He had been a great and fearless warrior in his time. There were only three such boys in each team. "Your wrestling the other day gave me much happiness.

"Our father
"Our father. and so have Uchendu and Unachukwu and Emefo. The new year must begin with tasty."At last the hen was plucked clean.Ekwefi had suffered a good deal in her life. Okagbue worked tirelessly and in silence. especially these days when young men are afraid of hard work. "We have been sent by this great God to ask you to leave your wicked ways and false gods and turn to Him so that you may be saved when you die. the god who cut a man down when his life was sweetest to him.Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son's development. unless it be the emotion of anger. and on the other the offer of a young man and a virgin as compensation. went into an inner room and came back with a kola nut."He sprang to his feet. but its vigor was undiminished. Of course they had all heard the bell-man.Okonkwo was popularly called the "Roaring Flame. when he had worked on one side of the wall and Ikemefuna and Nwoye on the other. We would then not be held accountable for their abominations." He put it down to his inflexible will.

Ikemefuna called him father. neither getting too near nor keeping too far back. Now Ekwefi was a woman of forty-five who had suffered a great deal in her time."You do not know the answer? So you see that you are a child.- that she did not blame others for their good fortune but her own evil chi who denied her any?At last Ezinma was born. Unoka prayed to their ancestors for life and health. All the neighbors and relations who had come to mourn gathered round them. and from morning till night warriors came and went in their age groups. The cannon seemed to rend the sky. And what is the result? Their clan is full of the evil spirits of these unburied dead. in silence.The arrival of the missionaries had caused a considerable stir in the village of Mbanta. That showed that in time he would be able to control his women-folk.When the women retired. and when there was no work to do he sat in a silent half-sleep. The barn was built against one end of the red walls. After that they began to eat and to drink the wine. Okonkwo. took a long broom and swept the ground in front of his father's obi. "Are you afraid you may dissolve?"The harvesting was easy.

and his children the while praying to the white man's god." He turned to Uzowulu's group and allowed a short pause." And he took another pinch of snuff.Okonkwo was beginning to feel like his old self again. Okonkwo!" she warned. If. the god who cut a man down when his life was sweetest to him. Ekwefi broke into a run as though to stop them. We pray for life. It was not that they had been lazy.That was the kind of story that Nwoye loved."Ekwefi went to bring the pot and Okonkwo selected the best from his bundle. I have come to pay you my respects and also to ask a favor. Most of them were sons of our land whose mothers had been buried with us. anxiety. But some of these losses were not irreparable. and a girl. twenty-five. and the other an old and faint shadow. in silence.

But Chielo's voice was still a long way away." said Ekwefi. a length of cloth and a hundred cowries.So when the daughter of Umuofia was killed in Mbaino. Neither of the other wives had." she began. and so have Uchendu and Unachukwu and Emefo. Ezinma.All this had happened more than a year ago and Ezinma had not been ill since. the suitor. But the third created a big sensation even among the elders who did not usually show their excitement so openly." said Idigo. When Okonkwo brought him home that day he called his most senior wife and handed him over to her. She determined to nurse her child to health. the wife of Amadi. He put them in the pot and Ekwefi poured in some water. He would return later to his mother and his brothers and sisters and convert them to the new faith. But everybody knew that he was going to die and Aneto got his belongings together in readiness to flee. They went outside again."I did not say He had a wife.

They surged forward as the two young men danced into the circle. went down quickly on one knee in an attempt to fling his man backwards over his head. I am not afraid of work. If only he could find some work to do he would be able to forget. A new cover of thick palm branches and palm leaves was set on the walls to protect them from the next rainy season." Ezinma pointed out."Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?" Okagbue had asked Ezinma. But even in such cases they set their limit at seven market weeks or twenty-eight days. Their wives also."It has not always been so. and allowed a brief pause. 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. and from morning till night warriors came and went in their age groups. He was tall and huge. Then he burst out:"Never kill a man who says nothing. As the Ibo say: "When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk. who was also the youngest man in the group. looking at the position of the sun. Okonkwo had returned home and sat waiting. 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.

'to bring out all the soft things in my house and cover the compound with them so that I can jump down from the sky without very great danger. It was a deep bag and took almost the whole length of his arm. had gained ground. and about some effeminate men who had refused to come with them."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.Okonkwo called his three wives and told them to get things together for a great feast. As she buried one child after another her sorrow gave way to despair and then to grim resignation. guns and even his cannon. He shrugged his shoulders and went away to tap his afternoon palm-wine. all its metal taken out of it by the vast emptiness of the cave. Ofoedu ate slowly and talked about the locusts.Ezinma was still sleeping when everyone else was astir. his sixteen-year-old son. It was not external but lay deep within himself.These outcasts. He presented a kola nut and an alligator pepper." said Obierika." the men said among themselves. tapped it on his kneecap. If they imagined what was inside.

Unoka. Like all good farmers." As he looked into the log fire he recalled the name. Okonkwo cleared his throat." He turned to Uzowulu's group and allowed a short pause.The priestess screamed. It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman. He brought another seven baskets and cooked them himself. She would want to hear everything that had happened to him in all these years. At his age I was already fending for myself. where titled men climb trees and pound foo-foo for their wives. was a very exacting king. There is not a single clan in these parts that I do not know very well. "There must be a reason for it. if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings. and then he continued: "Each group there represents a debt to someone." and on each occasion he faced a different direction and seemed to push the air with a clenched fist. and although ailing she seemed determined to live.At the beginning of their journey the men of Umuofia talked and laughed about the locusts. "Are you afraid you may dissolve?"The harvesting was easy.

and each party brought with them a huge pot of palm-wine. will you go to see the wrestling?" Ezinma asked after a suitable interval. by Ezeani."The missionary ignored him and went on to talk about the Holy Trinity. But he had recently fallen ill. It said that other white men were on their way. and evil fortune followed him to the grave. and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna. "Your wife was at fault. It was the first time for many years that a man had broken the sacred peace. Ekwefi and her only daughter. because her father had called her one evening and said to her: "There are many good and prosperous people here." roared Okonkwo. and the women sat on a sisal mat spread on a raised bank of earth." said Ekwefi with a heavy sigh. I owe that man a thousand cowries. She was full of the power of her god. He heard Ikemefuna cry. "But if the Oracle said that my son should be killed I would neither dispute it nor be the one to do it. A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving.

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."Ee-e-e!"The kola was eaten and the drinking of palm-wine began. fresh yams and not the shriveled and fibrous crop of the previous year. Evil men and all the heathen who in their blindness bowed to wood and stone were thrown into a fire that burned like palm-oil. Its most potent war-medicine was as old as the clan itself. and was full of the sap of life. And so people said he had no respect for the gods of the clan. my friend. and saw those who stood or sat next to them. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. He had lost the years in which he might have taken the highest titles in the clan." said Obierika. Okonkwo got ready quickly and the party set out with Ikemefuna carrying the pot of wine." he said." he said to Okonkwo. No woman ever asked questions about the most powerful and the most secret cult in the clan. and about the locusts?? Then quite suddenly a thought came upon him. when his father had not been dead very long. The naming ceremony after seven market weeks became an empty ritual. He had a large barn full of yams and he had three wives.

Ezinma wielded a strong influence over her half-sister." replied Ekwefi. Ekwefi uttered a scream and sprang to her feet."That woman standing there is my wife. And it was not too hot either. the king of crops. He would build a bigger barn than he had had before and he would build huts for two new wives. "You are our teacher. It throbbed in the air."It is iba." he said. From then on. But his mother and his three-year-old sister?? of course she would not be three now. Children no longer stayed indoors but ran about singing:"The rain is falling.""That is very true.' he said as they flew on their way. He walked unsteadily to the place where the corpse was laid. 'There is something ominous behind the silence. and when they had seen it and thanked him. a huge wooden face painted white except for the round hollow eyes and the charred teeth that were as big as a man's fingers.

""Yes. The only work that men did at this time was covering the walls of their compound with new palm fronds. everybody knew by instinct that they were very good to eat.At this point an old man said he had a question." He waved his arm where most of the young men sat. greeted themselves in their esoteric language. I salute you. waiting for the women to finish their cooking. Had she been running too? How could she go so fast with Ezinma on her back? Although the night was cool." Ekwefi said firmly." Okonkwo said. They saw the iron horse and went away again. "Mother Kite once sent her daughter to bring food. When all seemed ready he let himself go. Okonkwo and the two boys were working on the red outer walls of the compound. The birth of her children.But it was really not true that Okonkwo's palm-kernels had been cracked for him by a benevolent spirit. It always surprised him when he thought of it later that he did not sink under the load of despair. the whole clan gathers there.As the men drank.

""I pray she stays.Mr. Uchendu before her. 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. perhaps even quicker. i fear for the clan. and he pointed to a man who sat near him with a bowed head. pointing with his finger. When the will of the goddess had been done. "I have never seen such a large crowd of people. but he stood beckoning to them. The drums beat the unmistakable wrestling dance - quick. years ago. bringing the third dish. It said that other white men were on their way. He stretched himself and scratched his thigh where a mosquito had bitten him as he slept. because there was no humanity there. 'Ogbuefi Ndulue." said someone light-heartedly and the crowd laughed. gome went the gong.

Many of these messengers came from Umuru on the bank of the Great River. but the villagers told them that there was no king. But the one knew what the other was thinking." Ezinma said. But Ekwefi could not see her. Okonkwo came after her. 'It just walked away. they kept their imagination to themselves. Let us give them a real battlefield in which to show their victory." he said. who had brought it from her mother's hut. Ikemefuna came first with the biggest pot.The moon was now up and she could see Chielo and Ezinma clearly. white foam rose and spilled over. Nwoye's mother carried a basket of coco-yams.""I think she has. suddenly overcome with fury. 'but tell me. Nwakibie sent for his wives. The nine egwugwu then went away to consult together in their house.

It was an occasion for giving thanks to Ani." said Mr. and does not lose it even if he steals. he was asking Unoka to return the two hundred cowries he had borrowed from him more than two years before. It was not very easy getting the men of high title and the elders together after the excitement of the first day. fantastic figures that dissolved under her steady gaze and then formed again in new shapes. He was a flaming fire. Okonkwo made a present of two cocks to them. It rose and faded with the wind??a peaceful dance from a distant clan. There was no festival in all the seasons of the year which gave her as much pleasure as the wrestling match." said Obierika. He stretched himself and scratched his thigh where a mosquito had bitten him as he slept. It must have been a very long time. Smoke poured out of his head. and Obiageli told her mournful story.One day a neighbor called Okoye came in to see him." said Nwoye's mother. Then it occurred to her that they could not have been heading for the cave. moved to the center. A snake was never called by its name at night.

" said Obiageli. because Oduche had not died immediately from his wounds. "and we want you all to come in every seventh day to worship the true God.He did not sleep at night." said the young man Who had been sent by Obierika to buy the giant goat "There are so many people on it that if you threw up a grain of sand it would not find a way to fall to earth again. a debtor. Njide.' And so Daughter Kite returned the duckling and took a chick instead. It was the time for treading red earth with which to build walls. And so they walked out together. And although she believed that the iyi-uwa which had been dug up was genuine. She had got ready her basket of coco-yams and fish. it is for you. "There must be a reason for it. as was the custom. But his fondness only showed on very rare occasions. The happy voices of children playing in open fields would then be heard. So much of it was cooked that." said Obierika. It was a very expensive ceremony and he was gathering all his resources together.

As they trooped through Okonkwo's obi he asked: "Who will prepare my afternoon meal?""I shall return to do it." replied Obierika. "Life to you. And when he got there he found it was a man making a sacrifice. As Idigo had said. I will only have a son who is a man. Only a week ago a man had contradicted him at a kindred meeting which they held to discuss the next ancestral feast. Who knows what may happen tomorrow? Perhaps green men will come to our clan and shoot us."Perhaps I have been away too long.""Ee-e-e!""And this will not be the last."Yes." He paused for a long while. in a terrifying voice.It was late afternoon before Nwoye returned. The words of the hymn were like the drops of frozen rain melting on the dry palate of the panting earth." He waved his arm where most of the young men sat. At one stage Ekwefi was so afraid that she nearly called out to Chielo for companionship and human sympathy. and on her waist four or five rows of jigida."You need some sleep yourself. "do you not grow yams where you come from?"Inwardly Okonkwo knew that the boys were still too young to understand fully the difficult art of preparing seed-yams.

An iron gong sounded. and any time he passed her way he told Ear that he was still alive."The body of Odukwe.Ekwefi knelt beside the sick child. slit its throat with a sharp knife and allowed some of the blood to fall on the ancestral staff." said Nwakibie. had crawled out of the shrine on her belly like a snake.In this way the moons and the seasons passed. But after a while this custom was stopped because it spoiled the peace which it was meant to preserve. "1 told you.When the heat of the sun began to soften. and of the bird eneke-nti-oba who challenged the whole world to a wrestling contest and was finally thrown by the cat. returning. and she put all her being into it."On the following Sunday. The medicine man ignored him.""Oho. she could bear no other person but her father. Hisspeech was so eloquent that all the birds were glad they had brought him. touching the earth.

She wore a black necklace which hung down in three coils just above her full. This was before the planting season began. They were the lazy easy-going ones who always put off clearing their farms as long as they could." suggested Okonkwo. sat on the floor waiting for him to finish. Is it true that Okonkwo nearly killed you with his gun?""It is true indeed. A new cover of thick palm branches and palm leaves was set on the walls to protect them from the next rainy season.' he said as they flew on their way."Okonkwo brought the wine and they began to drink. Sometimes he turned round and chased after those men. the white missionary.Ekwefi was tired and sleepy from the exhausting experiences of the previous night. Nwoye's mother carried a basket of coco-yams. They set fire to his houses.Okonkwo did as the priest said." And he told him what an osu was. feeling with her palm the wet." he said. The young ailing girl who had caused her mother so much heartache had been transformed." replied Ekwefi.

The birds were silenced in the forests. which the first wife alone could wear. He raised it carefully with the hoe and threw it to the surface. and although it had not yet appeared on the sky its light had already melted down the darkness." said Obierika's eldest brother. She broke them into little pieces across the sole of her foot and began to build a fire." said his eldest brother." she replied. He then roused Ezinma and placed her on the stool. A new cover of thick palm branches and palm leaves was set on the walls to protect them from the next rainy season."They do not understand. She was very heavy with child. Nwakibie sent for his wives. He was in fact an outcast. "They have that custom in Obodoani. and by then he had become gravely worried. meanwhile. So he would make a fresh start. She saw the other children with their water-pots and remembered that they were going to fetch water for Obierika's wife. No woman ever asked questions about the most powerful and the most secret cult in the clan.

Then the bride.""And so everybody comes. leaving what we are cooking to burn in the fire. during the last harvest season. the suitor."Yes. he took up the rag with his left hand and began to untie it. entered their mothers' wombs to be born again.The world was silent except for the shrill cry of insects. The rainy season was approaching when they would go away until the dry season returned." And he took another pinch of snuff. Ezeudu was the oldest man in this quarter of Umuofia. "All the gods you have named are not gods at all. It contained other things apart from his snuff-bottle. dug her teeth into the real thing. i fear for the clan. and she put all her being into it. He had been a great and fearless warrior in his time. There were only three such boys in each team. "Your wrestling the other day gave me much happiness.