoulder and a rolled goatskin mat under his arm. Obierika." he told her. shook hands with Okonkwo and went into the compound.

She gave the dish to her father's eldest brother and then shook hands."Is this yours?" he asked Ezinma. spread her mat on the floor and built a fire. her face streaming with tears. They sang the latest song in the village:" If I hold her handShe says. 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."Every year. and terror seized her." and on each occasion he faced a different direction and seemed to push the air with a clenched fist. He asked them for health and children.In this way the moons and the seasons passed. We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas. His priestess stood by the sacred fire which she built in the heart of the cave and proclaimed the will of the god. He dared not go too near the missionaries for fear of his father."Who is that?" he growled. He was a leper. gods of wood and stone. despite his madness.As he broke the kola.When she had shaken hands. they say. They became ordinary human beings again. He would speak to him after the isa-ifi ceremony. It was then uncertain whether the low rumbling of Amadiora's thunder came from above or below. But good men who worshipped the true God lived forever in His happy kingdom."Umuofia kwenu!" roared Evil Forest.

What would she do when they got to the cave? She would not dare to enter."I will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan. asked on behalf of the clan to look after him in the interim.And now the rains had really come.On the following morning the entire neighborhood wore a festive air because Okonkwo's friend.""You do not understand. "In many other clans a man of title is not forbidden to climb the palm tree. he would use his fists." replied Okonkwo."That will not be enough."How is your father?" Obierika asked. in the sunshine. Unoka stood before her and began his story. But a few years later she ran away from her husband and came to live with Okonkwo.- he was full of cunning. as if he was going to pounce on somebody. whose frantic rhythm was no longer a mere disembodied sound but the very heartbeat of the people. Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man. and soon they were the strongest adherents of the new faith. and perhaps other women as well. where every woman had a shallow well for fermenting her cassava. now desperate."Then I shall go back to the clan. quietly and deliberately. They painted their bodies with red cam wood and drew beautiful patterns on them with uli. They can steal your cloth from off your waist in that market.

and then turning to his brother and his son he said: "Let us go out and whisper together. Okonkwo's youngest wife. Beyond that limit no man was suffered to go.Okonkwo brought out his snuff-bottle and offered it to Ogbuefi Ezenwa. Some of them were too angry to eat. There was a drinking horn in it. and its priests and medicine men were feared in all the surrounding country. Why is that? Your mother was brought home to me and buried with my people.Everybody at the kindred meeting took sides with Osugo when Okonkwo called him a woman.The earth quickly came to life and the birds in the forests fluttered around and chirped merrily. my dear friend. Age was respected among his people.Onwumbiko was not given proper burial when he died. and Ekwefi asked Nwoye's mother and Ojiugo to explain to Obierika's wife that she would be late.Okonkwo was very happy to receive his friend. The pot fell and broke in the sand. demolished his red walls."Answer me. Uchendu ground his teeth together audibly."That was many years ago. When he began again. Her voice was as clear as metal."I am following Chielo.- then silence descended from the sky and swallowed the noise. and I am happy you have come to see us. And as if they had been waiting for that.

Okonkwo. But his fondness only showed on very rare occasions. Maduka. One mind said to her: "Woman. "We should do something. "Beware of exchanging words with Agbala. 1 know more about the world than any of you. And he found that Okonkwo did not wish to speak about Nwoye. "the goddess of the earth. Quick as the lightning of Amadiora." She sat down and stretched her legs in front of her."When nearly two years later Obierika paid another visit to his friend in exile the circumstances were less happy."Unoka was like that in his last days. She was particularly fond of Ekwefi's only daughter.And so nature was not interfered with in the middle of the rainy season. it is play'. But the arrivees persevered. He was in fact an outcast." she began." He sipped his wine. And so nobody gave serious thought to the stories about the white man's government or the consequences of killing the Christians. Some of them were accompanied by their sons bearing carved wooden stools. But it was a resilient spirit." he told her. And if anything happened to her could she stop it? She would not dare to enter the underground caves. That was in fact the reason why he had come to see Unoka.

But the really exciting moments were when a man was thrown. when Okonkwo's in-laws began to leave for their homes The second day of the new year was the day of the great wrestling match between Okonkwo's village and their neighbors. We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers. They guarded the prison. but she was held down.; "Did he die?" asked Ezinma." he said. but they were really talking at the top of their voices. machetes. rubbing her eyes and stretching her spare frame. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion.The next morning the crazy men actually began to clear a part of the forest and to build their house." he said. Spirits always addressed humans as "bodies. and they beat the men. For days and nights together it poured down in violent torrents."No. who saw only its back with the many-colored patterns and drawings done by specially chosen women at regular intervals. Each of Uchendu's five sons contributed three hundred seed-yams to enable their cousin to plant a farm. They became ordinary human beings again."Yes." said Okonkwo. He then roused Ezinma and placed her on the stool. bringing the third dish. especially with the children. but the ekwe carried the news to all the nine villages and even beyond.