where he had espied a fire. ozo is so low that every beggar takes it. they set off in a body.

"When they had cut the goats' throats and collected the blood in a bowl
"When they had cut the goats' throats and collected the blood in a bowl. that man was okonkwo.Share-cropping was a very slow way of building up a barn of one's own." he said. the feasting and fellowship of the first day or the wrestling Contest of the second. and each stroke is one hundred cowries. But all of a sudden she would go down again. We must fight these men and drive them from the land. In ordinary life Chielo was a widow with two children. his heels hardly touched the ground and he seemed to walk on springs.He was a person dedicated to a god. "I planted the farm nearly two years ago. Everybody had been invited??men. she did not hear them. So I have brought the matter to the fathers of the clan. and her arms folded across her breasts.Gradually the rains became lighter and less frequent. he would use his fists. His name was Maduka. "Life to you." Okonkwo said to himself again. "And let there be friendship between your family and ours. because their dreaded agadi-nwayi would never fight what the Ibo call a fight of blame.

the twins still remained where they had been thrown away. Okonkwo came next and Ekwefi followed him."Yes. Okonkwo sprang to his feet and quickly sat down again. It would not be long before the suitors came. tangled hair. and he loved this season of the year."Why is Okonkwo with us today? This is not his clan. You may ask why I am saying all this. do not allow him a moment's rest. warming their bodies. When all seemed ready he let himself go. in fact. I think. and then turning to his brother and his son he said: "Let us go out and whisper together. and Umuofia. which was now surrounded by spectators.Okonkwo returned when he felt the medicine had cooked long anough. Her eyes were useless to her in the darkness. "But the law of the land must be obeyed. some of whom now stood enthralled. when his father had not been dead very long. talking excitedly and praying that the locusts should camp in Umuofia for the night.

his children and their mothers in the new year. He wore a haggard and mournful look except when he was drinking or playing on his flute. Those who found themselves nearest to them merely moved to another seat. Nwoye would feign annoyance and grumble aloud about women and their troubles."I will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan. and the hosts looked at each other as if to say. but in doing so he would have taken something from the full penalty of seven years. Okonkwo brought out l??s big horn from the goatskin bag. At the opposite end of the compound was a shed for the goats. He worked. Why do the nations rage and the peoples imagine a vain thing? He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh.""The world is large. After that they began to eat and to drink the wine. elina!SalaEze ilikwa ya Ikwaba akwa ogholi Ebe Danda nechi eze Ebe Uzuzu nete egwuSalaHe sang it in his mind. Okonkwo's first son.""Yes. Ukegbu. Rain fell as it had never fallen before.""The only other person is Udenkwo."The two outcasts shaved off their hair. to roast plantains for him."My in-law has told you that we went to his house. It had to be done slowly and carefully.

have no toes. had entered his eye. the Evil Forest was a fit home for such undesirable people. Okonkwo had slaughtered a goat for her. So he began to plan how he would go to the sky. If you had died young. Ekwefi hurried to the main footpath and turned left in the direction of the voice. He had felt very anxious but did not show it. The moon was definitely rising. Ezigbo.Suddenly Okagbue sprang to the surface with the agility of a leopard.Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy - inwardly of course. or old woman. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women's stories. They formed a circular ring with a break at one point through which the foot-track led to the center of the circle. it said."Where do you sleep with your wife."After kola nuts had been presented and eaten. I would sooner strangle him with my own hands."I don't know why such a trifle should come before the said one elder to another. None of them was a man of title. Nwoye had heard that twins were put in earthenware pots and thrown away in the forest."Swear on this staff of my fathers.

Unoka was able to give an answer between fresh outbursts of mirth.Onwumbiko was not given proper burial when he died. The other people were released. each carrying a pot of wine. and I am still alive. She had got ready her basket of coco-yams and fish.Ekwefi was tired and sleepy from the exhausting experiences of the previous night.In the distance the drums continued to beat.The next morning the crazy men actually began to clear a part of the forest and to build their house."At last the party arrived in the sky and their hosts were very happy to see them.Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond." he said sadly." said the medicine man. 'If I fall down for you and you fall down for me. But what of our own people who are following their way and have been given power? They would go to Umuru and bring the soldiers. won a handful of converts and were already sending evangelists to the surrounding towns and villages. chewing the fish. He saw himself and his fathers crowding round their ancestral shrine waiting in vain for worship and sacrifice and finding nothing but ashes of bygone days. The children stood in the darkness outside their hut watching the strange event. Perhaps he had been going to Mbaino and had lost his way. and a little hoe for digging out the tuber. They were very fat goats.Although Nwoye had been attracted to the new faith from the very first day.

It was difficult to say which the people enjoyed more. made up her mind. "it is this eyelid. like the prospect of annihilation. "Whoever has a job in hand."It is very near now. buoyant maiden. Obiageli. Ikemefuna had an endless stock of folk tales. And immediately Okonkwo's eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. or obi. Everybody in the crowd was talking. He tried not to think about Ikemefuna. But it turned out to be even bigger than we expected. He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth."The body of Odukwe.One morning Okonkwo's cousin. In that way she will elude her wicked tormentor and break its evil cycle of birth and death. That was the day it happened.As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his machete." he asked Obierika. She slowed down her pace so as to increase the distance between them." said Mr.

All else was silent. just emerged from the earth. but Okonkwo was as slippery as a fish in water.Anasi was a middle-aged woman. He told them that they worshipped false gods. which only made the darkness more profound. Nothing wouldhappen to Ezinma. They must have bypassed it long ago."Have you?" asked Obierika. Listen to me and I shall tell you. the women who had gone for red earth returned with empty baskets. but nothing like this had ever happened. He had an old rusty gun made by a clever blacksmith who had come to live in Umuofta long ago. So I have brought the matter to the fathers of the clan.Okonkwo was very happy to receive his friend. Nwoye's mind had gone immediately to Nwayieke." said Obierika to his son. There was something in it like the companionship of equals. they became the lords of the land. reappeared every year for seven years and then disappeared for another lifetime. just as he would not attempt to start it in the heart of the dry season. The women were screaming outside. not for hearing.

Okonkwo. I want you to be there. and Maduka brought in a pot of palm-wine. In fact he had not killed a rat with his gun." Okonkwo and Obierika said together. one of the people of the sky came forward and tasted a little from each pot. men. She was saying again and again that Agbala wanted to see his daughter. One of these days your jigida will catch fire on your waist. Early that morning as he offered a sacrifice of new yam and palm oil to his ancestors he asked them to protect him. They had built their church there. The moon had been rising later and later every night until now it was seen only at dawn. beat me up and took my wife and children away. and Okonkwo filled his horn again.The priestess had now reached Okonkwo's compound and was talking with him outside his hut. and the elusive dance rose and fell with the wind. Kiaga. anxiety.In spite of this incident the New Yam Festival was celebrated with great joy in Okonkwo's household. And in all the nine villages of Umuofia a town crier with his ogene asked every man to be present tomorrow morning. Okonkwo's fear was greater than these. It was already dusk when the two parties came to this agreement. and so they stood waiting.

Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly.But before this quiet and final rite. and he gave to Vulture rain wrapped in leaves of coco-yam. Okonkwo's son. degenerate and effeminate? Perhaps he was not his son. Okonkwo was the greatest wrestler and warrior alive. He hit the bottle against his knee to shake up the tobacco. the interpreter. Ekwefi and her only daughter. He was like an elder brother to Nwoye. 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. Near the barn was a small house. "If you had been poor in your last life I would have asked you to be rich when you come again."Come along then and show me the spot. "that Okonkwo and I were talking about Abame and Aninta. others said he was not the equal of Ikezue. where they were guarded by a race of stunted men. with a full beard and a bald head. Although he had prospered in his motherland Okonkwo knew that he would have prospered even more in Umuofia. Nkechi was the daughter of Okonkwo's third wife. He was the oldest man in Ire. male and female. He tried in vain to force the thought out of his mind.

"It was Wednesday in Holy Week and Mr."Before God.""Too much of his grandfather.The footway had now become a narrow line in the heart of the forest. But if you allow sorrow to weigh you down and kill you they will all die in exile. We have albinos among us." said Okagbue."Before God. before the first cock-crow. despite his madness. He just carried her into his bed and in the darkness began to feel around her waist for the loose end of her cloth. with music and dancing and a great feast. the shouting and the firing of guns. The egwugwu house into which they emerged faced the forest. my friend. but its vigor was undiminished. or waist beads."Locusts are descending. first with little sticks and later with tall and big tree branches. It had its shrine in the centre of Umuofia."Ekwefi. All the other dancers made way for her.He sent for the five sons and they came and sat in his obi.

Unoka loved it all." said Obierika. from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts. And then suddenly like one possessed he shot out his left hand and pointed in the direction of Mbaino. as when she first set out. who was laid on a mat."We shall be late for the wrestling." said Ezinma. and the quiet spectators murmured to themselves." said Obierika. And now he was going to take the Idemili title. they talked about everything except the thing for which they had gathered. They throw away large numbers of men and women without burial. long ago.Ezeudu had been the oldest man in his village.He is fit to be a slave. 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. to the boys and they passed it round the wooden stays and then back to him. Age was respected among his people. He could return to the clan after seven years. On ordinary days young women who desired children came to sit under its shade. He hit the bottle against his knee to shake up the tobacco. You stay at home.

Okonkwo spent the next few days preparing his seed-yams. 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. A sudden hush had fallen on the women. in fact." He prayed especially for Okonkwo and his family. because Oduche had not died immediately from his wounds. She did not return to Okonkwo's compound until three days before the naming ceremony. Sometimes another village would ask Unoka's band and their dancing egwugwu to come and stay with them and teach them their tunes. my dear friend. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women's stories.""They dare not bring fewer than thirty pots. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman. then."You are a big man now. The lad's name was Ikemefuna.On the third day he asked his second wife. came first. as husbands' wives were wont to. A deep murmur went through the crowd when he said this. Even those which Nwoye knew already were told with a new freshness and the local flavor of a different clan. such as befitted a noble warrior."Be patient. Okonkwo's house was on the way to the stream.

For how else could he explain his great misfortune and exile and now his despicable son's behavior? Now that he had time to think of it. But the drought continued for eight market weeks and the yams were killed. Ezinma.""Do you think a thief can do that kind of thing single-handed?" asked Nwankwo. The sickness was an abomination to the earth. We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas.But there were many others who saw the situation differently. It was the fear of himself. leaving what we are cooking to burn in the fire.""I don't know how we got that law. But his mother and his three-year-old sister?? of course she would not be three now." He got up painfully." said Ofoedu."Come. a man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness. in their proper order. He grew rapidly like a yam tendril in the rainy season." Mosquito went away humiliated. burning forehead. He then roused Ezinma and placed her on the stool. The soup was brought out hot from the fire and in the very pot in which it had been cooked. "But I cannot understand these things you tell me.Gradually the rains became lighter and less frequent.

" he answered. when Ogbuefi Ezeudu came in. "Life to all of us. They were duly presented to the women." said Ezinma. killed his animals and destroyed his barn."Yes."Take away your kola nut. The white man has no sense." said Obierika. Spirits always addressed humans as "bodies. In that way she will elude her wicked tormentor and break its evil cycle of birth and death. After that nothing happened for a long time between the church and the clan. "And you know how leaves become smaller after cooking." she replied. and the whole country became the brown-earth color of the vast. It was the poetry of the new religion. who had begun to pour out the wine. especially their hair. His hands trembled vaguely on the black pot he carried. The men brought their goatskin mats. And he did pounce on people quite often. As long as they lasted.

" said his daughter Ezinma when she brought the food to him. It looked like an equal match. the son of Obierika." His tone now changed from anger to command." he said sadly. and he spoke as he performed them:"1 hope our in-laws will bring many pots of wine. "before i learned how to tap. followed by the bride and the other women.And so Obierika went to Mbanta to see his friend. Whenever the thought of his father's weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it by thinking about his own strength and success. 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. And they were right. Unoka. The priestess. No one had ever beheld Agbala." said Obierika to his son. Okonkwo made a present of two cocks to them. and the elders of his family. He played on the ogene. It was sudden and tremendous. Okonkwo had gone to a medicine man. and four or five others in his own age group. They were called kotma.

If a gang of efulefu decided to live in the Evil Forest it was their own affair. had asked Ear to marry him. That is all I am good for now. They also said I would die if I built my church on this ground." said Ofoedu. No matter how prosperous a man was."They would have gone on arguing had Ofoedu not come in just then." said Okonkwo as he rose to go. Ezigbo. It was not the mad logic of the Trinity that captivated him. His mind went back to Ikemefuna and he shivered. The world was now peopled with vague. He heaved a heavy sigh and went away with the gun. They also drank water from small pots and ate kola nuts. Okonkwo slept. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone.An iron gong sounded. he sat down in his obi and mourned his friend's calamity. "We are going directly." said Ekwefi. He could not understand what was happening to him or what he had done.As soon as the priestess stepped into this ring of hills her voice was not only doubled in strength but was thrown back on all sides. stood near the edge of the pit because he wanted to take in all that happened.

He said he was one of them. They will not allow us into the markets. They were silent for a long time." said the woman. He was tall and huge. when he was young. and they closed in. It was a miracle. And so on this particular night as the crier's voice was gradually swallowed up in the distance. and scorched all the green that had appeared with the rains. The three women talked excitedly about the relations who had been invited. Then there was perfect silence. There was no festival in all the seasons of the year which gave her as much pleasure as the wrestling match.But the most dreaded of all was yet to come.""But he had no wings. and the tuber was pulled out. They surged forward as the two young men danced into the circle. That is a wise action." Obierika said to his son. The rainbow began to appear. "that in some clans it is an abomination for a man to die during the Week of Peace." said Ekwefi." He paused.

and a little hoe for digging out the tuber."I did not know it was you.Obierika was a man who thought about things. But Tortoise jumped to his feet and asked: Tor whom have you prepared this feast?'"'For all of you. I salute you.""That is why the drum has not been beaten to tell Umuofla. He heaved a heavy sigh and went away with the gun." Quite often she bought beancakes and gave Ekwefi some to take home to Ezinma. And they were all gay. and as it dwelt on it. the twins still remained where they had been thrown away. His name was Maduka. who was also a diviner of the Afa Oracle." said Ezelagbo. The youngest of them was four years old. She was the priestess of Agbala. shiny pebble fell out. let your sister go with him. Ekwefi screwed her eyes up in an effort to see her daughter and the priestess."Point at the spot with your finger." she said. when his father had not been dead very long. There is only one true God and He has the earth.

" said Obierika. went down quickly on one knee in an attempt to fling his man backwards over his head. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut.Ekwefi had suffered a good deal in her life.Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life. calling him "Our father. The palm fronds were helpless in keeping them back. I sow the yams when the first rain has fallen."Nwoye did not fully understand. Unfortunately for her Okonkwo heard it and ran madly into his room for the loaded gun.It was late afternoon before Nwoye returned. He is always in a hurry." replied Okonkwo.Ezinma took the dish in one hand and the empty water bowl in the other and went back to her mother's hut.Okonkwo was also feeling tired. waiting for the women to finish their cooking." she replied. "If you had been poor in your last life I would have asked you to be rich when you come again. She was very friendly with Ekwefi and they shared a common shed in the market. forty.They came in the cold harmattan season after the harvests had been gathered. It is not bravery when a man fights with a woman. The rain became lighter and lighter until it fell in slanting showers.

I do not owe my inlaws anything. Now that she walked slowly she had time to think. were whispering together. but they are too young to leave their mother.' said Mother Kite to her daughter. The earth burned like hot coals and roasted all the yams that had been sown. But it was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth. They settled on every tree and on every blade of grass. If such a thing were ever to happen." said Ekwefi. The women began to talk excitedly.Uchendu had been told by one of his grandchildren that three strangers had come to Okonkwo's house.The men then continued their drinking and talking." they said to the women."It should be ready in four days or even three. Without further argument Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping. you have become a woman indeed. He was taking his family of three wives and their children to seek refuge in his motherland. that they have strayed from their way to a land where everybody is like them?"Okonkwo's first wife soon finished her cooking and set before their guests a big meal of pounded yams and bitter-leaf soup. Obierika pointed at the two heavy bags. If we allow you to come with us you will soon begin your mischief. Ekwefi quickly took her to their bedroom and placed her on their high bamboo bed. white foam rose and spilled over.

"Don't you know what kind of man Uzowulu is? He will not listen to any other decision. and then painted his big toe."It is not our custom to fight for our gods. All this happened many years ago. but the elders counseled patience till nightfall. Okonkwo's first son. And what made it worse in Okonkwo's case was that he had to support his mother and two sisters from his meagre harvest. "Blessed is he who forsakes his father and his mother for my sake. Okonkwo told him. had said to him during that terrible harvest month: "Do not despair. his heels hardly touched the ground and he seemed to walk on springs. 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. They will serve you when I have eaten. but that year-had been enough to break the heart of a lion. and most of them never did because they died too young - before they could be asked questions. She was saying again and again that Agbala wanted to see his daughter. had crawled out of the shrine on her belly like a snake. But they soon returned and everyone was gazing at the rag from a reasonable distance. Okonkwo. She would die with her. One of the things every man learned was the language of the hollowed-out wooden instrument. "on an Eke market day a little band of fugitives came into our town."Before God.

the priestess. He just carried her into his bed and in the darkness began to feel around her waist for the loose end of her cloth. He is always in a hurry. If you think you are the greatest sufferer in the world ask my daughter. Okonkwo ate the food absent-mindedly. afraid of your next-door neighbor. "Every day I tell you that jigida and fire are not friends."Where does Agbala want to see her?" Ekwefi asked. "my eyelid is twitching. It was only from Nwoye's mother that he heard scraps of the story. He was quite different. It was also the dumping ground for highly potent fetishes of great medicine men when they died. And what made it worse in Okonkwo's case was that he had to support his mother and two sisters from his meagre harvest. This was a womanly clan. He shrugged his shoulders and went away to tap his afternoon palm-wine. Uchendu's eldest daughter had come from Obodo. But her love of wrestling contests was still as strong as it was thirty years ago."That woman standing there is my wife.It seemed to Ekwefi that the night had become a little lighter. Ezinma went with her and helped in preparing the vegetables. Then something had given way inside him. An evil forest was where the clan buried all those who died of the really evil diseases. it said.

Now he is no longer my son or your brother. who will hold his head up among my people. And then the smooth. Then the crier gave his message. When the moon rose late in the night. There was no festival in all the seasons of the year which gave her as much pleasure as the wrestling match. As they cut grass in the morning the younger men sang in time with the strokes of their machetes:"Kotma of the ashy buttocks.Okonkwo was sitting on a goatskin already eating his first wife's meal. Okonkwo ate the food absent-mindedly."Leave her to me. "Okoli told me himself that it was false. looking at the position of the sun. but now sat with Okonkwo in his obi. His death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles. His mind went back to Ikemefuna and he shivered. He brought another seven baskets and cooked them himself.But Ekwefi did not hear these consolations. had died ten years ago. so that even when it was said that a ceremony would begin "after the midday meal" everyone understood that it would begin a long time later. It was a gay and airy kind of rain. from where he had espied a fire. ozo is so low that every beggar takes it. they set off in a body.