like the pulsation of its heart. The huge voice of the crowd then rose to the sky and in every direction. a good harvest and happiness." He presented the kola nut to them.

But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through
But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through." continued Odukwe. None of them was a man of title.Ekwefi had suffered a good deal in her life. "But you can explain to her. Listen to me and I shall tell you. their legs and feet."Why is Okonkwo with us today? This is not his clan. His two younger brothers are more promising." urged the other women"None?" asked Njide.' Those men of Abame were fools. Each of his three wives had her own hut.' Maduka has been watching your mouth. went into an inner room and came back with a kola nut. When all the birds had gathered together. "They had been warned that danger was ahead. He would teach her! But Nwoye resembled his grandfather. had crawled out of the shrine on her belly like a snake." said Obierika's eldest brother.

Men and women."Answer truthfully.She wore a coiffure which was done up into a crest in the middle of the head. fresh yams and not the shriveled and fibrous crop of the previous year. There were twenty-two of them."That was about five years ago. in silence. in their due proportions. It was on the seventh day that he died. Even as a little boy he had resented his father's failure and weakness. It was the time of the year when everybody was at home. twenty years or more. which was part of the night." said Machi. When they were out of earshot. though his dialect was different and harsh to the enrs of Mbanta. But I want you to have nothing to do with it. "Beware of exchanging words with Agbala.The woman with whom she talked was called Chielo.

or pounding food. "You fear that you will die. We do not dispute it. Their wives also. Okonkwo looked away. not dead. As the smoke rose into the sky kites appeared from different directions and hovered over the burning field in silent valediction. A baby on its mother's back does not know that the way is long. I married her with my money and my yams. as was the custom. It looked like an equal match." said Okonkwo. for he had no grave. Kiaga had asked the women to bring red earth and white chalk and water to scrub the church for Easter. "Three or four of us should stay behind. ozo is so low that every beggar takes it.When all the egwugwu had sat down and the sound of the many tiny bells and rattles on their bodies had subsided. tall. She began to run.

But it had gone on living and gradually becoming stronger." He prayed especially for Okonkwo and his family. The first people who saw him ran away. And so he is bowed with grief. Young men pounded the foo-foo or split firewood. No matter how prosperous a man was. "I planted the farm nearly two years ago. He fell and fell and fell until he began to fear that he would never stop falling."Don't you know what kind of man Uzowulu is? He will not listen to any other decision." he always said. He sighed again. Nwoye's mother thanked her and she went back to her mother's hut.It was not yet noon on the second day of the New Yam Festival. Ezinma was crying loudly now. This one had only one hand and it carried a basket full of water. The old man bore no ill will towards Okonkwo. "Use the fan. and he sent his kotma to catch Aneto. I shall pay you.

"He was not an albino. Could he remember them all? He would tell her about Nwoye and his mother. He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat.'"Parrot promised to deliver the message."When nearly two years later Obierika paid another visit to his friend in exile the circumstances were less happy. the sky." But it was a different Chielo she now saw in the yellow half-light." The man who had contradicted him had no titles. and she agreed also. there was no other way. and when there was no work to do he sat in a silent half-sleep.But. where he built his headquarters and from where he paid regular visits to Mr. I salute you.""There is no story that is not true. Then Chielo's renewed outburst came from only a few paces ahead. As soon as the two boys closed in."He sprang to his feet. said Ezeugo.

""Let them laugh.' said Tortoise. "Will you go?""Yes. shiny pebble fell out. They scrubbed and painted the outside walls under the supervision of men. not dead." he said to Ikemefuna. not even with broomsticks. He knew that he had lost his place among the nine masked spirits who administered justice in the clan." said Okonkwo. Without looking at the man Okonkwo had said: "This meeting is for men. "that I shall bring many iron horses when we have settled down among them."Get me a pot. He was imprisoned with all the leaders of his family. carrying the stamp of their mutilation??a missing finger or perhaps a dark line where the medicine man's razor had cut them. Another one was wailing near his right ear. And so he killed her.Unoka. and Umuofia was still swallowed up in sleep and silence when the ekwe began to talk.

""Yes. Are you deaf?" Okonkwo roared at her. in silence. meanwhile."They want a piece of land to build their shrine."No. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women's stories. no one could kill them without having to flee from the clan. "the goddess of the earth. She presented the cock to the musicians and began to dance. During those years no single day passed in the sky without his beating the woman."It will not be very long now before my in-laws come."Those women whom Obierika's wife had not asked to help her with the cooking returned to their homes.At the beginning of their journey the men of Umuofia talked and laughed about the locusts." replied Ekwefi. They were locusts. At first it appeared as if it might prove too great for his spirit. with which he carried the brown snuff to his nostrils. It was the dead man's sixteen-year-old son.

"As they stood there together.""Too much of his grandfather. when he was young. There were three men in one group and three men and one woman in the other. and so did his little children. and Ikemefuna. may Agbala shave your head with a blunt razor! May he twist your neck until you see your heels!"Ekwefi stood rooted to the spot. He continued:"During the last planting season a white man had appeared in their clan. And what is the result? Their clan is full of the evil spirits of these unburied dead. The women and children sent up a great shout and took to their heels. 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."Go and burn your mothers' genitals. They came to discover what the future held for them or to consult the spirits of their departed fathers."The next day. and one almost heard them stretching to breaking point. will you go to see the wrestling?" Ezinma asked after a suitable interval. as husbands' wives were wont to. who had brought it from her mother's hut. followed by Akueke.

had gone to consult Agbala." He drank his palm-wine.That night a bell-man went through the length and breadth of Mbanta proclaiming that the adherents of the new faith were thenceforth excluded from the life and privileges of the clan. "In those other clans you speak of. They boast about victory over death."Mr. 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. Di-go-go-di-go-di-di-go-go floated in the message-laden night air. She had borne ten children and nine of them had died in infancy. but he did not say it. It was in fact one of them who in his zeal brought the church into serious conflict with the clan a year later by killing the sacred python. young and old. Men and women. I shall give you some fish to eat. I would have asked you to bring courage. I have waited in vain for my wife to return.That night a bell-man went through the length and breadth of Mbanta proclaiming that the adherents of the new faith were thenceforth excluded from the life and privileges of the clan."It was Wednesday in Holy Week and Mr. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace.

and although it had not yet appeared on the sky its light had already melted down the darkness."If you bring us all this way for nothing I shall beat sense into you. Ekwefi quickly moved away from her line of retreat. And so they walked out together. "I shall tell them my mind if they do. Sometimes it was not necessary to dig. Even a man's motherland is strange to him nowadays. Ezinma went deeper and deeper and the crowd went with her. Ekwefi had nothing but good wishes for her. Chielo passed by. It was the justice of the earth goddess.Uchendu took the hen from her. That also is true. Although they come from a village that is known for being closefisted. She miscarried after she had gone to sleep with her lover.Ekwefi was tired and sleepy from the exhausting experiences of the previous night. "all the birds were invited to a feast in the sky. so his chi agreed.Just then the distant beating of drums began to reach them.

and at the end of it beat his instrument again. for you people. and it could not be done later because harvesting would soon set in. in each of the countless thatched huts of Umuofia. At first Ekwefi accepted her. They set out early that morning. so she cupped her right hand to shelter the flame.""All their customs are upside-down. Mr. The children stood in the darkness outside their hut watching the strange event. She was Okonkwo's second wife Ekwefi. But he was always uncomfortable sitting around for days waiting for a feast or getting over it. usually before the age of three. and with him were his father and uncle. As soon as the two boys closed in. for he knew certainly that something was amiss. Even the smell of gunpowder was swallowed in the sickly smell that now filled the air.'"'You do not know me.Seven years was a long time to be away from one's clan.

""They were fools. which every man kept in his obi and with which his guests drew lines on the floor before they ate kola nuts. It was unheard of to beat somebody during the sacred week."Forgive me. Njide."Who taps your tall trees for you?" asked Obierika. Then everything had been broken. The rainy season was approaching when they would go away until the dry season returned. people said it was refusing food. Okonkwo would take care of meat and yams. In the end Okonkwo threw the Cat. "If you split another yam of this size. Their church stood on a circular clearing that looked like the open mouth of the Evil Forest. which only made the darkness more profound. It is a poor soil and that is why the tubers are so small. and something seemed to give way inside him. to roast plantains for him. and the hosts looked at each other as if to say. If you had been a coward.

" replied Odukwe. She placed Ezinma carefully on the bed and went away without saying a word to anybody. The clan was like a lizard."Thank you. scooped out two mouthfuls and fled from the hut to chew the cud in the goats' shed. eating the peelings." And he told him what an osu was. They formed a circular ring with a break at one point through which the foot-track led to the center of the circle. But he threw himself into it like one possessed. Unoka was able to give an answer between fresh outbursts of mirth. And before the cock crowed Okonkwo and his family were fleeing to his motherland. At last Sky was moved to pity.""Your chi is very much awake. why it is that one of the commonest names we give our children is Nneka. Okonkwo. At the end of it Okonkwo was fully convinced that the man was mad.Dusk was already approaching when their contest began. I know it as I look at you. Almost immediately the women came in with a big bowl of foo-foo.

one of the people of the sky came forward and tasted a little from each pot."Nwoye always wondered who Nnadi was and why he should live all by himself. every man with his goatskin bag hung on one shoulder and a rolled goatskin mat under his arm.It was a great funeral. and they were merely her messengers. setting up a wave of expectation in the crowd. But tonight she was addressing her prophecy and greetings to Okonkwo. Now you talk about his son. and flies went with him. The rain fell in thin.""Anyway. a man asks his kinsman to scratch him."Then kill yourself. whose sad story is still told in Umuofia unto this day. But it was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth. and the rest went back. The earth goddess whom you have insulted may refuse to give us her increase. A razor was taboo to him." said another man.

And so." He paused for a long time and then said: "I told you on my last visit to Mbanta how they hanged Aneto. and a little hoe for digging out the tuber."Call your wife and child. There must have been about ten thousand men there. It was even heard in the surrounding villages."Your buttocks said he had a son. She beckons in front of her and behind her. The first people who saw him ran away. endless space in the presence of Agbala. Fortunately." came her voice. On the last night before the festival.- that she did not blame others for their good fortune but her own evil chi who denied her any?At last Ezinma was born. Her husband and his family were already becoming highly critical of such a woman and were not unduly perturbed when they found she had fled to join the Christians. The rainbow was called the python of the sky. "I must thank my mother's kinsmen before I go.A strange and sudden weakness descended on Ekwefi as she stood gazing in the direction of the voices like a hen whose only chick has been carried away by a kite. as she had accepted others??with listless resignation.

" said Ekwefi. No one had actually seen the man do it.""But they are beating the drums. It was the fear of himself. If you had been a coward." He turned to Uzowulu's group and allowed a short pause. It was the time of the year when everybody was at home. It is the law of our fathers. but the elders counseled patience till nightfall. When he died this morning. let your sister go with him. nor the walls of his compound." the others replied. Many of them spoke at great length and in fury."Father.Okagbue went back into the pit. may Agbala shave your head with a blunt razor! May he twist your neck until you see your heels!"Ekwefi stood rooted to the spot." he began. three times.

Perhaps he had been going to Mbaino and had lost his way. and she was greatly feared. watching. one hen. It was Ekwefl's turn to tell a story. was a failure. I salute you. Why did they not fight back? Had they no guns and machetes? We would be cowards lo compare ourselves with the men of Abame."Sit like a woman!" Okonkwo shouted at her. or playground.The priestess' voice came at longer intervals now.""Yes. He was ill for three market weeks. Kiaga. But the second time did not count." He brought down his staff heavily on the floor."The market of Umuike is a wonderful place. Okonkwo ground his teeth in disgust. The spirit of wars was upon them.

they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground. and drinking palm-wine copiously.They sat in a big circle on the ground and the young bride in the center with a hen in her right hand. he had already put aside his goatskin bag and his big cloth and was in his underwear. He just carried her into his bed and in the darkness began to feel around her waist for the loose end of her cloth. and went round the circle shaking hands with all. with music and dancing and a great feast. Okonkwo was still pleading that the girl had been ill of late and was asleep. Okonkwo cleared his throat. Nwoye. "Poor child. fifth and sixth years. the medicine itself was called agadi-nwayi. one of them did something which no one could describe because it had been as quick as a flash.The metal gong beat continuously now and the flute. They formed a circular ring with a break at one point through which the foot-track led to the center of the circle. She will bear you nine sons like the mother of our town." Obierika replied sharply. Okonkwo's gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy's heart.

he was terribly afraid. In ordinary life Chielo was a widow with two children.As the palm-wine was drunk one of the oldest members of the umunna rose to thank Okonkwo:"If I say that we did not expect such a big feast I will be suggesting that we did not know how openhanded our son. The next morning they were roasted in clay pots and then spread in the sun until they became dry and brittle. It was slow and painful."Okoli was not there to answer. "My father told me that he had been told that in the past a man who broke the peace was dragged on the ground through the village until he died." he said. and with him were his father and uncle." said Okonkwo." Ekwefi said firmly.At last the young man who was pouring out the wine held up half a horn of the thick. despite his madness. and sat down."I must go home to tap my palm trees for the afternoon. It was like the pulsation of its heart. The huge voice of the crowd then rose to the sky and in every direction. a good harvest and happiness." He presented the kola nut to them.