she is taken home to be buried with her own kinsmen? She is not buried with her husband's kinsmen.

Her basket was balanced on her head
Her basket was balanced on her head."He has married Okadigbo's second daughter. Okonkwo slept." said Machi. But they were very rare and short-lived. We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers. and soon the children were chasing one of their cocks. They argued for a short while and fell into silence again. The children stood in the darkness outside their hut watching the strange event. trying to minimize Ojiugo's thoughtlessness.' said Tortoise.They sat in a big circle on the ground and the young bride in the center with a hen in her right hand. There were twenty-two of them.. It was the dead man's sixteen-year-old son. She was very heavy with child." said Ezinma touching the ground with her finger. came first. Okonkwo's first wife."Every year.

It was a full gathering of umuada."Uzowulu's body."That will not be enough."The two outcasts shaved off their hair. They sat in a half-circle and began to talk of many things. Young men and boys in single file. Ezinma? You are older than Obiageli but she has more sense. and soon the children were chasing one of their cocks. They came to discover what the future held for them or to consult the spirits of their departed fathers.After the death of Ekwefi's second child. All others stood except those who came early enough to secure places on the few stands which had been built by placing smooth logs on forked pillars. and about the locusts?? Then quite suddenly a thought came upon him. He was the oldest man in Ire. if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man. At any rate."One of them passes here frequently."Early in the afternoon the first two pots of palm-wine arrived from Obierika's in-laws. "She should have been a boy. and nodded their heads in approval of all he said. A steady cloud of smoke rose from his head.

He also took with him a pot of palm-wine." he said and cleared his throat.""It is already too late." she replied. and of the bird eneke-nti-oba who challenged the whole world to a wrestling contest and was finally thrown by the cat." said one of the priests. which was strengthened by such little conspiracies as eating eggs in the bedroom.But stories were already gaining ground that the white man had not only brought a religion but also a government. Then he would show his wealth by initiating his sons into the ozo society."After the kola nut had been eaten Okonkwo brought his palm- wine from the corner of the hut where it had been placed and stood it in the center of the group.The contest began with boys of fifteen or sixteen." said Obierika. Guns fired the last salute and the cannon rent the sky. just as he would not attempt to start it in the heart of the dry season. Each of Uchendu's five sons contributed three hundred seed-yams to enable their cousin to plant a farm. everybody knew by instinct that they were very good to eat."We still have a long way to go.""Go and bring our own. If a man kills the sacred python in the secrecy of his hut." He threw his head down and gnashed his teeth.

He heaved a heavy sigh and went away with the gun. with which they sat on the floor." the medicine man told Okonkwo in a cool. a cake of salt and smoked fish which she would present to Obierika's wife.' said her mother. He sat down again and called two witnesses. Cam wood was rubbed lightly into her skin."Akueke moved to the other end of the hut and began to remove the waist-beads. Okonkwo slept. He could not stop the rain now. Ofoedu ate slowly and talked about the locusts. "But I have also heard that Abame people were weak and foolish." Obierika replied sharply.The young men who kept order on these occasions dashed about. he was not afraid now. But his whole life was dominated by fear. and allowed a brief pause. Then from the distance came the faint beating of the ekwe. In the other group were her husband. People laughed at him because he was a loafer.

"I must go home to tap my palm trees for the afternoon. 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. where he thought they must be. She thought they must be going towards the sacred cave." he said. Obierika and half a dozen other friends came to help and to console him.But somehow Okonkwo could never become as enthusiastic over feasts as most people. Obierika pointed at the two heavy bags. passed through his obi and into Ekwefi's hut and walked into her bedroom. my dear friend. his mind would have been centered on his work."But the leaves will be wet.But. the king of crops. the "medicine house" or shrine where Okonkwo kept the wooden symbols of his personal god and of his ancestral spirits. and drinking palm-wine copiously. "She has iba. "lest Agbala be angry with you. She went.The night was impenetrably dark.

Where is my daughter. So Nwoye and Ikemefuna would listen to Okonkwo's stories about tribal wars."Don't cry. "And he was riding an iron horse. The moon had been rising later and later every night until now it was seen only at dawn. But some of these losses were not irreparable. Three young men from the victorious boy's team ran forward. Nwoye had heard that twins were put in earthenware pots and thrown away in the forest."I sometimes think he is too sharp. if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings. Whenever the thought of his father's weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it by thinking about his own strength and success. Mgbafo.Many young men and prosperous middle-aged men of Mbanta came to marry her. the priestess of Agbala. Okagbue's voice was unchanged. and sat down. who was the priest of the earth goddess. guns and cannon were fired. the priestess of Agbala. and a powerful flute blew a high-pitched blast.

We should have waited for the sun to rise and dry the leaves. Kiaga had asked the women to bring red earth and white chalk and water to scrub the church for Easter. It was a sad miscalculation.""There is no story that is not true. It was as quick as the other two. the rulers and elders of Mbanta assembled to decide on their action. "You will find a pot of wine there. It was powerful in war and in magic."Then I shall go back to the clan. He was greatly surprised. And so Nwoye was developing into a sad-faced youth.His life had been ruled by a great passion??to become one of the lords of the clan. Ofoedu ate slowly and talked about the locusts. lest he strike you in his anger. I shall not eat in the house of a man who has no respect for our gods and ancestors. beginning with the eldest man. He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's return. Then the rain became less violent. Because he had taken titles. and Nwakibie's two grown-up sons were also present in his obi.

" said the joker. or pounding food. but she went to Okonkwo's compound. my daughter. The men trod dry leaves on the sand. each carrying a pot of wine. Without further argument Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping. She prepared it the way he liked??with slices of oil-bean and fish.When the women retired. And what was more. A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi.Okonkwo spent the next few days preparing his seed-yams." he bellowed a fifth time. "When I think that it is only eighteen months since the Seed was first sown among you. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten. He knew that Nwakibie would not refuse him. "1 do not know how to thank you."It should be ready in four days or even three.Everybody agreed that Igwelo should drink the dregs. All that is true.

Some of them had been heavily whipped. The chalk women also returned to tell a similar story." said Okagbue. Everybody in the crowd was talking. "Ozoemena was. rubbed his left palm on his body to dry it before tipping a little snuff into it. Many people laughed at his dialect and the way he used words strangely. Some of these prisoners had thrown away their twins and some had molested the Christians. His wives and children were very happy too. Then he remembered that he had not taken out his snuff-spoon. spread her mat on the floor and built a fire. Unoka loved it all. he was asking Unoka to return the two hundred cowries he had borrowed from him more than two years before." Some of them had big sticks and some even machetes. Some of these prisoners had thrown away their twins and some had molested the Christians. if it lost its tail it soon grew another. in the other hand. how he had often wandered around looking for a kite sailing leisurely against the blue sky. "So you must finish this. the fear of the forest.

Okagbue was a very striking figure. and each stroke is one hundred cowries. Nma.Okonkwo cleared his throat and moved his feet to the beat of the drums. moved to the center. and he was soon chosen as the man to speak for the party because he was a great orator. Dew fell heavily and the air was cold. of all people. When everything had been set before the guests. The spirit of wars was upon them." Ezinma said. who drank a cup or two each."He belongs to the clan.After the singing the interpreter spoke about the Son of God whose name was Jesu Kristi."Go into that room. Okonkwo. He always gnashed his teeth as he listened to those who came to consult him. Mosquito. Okonkwo had called in another medicine man who was famous in the clan for his great knowledge about ogbanje children. He had a large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth.

just as he would not attempt to start it in the heart of the dry season. So he began to plan how he would go to the sky. Why do the nations rage and the peoples imagine a vain thing? He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. There was authority in her bearing and she looked every inch the ruler of the womenfolk in a large and prosperous family. She knelt on her knees and hands at the threshold and called her husband. what do we do? Do we go and stop his mouth? No. Ezinma was crying loudly now. "His name is Amadi. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace. They argued for a short while and fell into silence again. Each of Uchendu's five sons contributed three hundred seed-yams to enable their cousin to plant a farm." And so they all went to help Obierika's wife??Nwoye's mother with her four children and Ojiugo with her two.One of the men behind him cleared his throat. Ezinma turned left as if she was going to the stream. to go before the mighty Agbala of your own accord? Beware.Uzowulu stepped forward and presented his case. and he loved this season of the year. waiting for the women to finish their cooking. She hit her left foot against an outcropped root. or waist beads.

And then from the center of the delirious fury came a cry of agony and shouts of horror.""He was indeed. Twenty. Unoka loved the good hire and the good fellowship. The Oracle of the Hills and the Caves has pronounced it. But whenever they came to preach in the open marketplace or the village playground.Okonkwo cleared his throat and moved his feet to the beat of the drums. It was clear from his twinkling eyes that he had important news. In the center of the crowd a boy lay in a pool of blood. There is not a single clan in these parts that I do not know very well. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay.""Let them laugh. "The people of Umuike wanted their market to grow and swallow up the markets of their neighbors. He still missed his mother and his sister and would be very glad to see them." said Ofoedu. It filled him with fire as it had always done from his youth. He pushed the thought out of his mind. made up her mind. Some of them were accompanied by their sons bearing carved wooden stools. might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springywalk of Okonkwo.

He could hardly imagine that Okonkwo was not his real father. There is only one true God and He has the earth." said Ezinma.One of the men behind him cleared his throat. It very quickly went damp. Neither of the other wives had. for although nobody else knew it. 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.The royal python was the most revered animal in Mbanta and all the surrounding clans." she replied. whose sad story is still told in Umuofia unto this day. She was alive and well. "It wounds my heart to see these young men killing palm trees in the name of tapping. Brown. 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. He stepped forward." he said and cleared his throat. The dark top soil soon gave way to the bright red earth with which women scrubbed the floors and walls of huts. A child cannot pay for its mother's milk. carrying his stool and his goatskin bag.

And that is why we say that mother is supreme. It ate rats in the house and sometimes swallowed hens' eggs. He then installed his personal god and the symbols of his departed fathers. When she came to the main road.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. 1 know more about the world than any of you."Tell them."Ah. It was a gay and airy kind of rain. They passed their cloths under the right arm-pit. nearly all the osu in Mbanta followed their example. in a cleared spot. "You are not a stranger in Umuofia. When all was laid out.""You were very much like that yourself." Okonkwo said. years ago. It was a smooth pebble wrapped in a dirty rag." said one man. Somewhere a man was taking one of the titles of his clan.

will you go to see the wrestling?" Ezinma asked after a suitable interval. And let me tell you one thing. It was like pouring grains of corn into a bag full of holes. shiny pebble fell out. Okoye."After the kola nut had been eaten Okonkwo brought his palm- wine from the corner of the hut where it had been placed and stood it in the center of the group. He slapped the ear and hoped he had killed it. and although ailing she seemed determined to live. Ani played a greater part in the life of the people than any other diety. moved to the center. It was not the same Chielo who sat with her in the market and sometimes bought beancakes for Ezinma. others said he was not the equal of Ikezue.That was years ago."Okonkwo never did things by halves. which was passed under his right arm-pit and tied above his left shoulder. At his age I was already fending for myself. When everyone had drunk two or three horns. in silence. But he threw himself into it like one possessed. But the song spread in Umuofia.

Okonkwo stood by. "That is the story. From then on. alive with sinister forces and powers of darkness. When Okonkwo brought him home that day he called his most senior wife and handed him over to her. It was very much like Obiageli. "and yet he is full of sorrow because he has come to live in his motherland for a few years.As soon as the day broke. The women and children sent up a great shout and took to their heels. lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper.As the men ate and drank palm-wine they talked about the customs of their neighbors. persistent and unchanging. who was the oldest man in the village. should he. He died and rotted away above the earth.""He has.""I was only speaking in jest. 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. "Let us not presume to do so now. blowing it with her breath.

feeling with her palm the wet. and Ekwefi recoiled. and the quiet spectators murmured to themselves. She went in and knocked at his door and he came out. but he had never yet come across them. His yams grew abundantly.As soon as his father walked in."Umezulike. he. A razor was taboo to him. The pit was now so deep that they no longer saw the digger."Let me make the fire for you." said Okonkwo. that man was okonkwo. But in this case she ran away to save her life. His mother might be dead.The confusion that followed was without parallel in the tradition of Umuofia. It was said that he wore glasses on his eyes so that he could see and talk to evil spirits. "We will go with you to meet those cowards. making music and feasting.

Once in a while two young men carrying palm fronds ran round the circle and kept the crowd back by beating the ground in front of them or. how many twins she has borne and thrown away. white foam rose and spilled over."Tortoise saw all these preparations and soon discovered what it all meant. "His name is Amadi. A young man from one team danced across the center to the other side and pointed at whomever he wanted to fight." replied Ekwefi." he said. For three or four moons it demanded hard work and constant attention from cock-crow till the chickens went back to roost. But when she lived on to her fourth." said her mother. and the polite name for leprosy was "the white skin." said someone light-heartedly and the crowd laughed.Okonkwo called his three wives and told them to get things together for a great feast. They usually stay if they do not die before the age of six. do not allow him a moment's rest. too. But it had gone on living and gradually becoming stronger. He went into Ekwefi's hut. into a healthy.

and when they had seen it and thanked him. beat him up and took our sister and her children away. On the second day Uchendu called together his sons and daughters and his nephew. which every man kept in his obi and with which his guests drew lines on the floor before they ate kola nuts. "His shell broke into pieces.""It means you are going to cry. whose feeling of importance was manifest in her sprightly walk. '1 am a changed man. If we should try to drive out the white men in Umuofia we should find it easy.Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life. and the burial was near.Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son's development. from where he had espied a fire."When did you set out from home?" asked Okonkwo. who suddenly gave up his trade." she said when they got to the tree. He knew the names of all the birds and could set clever traps for the little bush rodents. This man told him that the child was an ogbanje." said Okonkwo. long journey.

" She sat down and stretched her legs in front of her. Marriage should be a play and not a fight so we are falling down again. thus completing a circle with their hosts.""They have indeed soiled the name of ozo. When Okonkwo brought him home that day he called his most senior wife and handed him over to her. They were both Uzowulu's neighbors. Obierika. another man asked a question: "Where is the white man's horse?" he asked. The woman was Mgbafo and the three men with her were her brothers." said Okagbue.Umuofia had indeed changed during the seven years Okonkwo had been in exile. which had been dutifully eating yam peelings. a large crowd of men from Ezeudu's quarter stormed Okonkwo's compound. But he was happy to leave his father." he said. He moved his hand over his white head and stroked his white beard. unlike most children."Those who knew Amadi laughed. by Ezeani. 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.