twenty years or more. All the grass had long been scorched brown."When your wife becomes pregnant again."Our father.

" she said
" she said. but even if you came into your obi and found her lover on top of her. Even the greatest medicine men took shelter when he was near. After that they began to eat and to drink the wine. When all was laid out. He ate a few more pieces of plaintain and pushed the dish aside. "You look very tired. Your mother is there to protect you. Many young men have come to me to ask for yams but I have refused because I knew they would just dump them in the earth and leave them to be choked by weeds. of how his father. "Are you mad?"Okonkwo did not answer. "Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?""Where they bury children. because you understand us and we understand you.- they merely set the scene. almost to himself. and he knew that his father wanted him to be a man. I did not send her away. Okonkwo's gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy's heart. Ekwefi could now discern the figure of the priestess and her burden. woman. In his day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow.

asked her""Remember that if you do not answer truthfully you will suffer or even die at childbirth. There was once a man who went to sell a goat. His mind went back to Ikemefuna and he shivered. And he found that Okonkwo did not wish to speak about Nwoye. and flies went with him." said Okonkwo. And indeed he was possessed by the fear of his father's contemptible life and shameful death. It might happen again this year. Young men pounded the foo-foo or split firewood. His wives wept bitterly and their children wept with them without knowing why. He woke up once in the middle of the night and his mind went back to the past three days without making him feel uneasy. was a man's crop."It was Wednesday in Holy Week and Mr." said Ekwefi. And there he stood in his hard shell full of food and wine but without any wings to fly home. And what is the result? Their clan is full of the evil spirits of these unburied dead. Brown." replied Okoye. His mind went back to Ikemefuna and he shivered." answered one of Obierika's companions. It was a smooth pebble wrapped in a dirty rag.

" said Machi. Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent." replied Odukwe. he thought.The confusion that followed was without parallel in the tradition of Umuofia."At last the great day came and Tortoise was the first to arrive at the meeting place."Nwakibie cleared his throat.""The world is large. forty. The huge voice of the crowd then rose to the sky and in every direction. At last Sky was moved to pity. but they all refused. He heaved a heavy sigh and went away with the gun. In the end he decided that Nnadi must live in that land of Ikemefuna's favorite story where the ant holds his court in splendor and the sands dance forever.- they must be going towards Umuachi.""It means you are going to cry. Every man wears the thread of title on his ankle. Her eyes went constantly from Ezinma to the boiling pot and back to Ezinma."Locusts are descending."Father. and Ojiugo's daughter.

" said Mr. or ndichie. She turned round sharply and walked through Okonkwo's hut. "If you had been poor in your last life I would have asked you to be rich when you come again.Okonkwo was beginning to feel like his old self again. whom he had thrown away.Ekwefi had suffered a good deal in her life. 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. But as he flew home his long talon pierced the leaves and the rain fell as it had never fallen before. The saying of the elders was not true??that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed. Unoka. It filled him with fire as it had always done from his youth."Ask Akueke's mother to send us some kola nuts. Uchendu ground his teeth together audibly.And so Obierika went to Mbanta to see his friend. She greeted her god in a multitude of names??the owner of the future. "It's true that a child belongs to its father.Okonkwo was also feeling tired. some were orators who spoke for the clan. At last Sky was moved to pity. who then unrolled the goatskin which he carried under his arm.

Okonkwo's first son. Maduka. Its most potent war-medicine was as old as the clan itself. She just jogged along in a half-sleep."The body of Odukwe. he was at a loss. The naming ceremony after seven market weeks became an empty ritual.Ekwefi had suffered a good deal in her life. "It is a strange and terrible story." And he arranged the requisite rites and sacrifices. killed his animals and destroyed his barn. All the women shouted with joy because Ekwefi's troubles were at last ended. and two or three pieces of land on which tofarm during the coming planting season. The youngest of them was four years old.""That is very bad. beat me up and took my wife and children away. and in the end it was decided to ostracize the Christians. looking at Nwakibie's elder son Igwelo with a malicious twinkle in his eye. This man told him that the child was an ogbanje. She gave the dish to her father's eldest brother and then shook hands. Every nerve and every muscle stood out on their arms.

"What are you doing here?" Obierika had asked when after many difficulties the missionaries had allowed him to speak to the boy."There must be something behind it.The next morning the crazy men actually began to clear a part of the forest and to build their house." said Okonkwo after a pause. The harvest was over." said Machi. lasted only a brief moment."Who are the young men with you?" he asked as he sat down again on his goatskin. afraid of your next-door neighbor. And she enjoyed above all the secrecy in which she now ate them." said Obierika. It was the time for treading red earth with which to build walls. One of them was a pathetic cry."When this was interpreted to the men of Mbanta they broke into derisive laughter. He who brings kola brings life. and earth and sky once again became separate. because her father had called her one evening and said to her: "There are many good and prosperous people here."It is not our custom to fight for our gods." ';. Unoka. and there was too much saltpeter in it.

Her name was Nneka."Then kill yourself. He rounded off his prayer and went to see what it was all about. He had five other sons and he would bring them up in the way of the clan. who will hold his head up among my people. These moods descended on her suddenly and for no apparent reason. have no toes. When they did. she thought.Okonkwo sprang from his bed. but Okonkwo sat unmoved. In the end Parrot. She is called Ozoemena. He made him feel grown-up. It was a tremendous sight. but achievement was revered. It was the ekwe talking to the clan. you have become a woman indeed. Without it. We would then not be held accountable for their abominations. He could hear in his mind's ear the blood-stirring and intricate rhythms of the ekwe and the udu and the ogene.

in turn. in the land of his fathers where men were bold and warlike. cutting down every tree or animal they saw. blowing it with her breath. They came when misfortune dogged their steps or when they had a dispute with their neighbors." They offered them as much of the Evil Forest as they cared to take. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women's stories. but the villagers told them that there was no king. When she had borne her third son in succession. and the planting began." he mocked. but he went to the birds and asked to be allowed to go with them.Okonkwo's family was astir like any other family in the neighborhood. And she went into her hut to warm the vegetable soup she had cooked last night. The naming ceremony after seven market weeks became an empty ritual. The harvest was over. and who like a madman had cut the anklet of his titles and cast it away to join the Christians. But he threw himself into it like one possessed. she prayed a thousand times. 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. but Okonkwo sat unmoved.

But it was really not true that Okonkwo's palm-kernels had been cracked for him by a benevolent spirit. "that he repeated over and over again a word that resembled Mbaino. fresh yams and not the shriveled and fibrous crop of the previous year. On receiving such a message through a younger brother or sister. and each party brought with them a huge pot of palm-wine. went into an inner room and came back with a kola nut. he had stalked his victim. The rainbow began to appear." pleaded from a reasonable distance. and each stroke is one hundred cowries. and washed away the yam heaps."As he was speaking the boy returned. She broke a piece in two and gave it to Ezinma." said Mr. Okonkwo had returned home and sat waiting. and of the bird eneke-nti-oba who challenged the whole world to a wrestling contest and was finally thrown by the cat. A great evil has come upon their land as the Oracle had warned. The new year must begin with tasty. He had a large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth. That was the way people answered calls from outside.' Do you know what he told the Oracle? He said.

""There is no song in the story. passed through his obi and into Ekwefi's hut and walked into her bedroom. Suppose when he died all his male children decided to follow Nwoye's steps and abandon their ancestors? Okonkwo felt a cold shudder run through him at the terrible prospect. Uchendu before her." he said. Nobody knew how old. There were six of them and one was a white man. They were silent for a long time. I am Fire-that-burns-without-faggots. His greatest friend." said Ezinma. She went back to the hut and brought her pot.- you stay at home and offer sacrifices to a reluctant soil. He was the oldest man in Ire. You have a manly and a proud heart.Obierika was sitting outside under the shade of an orange tree making thatches from leaves of the raffia-palm. and although it had not yet appeared on the sky its light had already melted down the darkness. "As our people say. There is not a single clan in these parts that I do not know very well. "before i learned how to tap." He waved his arm where most of the young men sat.

Ekwefi hurried to the main footpath and turned left in the direction of the voice."Locusts are descending. One day as Ezinma was eating an egg Okonkwo had come in unexpectedly from his hut. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. and although it had not yet appeared on the sky its light had already melted down the darkness. She only began to weep when they got near the iroko tree outside their compound. Then he began to speak.- one could not have known where one's mouth was in the darkness of that night. And he did pounce on people quite often. His own hut. It is a bad custom because it always leads to a quarrel. woman. He addressed Nwakibie. It was very much like Obiageli. It was not the same Chielo who sat with her in the market and sometimes bought beancakes for Ezinma." answered one of Obierika's companions. The spirit of wars was upon them. "Use the fan. Our hosts in the sky will expect us to honor this age-old custom. He could not do anything without telling her."Come along.

The neighbors and Okonkwo's wives were now talking. But he had long learned how to lay that ghost. "What about you? Can you answer my question?"They all shook their heads. Soon after. the white man began to speak to them. if they were stubborn. Okonkwo pleaded with her to come back in the morning because Ezinma was now asleep. In her hand was the cloth pad on which the pot should have rested on her head." lied Nwoye's mother. Okonkwo wondered what was amiss. This man told him that the child was an ogbanje. when the land had been moistened by two or three heavy rains. "We will allow three or four women to stay behind." he said. He ordered the outcasts to shave off their long.The elders. We did not see it. the wife of Amadi. I shall give you twice four hundred yams."Yes. won a handful of converts and were already sending evangelists to the surrounding towns and villages.

" Okonkwo said to himself again. But they soon returned and everyone was gazing at the rag from a reasonable distance. They sat in a half-moon. He is not my father. stood near the edge of the pit because he wanted to take in all that happened. she has told me about it. He immediately set to work digging a pit where Ezinma had indicated.Am oyim de de de de! flew around the dark. "How dare you. followed by the bride and the other women. "Beware. And that is why we say that mother is supreme. They never answered yes for fear it might be an evil spirit calling. young and old.""Nna ayi. and he gave to Vulture rain wrapped in leaves of coco-yam. It was the fear of himself. full of power and beauty. yams of the old year were all disposed of by those who still had them. "Life to all of us. He pressed the trigger and there was a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children.

Everybody stood to let her pass and then filed after her. do not allow him a moment's rest. where every woman had a shallow well for fermenting her cassava. They had something to say for every man. Tortoise was very happy and voluble as he flew among the birds." shouted Chielo. that I am not afraid of blood and if anyone tells you that I am." They offered them as much of the Evil Forest as they cared to take. Then he poured out for the others. And so when Okonkwo of Umuofia arrived at Mbaino as the proud and imperious emissary of war. and our clan can no longer act like one. in fact.But somehow Okonkwo could never become as enthusiastic over feasts as most people."Be patient.' replied the man. too. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. As our fathers said." said Nwoye's mother. You buried it in the ground somewhere so that you can die and return again to torment your mother. was called a flaming fire.

It was only when he had got there that it had occurred to him that the priestess might have chosen to go round the villages first. if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man. and it ended on the left. They called him the little bird nza who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his chi. Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly. Sometimes he turned round and chased after those men. "Let us go. who was Okonkwo's father. What did they know about the man?" He ground his teeth again and told a story to illustrate his point. and he could hear his own flute weaving in and out of them. all of a sudden. Your duty is to comfort your wives and children and take them back to your fatherland after seven years. His mind went to his latest show of manliness. They were returning home with baskets of yams from a distant farm across the stream when they heard the voice of an infant crying in the thick forest. Such was Unoka's fate. younger men gave way and the tumult subsided. that was how it looked to his father. "I shall not talk about thanking you any more. because Oduche had not died immediately from his wounds. It was such a forest that. is a beast.

The women had gone to the bush to collect firewood." Nwoye's mother said. it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. and when there was no work to do he sat in a silent half-sleep. who also counted them and said:"We had not thought to go below thirty. Okonkwo bent down and looked into her hut." Ezinma said. said Ezeugo. Okonkwo said yes very strongly. She was rewarded by occasional spells of health during which Ezinma bubbled with energy like fresh palm-wine. because Oduche had not died immediately from his wounds. He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth. But even in such cases they set their limit at seven market weeks or twenty-eight days." said Obiageli. They became ordinary human beings again. twenty-five." she replied. and all the tragedy and sorrow of her life were packed in those words. At last Ogbuefi Ezeugo stood up in the midst of them and bellowed four times. Nwoye. as you know.

It was therefore understood that Ekwefi would provide cassava lor the feast." said someone light-heartedly and the crowd laughed. The huge voice of the crowd then rose to the sky and in every direction."I was coming over to see you as soon as I finished that thatch. blowing it with her breath. When Ekwefi had followed the priestess. yams of the old year were all disposed of by those who still had them. When your neighbors go out with their ax to cut down virgin forests."I have come to you for help. They were merely cleansing the land which Okonkwo had polluted with the blood of a clansman."But the leaves will be wet." Okonkwo said. like a hunter's dog that suddenly goes mad and turns on his master. "Which is this god of yours. Everybody was lean except Cat.She had prayed for the moon to rise. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic. fantastic figures that dissolved under her steady gaze and then formed again in new shapes."Thank you. now desperate. Uchendu pulled gently at his gray beard and gnashed his teeth.

' said the birds when they had heard him. he beat her until she miscarried. The clan saw no reason then for molesting the Christians. sat on a mat on the floor. and a great land case began. drew some lines on the floor. The first cup went to Okonkwo. "and a thick mat. It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman. He does not belong here. Old men and children would then sit round log fires. could not shelter under his roof.Obierika's compound was as busy as an anthill." At the same time the priestess also said. A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet."At last the great day came and Tortoise was the first to arrive at the meeting place. meanwhile. 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. the troublesome nanny goat. But two years later when a son was born he called him Nwofia??"Begotten in the Wilderness."Yes.

They set out early that morning. and sometimes two rainbows. "That boy calls you father."Those women whom Obierika's wife had not asked to help her with the cooking returned to their homes. Those who found themselves nearest to them merely moved to another seat.""You were very much like that yourself. welcoming it back from its long." Ukegbu said.""The only other person is Udenkwo." He turned to Uzowulu's group and allowed a short pause. Okonkwo told him. Then send him word to fight for us. Mr. And he went. Ekwefi quickly moved away from her line of retreat. The locusts settled in the bushes for the night and their wings became wet with dew. Anasi was the first wife and the others could not drink before her. and four or five others in his own age group. Not only the low-born and the outcast but sometimes a worthy man had joined it. afraid of your next-door neighbor. "They are thirty?" he asked.

But it is not our custom to debar anyone from the stream or the quarry. The new year must begin with tasty. At the end of it Okonkwo was fully convinced that the man was mad."We had meant to set out from my house before cockcrow. Guns fired the last salute and the cannon rent the sky."I have heard. If there is any one among you who thinks he knows more let him speak up. We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers. "He hardly ever walks. 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. An animal rubs its itching flank against a tree. A deathly silence descended on Okonkwo's compound.Okagbue went back into the pit. her mother and half a dozen other women and girls emerged from the inner compound. I want you to be there. and earth and sky once again became separate. Mighty tree branches broke away under them. Unoka.""That is very true. And so she brought out her husband's hoes. That was why Okonkwo had been Chosen by the nine villages to carry a message of war to their enemies unless they agreed to give up a young man and a virgin to atone for the murder of Udo's wife.

How his mother would weep for joy." said another man. Okonkwo stood by. His name was Nwoye. But she had grown so bitter about her own chi that she could not rejoice with others over their good fortune."Ee-e-e!"The kola was eaten and the drinking of palm-wine began. and its priests and medicine men were feared in all the surrounding country. Every man rose in order of years and took a share. They were silent for a long time. He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else - with a heavy hand. It began by naming the clan: Umuofia obodo dike! "the land of the brave. "Beware. We have albinos among us. fresh yams and not the shriveled and fibrous crop of the previous year. but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell. Then Chielo's renewed outburst came from only a few paces ahead. It was like the pulsation of its heart. twenty years or more. All the grass had long been scorched brown."When your wife becomes pregnant again."Our father.