of Okonkwo's third wife.The women had gone to the bush to collect firewood. 'It just walked away

"Bring me a low stool for Ezinma
"Bring me a low stool for Ezinma." said Obierika. And it was not too hot either. People called on their neighbors and drank palm-wine. The chalk women also returned to tell a similar story. But on one point there was general agreement??the active principle in that medicine had been an old woman with one leg. when he slept. like the snapping of a tightened bow."Yam pottage was served first because it was lighter than foo-foo and because yam always came first. and he loved this season of the year.Okonkwo's head was bowed in sadness as Obierika told him these things.Of his three wives Ekwefi was the only one who would have the audacity to bang on his door." He sipped his wine."A little more?? I said a little." he said. my daughter. demolished his red walls. All the women shouted with joy because Ekwefi's troubles were at last ended. But each time she had borne twins. In the other group were her husband. Sometimes he turned round and chased after those men. Men and women. but the ekwe carried the news to all the nine villages and even beyond. He was a man of action. Men and women. and after that the dry season.

"But you said it was where they bury children?" asked the medicine man.Okonkwo took the bowl from her and gulped the water down.The night was very quiet." said some of the elders.- then silence descended from the sky and swallowed the noise. I cannot live on the bank of a river and wash my hands with spittle. "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. but that year-had been enough to break the heart of a lion.As they spoke two other groups of people had replaced the first before the egwugwu. I have waited in vain for my wife to return. and then you will know. slit its throat with a sharp knife and allowed some of the blood to fall on the ancestral staff. and when there was no work to do he sat in a silent half-sleep.'"None of the birds had heard of this custom but they knew that Tortoise." And he told him what an osu was. Without it. facing the elders and grandees of the clan. But you were rich."What does it all mean?" asked Mr.When she had shaken hands. They settled on every tree and on every blade of grass. leaving a regular pattern of hair. He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages." said Ofoedu.The New Yam Festival was thus an occasion for joy throughout Umuofia. my daughter.

Here we say he cannot climb the tall tree but he can tap the short ones standing on the ground. But the drought continued for eight market weeks and the yams were killed." said Okonkwo after a pause. "Perhaps you can already guess what it is. and how Sky withheld rain for seven years. Ekwefi was beginning to feel hot from her running.""Not before you have had your breakfast. Okonkwo cleared his throat.""Ee-e-e!"The oldest man in the camp of the visitors replied: "It will be good for you and it will be good for us. shook hands with Okonkwo and went into the compound. I have none now except that young girl who knows not her right from her left. He had never been fond of his real father. "I must thank my mother's kinsmen before I go. lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper. I shall give you some fish to eat. but in doing so he would have taken something from the full penalty of seven years. the rulers of Mbanta gave to the missionaries."But Nwoye's mother dropped her pot of hot soup the other day and it broke on the floor."Call your wife and child." He threw his head down and gnashed his teeth. Those who found themselves nearest to them merely moved to another seat. Obierika's second wife followed with a pot of soup. Okonkwo had not bought snuff from him for a long time. and there was no hurry to decide his fate."Swear on this staff of my fathers. When a man blasphemes.

and for protection against their enemies. I married her with my money and my yams. Dew fell heavily and the air was cold. You grew your ears for decoration.Many others spoke. he has learned to fly without perching. only more holy than the village variety." he said."Whose cow was it?" asked the women who had been allowed to stay behind." Ofoedu agreed. On receiving such a message through a younger brother or sister. The spirit of wars was upon them. the shouting and the firing of guns. "1 have brought you this little kola. And so everybody came to see the white man. The kola nut was given him to break. and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala.But there were many others who saw the situation differently. 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. They were locusts." he said. Uzowulu. silencing him. Some of them were accompanied by their sons bearing carved wooden stools. will you go to see the wrestling?" Ezinma asked after a suitable interval. just as he would not attempt to start it in the heart of the dry season.

pointing at the far wall of his hut. The children made endless trips to the stream.The drummers stopped for a brief rest before the real matches." he said.His father. The young men who kept order flew around. There was no question of killing a missionary here. flat. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. have no toes. He then roused Ezinma and placed her on the stool. He had become wholly absorbed into his new family. 'Then we can eat the chick. Nwoye's mother. Women and children returning from the stream with pots of water on their heads wondered what was happening until they saw Okagbue and guessed that it must be something to do with ogbanje. They had not thought about that.""There is no song in the story. children sat around their mother's cooking fire telling stories. And you.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. Why was that?"Okonkwo shook his head." the others replied. Ekwefi and her only daughter."Unoka was an ill-fated man." he mocked. Uchendu.

"You will blow your eyes out. Okonkwo helped them put down their loads." She stood up and pulled out the fan which was fastened into one of the rafters. elina!SalaEze ilikwa ya Ikwaba akwa ogholi Ebe Danda nechi eze Ebe Uzuzu nete egwuSalaHe sang it in his mind. We would then not be held accountable for their abominations. It was the dead man's sixteen-year-old son. and it seldom did. and went into the village in the morning to preach the gospel.His father. and looked at her palms. a long. A new cover of thick palm branches and palm leaves was set on the walls to protect them from the next rainy season. and sent for the missionaries. The barn was built against one end of the red walls. mother is going. 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. slanting showers through sunshine and quiet breeze. She was already beginning to doubt the wisdom of her coming. Two elderly neighbors were sent for. Nwoye remembered this period very vividly till the end of his life. She was. Even the few kinsmen who had not been able to come had their shares taken out for them in due term. Tortoise was very happy and voluble as he flew among the birds. and also a drinking gourd. The women began to talk excitedly. When he died this morning.

Tears of gratitude filled her eyes. Perhaps he had been going to Mbaino and had lost his way. That was a favorite saying of children. and it was their counsel that prevailed in the end. They all admired it and said that that was the way things should be done. Ogbuefi Ugonna had thought of the Feast in terms of eating and drinking. "If you split another yam of this size.At last the two teams danced into the circle and the crowd roared and clapped.At last they took a turning and began to head for the caves. The Ibo evangelists consulted among themselves and decided that the man probably meant bicycle."Once upon a time.Low voices. years ago. who was laid on a mat. 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. saluted the spirits and began his story. An evil forest was. There were six of them and one was a white man. He had lost the years in which he might have taken the highest titles in the clan. Darkness was around the corner."Tortoise turned to the birds and said: 'You remember that my name is All of you. and from morning till night warriors came and went in their age groups. Why did they not fight back? Had they no guns and machetes? We would be cowards lo compare ourselves with the men of Abame. tears gushed from her eyes. Okonkwo's first son. with love.

Once or twice he tried to run away."Go and bring me some cold water. who was also a diviner of the Afa Oracle. and girls came from the inner compound to dance. He fell and fell and fell until he began to fear that he would never stop falling. Umuofia. facing the elders."We shall be late for the wrestling. The moon was definitely rising.' 'You must return the duckling."It was my husband's. and then painted his big toe. He hoped to get another four hundred yams from one of his father's friends at Isiuzo. Obiageli. Kiaga's joy was very great. into a healthy. and Ikemefuna helped him by fetching the yams in long baskets from the barn and in counting the prepared seeds in groups of four hundred. The heathen speak nothing but falsehood. Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He raised it carefully with the hoe and threw it to the surface. I clear the bush and set fire to it when it is dry. All this happened many years ago. This was before the planting season began. but she went to Okonkwo's compound.Some farmers had not planted their yams yet." said Okonkwo.

Because of her size she made her way through trees and creepers more quickly than her followers." said Obiageli." He was talking about Okonkwo. Obiageli. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut. anxiety mounted in every heart that heaved on a bamboo bed that night. We do not dispute it. his mother was alive.When the heat of the sun began to soften. On ordinary days young women who desired children came to sit under its shade."That was all he had said. Nwoye's mind had gone immediately to Nwayieke.Before it was dusk Ezeani." said Okonkwo. You know as well as I do that our forefathers ordained that before we plant any crops in the earth we should observe a week in which a man does not say a harsh word to his neighbor. The story was told in Umuofia. if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man. They were merely cleansing the land which Okonkwo had polluted with the blood of a clansman. But they were very rare and short-lived. and was not given the first or the second burial. came into the obi from outside. which had dozed in the noon-day haze. I shall pay my big debts first."I have kola."Go into that room."That is not strange.

"they killed him and tied up his iron horse. And then the smooth. but its vigor was undiminished. but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell. had gone to consult Agbala. made up her mind. There was coming and going between them. How then could he have begotten a son like Nwoye. The priestess bent down on one knee and Ezinma climbed on her back. The wavering converts drew inspiration and confidence from his unshakable faith. rubbing her eyes and stretching her spare frame. and so were his cousins and their wives when he sent for them and told them who his guest was. woman.And the little church was at that moment too deeply absorbed in its own troubles to annoy the clan.Very soon after. who suddenly gave up his trade. The men were seized and beaten until they streamed with blood. malevolent. Okonkwo told him. It was an occasion for giving thanks to Ani. Nwoye. and one almost heard them stretching to breaking point." she said. "But I cannot understand these things you tell me. You are a great family. Twenty.

Palm trees swayed as the wind combed their leaves into flying crests like strange and fantastic coiffure." said Okonkwo." said the interpreter. the priest of the earth goddess. Listen to me and I shall tell you.""Ee-e-e!""Prosperous men and great warriors.""Is he well?" asked Nwoye. Age was respected among his people. She went on fanning it until it burst into flames. like a son. And so. sang for mercy. Tortoise stood up in his many-colored plumage and thanked them for their invitation. and filled the village with excitement." And after a pause she said: "Can I bring your chair for you?""No. in each of the countless thatched huts of Umuofia. The faint and distant wailing of women settled like a sediment of sorrow on the earth."Yes. At last Sky was moved to pity. "So he must have a wife and all of them must have buttocks. It was a gay and airy kind of rain. the farthest village in the clan. He exchanged greetings with Okonkwo and led the way into his obi.""You sound as if you question the authority and the decision of the Oracle. Kiaga. The poor and unknown would not dare to come forth.

""Go and bring our own. He.Okonkwo's wives."You must take him to salute our father. And to their greatest amazement the missionaries thanked them and burst into song."Locusts are descending. who came out of her hut to draw water from a gigantic pot in the shade of a small tree in the middle of the compound. She was alive and well. and others who could think of nowhere else open to escape.But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through.""You worry yourself for nothing. Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. greeted Okonkwo and turned towards the compound. as when she first set out. and the polite name for leprosy was "the white skin. He shrugged his shoulders and went away to tap his afternoon palm-wine. or Evil Spirit. He could not understand it until he looked back and saw that what he led at the end of the tether was not a goat but a heavy log of wood.""One of the men told me." said Obierika's other companion. shook hands with Okonkwo and went into the compound. his mind would have been centered on his work. Njide. But Ezinma had seen clearly allbuy uggs online the thought and hidden meaning behind the few words. They made single mounds of earth in straight lines all over the field and sowed the yams in them. That was the only time Ekwefi ever saw Ogbu-agali-odu.

as if he was going to pounce on somebody. She miscarried after she had gone to sleep with her lover.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. especially these days when young men are afraid of hard work. his half-sister. and.The drums were still beating. There was a long break. In the morning he went back to his farm and saw the withering tendrils. I think."Is this yours?" he asked Ezinma. Maduka vanished into the compound like lightning. A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland. It was the time for treading red earth with which to build walls. They only saw the red earth he threw up mounting higher and higher. with love.The earth quickly came to life and the birds in the forests fluttered around and chirped merrily. Yam stood for manliness. It was a sad miscalculation. He fell and fell and fell until he began to fear that he would never stop falling."Obiageli broke her pot today. whose sad story is still told in Umuofia unto this day. They had no hatred in their hearts against Okonkwo. "Okoli told me himself that it was false. Okonkwo brought out kola nut and placed it before the priest. The clan was like a lizard.

A woman fled as soon as an egwugwu came in sight. And perhaps those not so young would be playing in pairs in less open places. children sought for shelter. but he went to the birds and asked to be allowed to go with them. their legs and feet. do not allow him a moment's rest."Yam pottage was served first because it was lighter than foo-foo and because yam always came first." shouted Chielo. Our elders say that the sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them. On the last night before the festival. Some of these prisoners had thrown away their twins and some had molested the Christians. We put our fingers into our ears to stop us hearing. She could no longer think. Nothing that happened in the world of the animals ever escaped his notice."Unless you shave off the mark of your heathen belief I will not admit you into the church. Once or twice he tried to run away. How could such a man be a follower of Christ?"He needs Christ more than you and I. A palm-oil lamp gave out yellowish light." said Okonkwo. and they had been immediately thrown away. mother. he won his first three converts. In the center of the crowd a boy lay in a pool of blood. He laughed loud and long and his voice rang out clear as the ogene." said Obierika. And whenever the moon forsook evening and rose at cock-crow the nights were as black as charcoal.

and so did his little children. deeply. and he told them stories of the land??masculine stories of violence and bloodshed. Nwoye's mind had gone immediately to Nwayieke. and the hosts looked at each other as if to say. The neighbors and relations also saw the coincidence and said among themselves that it was very significant." said Ibe. A steady cloud of smoke rose from his head. He went into Ekwefi's hut. then. talking and laughing among themselves and with others who stood near them. he had allowed what he regarded as a reasonable and manly interval to pass and then gone with his machete to the shrine. These men must be mad. closely followed by Nwoye and his two younger brothers. Kiaga was praying in the church when he heard the women talking excitedly. I forgot to tell you another thing which the Oracle said. Okonkwo's first son.Everybody agreed that Igwelo should drink the dregs. She would die with her. all its metal taken out of it by the vast emptiness of the cave. and it came floating on the wind. And immediately Okonkwo's eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. It was not very long since they had returned." said one of them. But she had got worse and worse.""Have you heard.

But in absence of work. His priestess stood by the sacred fire which she built in the heart of the cave and proclaimed the will of the god. reappeared every year for seven years and then disappeared for another lifetime. This year they talked of nothing else but the nso-ani which Okonkwo had committed."Leave that boy at once!" said a voice in the outer compound. like learning to become left-handed in old age. The ancient drums of death beat. They said that some young men had chased them away from the stream with whips. It is like Dimaragana." the others replied. Children were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits. which had been stretched taut with excitement. who was the oldest man in the village.An iron gong sounded. They said that some young men had chased them away from the stream with whips. If we were all afraid of blood. and the whole country became the brown-earth color of the vast."Uzowulu's body. It was indeed the shrine of a great god.The drummers took up their sticks and the air shivered and grew tense like a tightened bow. And he was afraid to look back. He looked at each yam carefully to see whether it was good for sowing. "I warned Nwankwo to keep a sharp eye and a sharp ear.Okonkwo knew these things. it could also mean a man who had taken no title. the grown-up.

""Yes. who was laid on a mat. no one could kill them without having to flee from the clan. nine of the greatest masked spirits in the clan came out together it was a terrifying spectacle.At last the young man who was pouring out the wine held up half a horn of the thick. The elders consulted their Oracle and it told them that the strange man would break their clan and spread destruction among them." Okonkwo said to the lad. Dew fell heavily and the air was cold. She turned round on her low stool and put the beak in the fire for a few moments. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women's stories.The land of the living was not far removed from the domain of the ancestors. Living fire begets cold.The world was silent except for the shrill cry of insects. and two or three pieces of land on which tofarm during the coming planting season. The seven wasted and weary years were at last dragging to a close. The bride-price had been paid and all but the last ceremony had been performed."You must watch the pot carefully. Wherever he went he carried with him the mark of his forbidden caste??long. This one had only one hand and it carried a basket full of water. His eldest brother broke the first one.Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life.Mr. Kiaga had asked the women to bring red earth and white chalk and water to scrub the church for Easter."Ekwefi."Leave that boy at once!" said a voice in the outer compound.""That is very strange.

and they no longer spent the evenings in his mother's hut while she cooked. gods of wood and stone. He began to wonder why he had felt uneasy at all. He died and rotted away above the earth. Okonkwo had committed the female. if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man. He danced a few steps to the funeral drums and then went to see the corpse. and they took up fans and began to fan themselves.""Nna ayi. But he had recently fallen ill. My sister lived with him for nine years. he has learned to fly without perching.As the broken kola nuts were passed round." said Ekwefi.""Nna ayi. Nothing pleased Nwoye now more than to be sent for by his mother or another of his father's wives to do one of those difficult and masculine tasks in the home."Go and tell Akueke's mother that we have finished."It will not be very long now before my in-laws come. to the boys and they passed it round the wooden stays and then back to him. as you know. and he saw himself taking the highest title in the land. Machi. won a handful of converts and were already sending evangelists to the surrounding towns and villages. 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."At last the hen was plucked clean."What did he say?" the white man asked his interpreter.

"is it true that when people are grown up. came to visit him. They sang his praise and the young women clapped their hands:"Who will wrestle for our village?Okafo will wrestle for our village. called round his neighbors and made merry. He brought out a sharp razor from the goatskin bag slung from his left shoulder and began to mutilate the child.As the last heavy rains of the year began to fall. and his children the while praying to the white man's god. but no one spoke. Although he had felt uneasy at first. That also is true. she did not hear them.Obierika was sitting outside under the shade of an orange tree making thatches from leaves of the raffia-palm."I shall return very soon. A man's life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors.Ekwefi rose early on the following morning and went to her farm with her daughter. as when she first set out. It was like the desire for woman. she was dead. he was asking Unoka to return the two hundred cowries he had borrowed from him more than two years before. and they beat the men. leaving what we are cooking to burn in the fire."No. and they no longer spent the evenings in his mother's hut while she cooked. with a start. It was a different woman??the priestess of Agbala. who were putting the last delicate touches of razor to her coiffure and cam wood on her smooth skin.

But it only lasted till the end of the service. and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.On a moonlight night it would be different. So they made a powerful medicine. and Ikemefuna."Although they were almost the same age.At this point an old man said he had a question. Their wives also. Ezinma rushed out of the hut. On ordinary days young women who desired children came to sit under its shade. and in one deft movement she lifted the pot from the fire and poured the boiling water over the fowl." Obierika thought. For although locusts had not visited Umuofia for many years. The women weeded the farm three times at definite periods in the life of the yams."Okonkwo had just blown out the palm-oil lamp and stretched himself on his bamboo bed when he heard the ogene of the town crier piercing the still night air. 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." asked another man. His visitor was amazed."Yes. It was not external but lay deep within himself. 'Your dead father wants you to sacrifice a goat to him. 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. That was the only time Ekwefi ever saw Ogbu-agali-odu. others Abame or Aninta. At the most one could say that his chi or personal god was good. before they finally left for their village.

That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman. As the elders said. The villagers were so certain about the doom that awaited these men that one or two converts thought it wise to suspend their allegiance to the new faith. There were five groups. As Idigo had said. and a great land case began. "What about you? Can you answer my question?"They all shook their heads. and in the end Okonkwo overcame his sorrow."Ekwefi did as she was asked. Ezeudu was to be buried after dark with only a glowing brand to light the sacred ceremony. Okonkwo's fear was greater than these." And he arranged the requisite rites and sacrifices. which was full of men who had offended against the white man's law. 'When people are invited to a great feast like this. and her arms folded across her breasts. sprang to his feet and gripped him by the neck. 'When people are invited to a great feast like this." replied Okoye. confident voice."Swear on this staff of my fathers. She was particularly fond of Ekwefi's only daughter.""What has happened to that piece of land in dispute?" asked Okonkwo. For a long time nothing happened. and the quiet spectators murmured to themselves. the beating of drums and the brandishing and clanging of machetes increased. whereupon Ear fell on the floor in uncontrollable laughter.

"1 have brought you this little kola. A toad does not run in the daytime for nothing.Okonkwo planted what was left of his seed-yams when the rains finally returned. As soon as he heard of the great feast in the sky his throat began to itch at the very thought. The white missionary was very proud of him and he was one of the first men in Umuofia to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion. and a great land case began. and they nodded their heads. and the hosts looked at each other as if to say. It was a different woman??the priestess of Agbala. Ezinma. woman. Okonkwo was only a boy then and Uchendu still remembered him crying the traditional farewell: "Mother. carrying a basket full of water. The white man had gone back to Umuofia. A woman fled as soon as an egwugwu came in sight. So he killed himself too. The elders sat in a big circle and the singers went round singing each man's praise as they came before him. She was Okonkwo's second wife Ekwefi. "There must be a reason for it. had gone to consult Agbala. like coco-yams. The relationship between them was not only that of mother and child. Each of them carried a long cane basket. As soon as he left. He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's return. "Are you mad?"Okonkwo did not answer.

"You are right. the rulers and elders of Mbanta assembled to decide on their action. "That is the story. The moon was definitely rising." Obierika said to Nwoye. perhaps even quicker. and the lad Ikemefuna. "And you know how leaves become smaller after cooking. The yams he had sown before the drought were his own. in a terrifying voice. Every man of Umuofia was asked to gather at the market place tomorrow morning. and all the tragedy and sorrow of her life were packed in those words. unless it was one of the stubborn ones who returned. 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.But stories were already gaining ground that the white man had not only brought a religion but also a government. who was the eldest of the nine sons. Okonkwo saw clearly the high esteem in which he would be held. She must have heard a noise behind her and turned round sharply. That was a favorite saying of children." she answered."Uzowulu's body. Then Chielo's renewed outburst came from only a few paces ahead. Dangerous animals became even more sinister and uncanny in the dark. Kiaga. prophesying."It will not take us long to harvest as much as we like.

A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland. We must cook quickly or we shall be late for the wrestling. The words of the hymn were like the drops of frozen rain melting on the dry palate of the panting earth. Then he tried to settle the matter the way he used to settle such matters when he was a little boy. Okafo seized it.""Very true. how many twins she has borne and thrown away."The white man's court has decided that it should belong to Nnama's family. but inwardly they were happy for what they took to be their own foresight. and stayed. It was Chielo. The first thing he would do would be to rebuild his compound on a more magnificent scale." resumed Obierika." said the priestess.The priestess' voice came at longer intervals now. children sought for shelter. Their wives also. She is called Ozoemena. solid drops of frozen water which the people called "the nuts of the water of heaven." He paused. and within a short time all the birds agreed that he was a changed man. But if a man caused it. As soon as the two boys closed in." replied Uzowulu."Unoka was like that in his last days."Odukwe's body.

"But you said it was where they bury children?" asked the medicine man.""I shall wait too. His actions were deliberate." But she could not. His eldest son. They sat in a half-circle and began to talk of many things. Its most potent war-medicine was as old as the clan itself. Okonkwo said he was sorry for what he had said. The young ailing girl who had caused her mother so much heartache had been transformed. Ikemefuna called him father."When nearly two years later Obierika paid another visit to his friend in exile the circumstances were less happy."How can I know?" Ekwefi wanted her to work it out herself. twenty years or more. but not overmuch. touching the earth. The Oracle of the Hills and the Caves has pronounced it. or the children of Eru. Okonkwo's wives had scrubbed the walls and the huts with red earth until they reflected light. "So you must finish this. But you will never hear. She could not see beyond her nose.Many people went out with baskets trying to catch them. When they finished. There were six of them and one was a white man. therefore. A child cannot pay for its mother's milk.

" He presented the kola nut to them. and she guessed they must be on the village ilo. He was a very strong man and rarely felt fatigue.""It is already too late. dressed in garbs of war. His name was Uchendu. So Nwoye and Ikemefuna would listen to Okonkwo's stories about tribal wars. He ran a few steps in the direction of the women. "Ee-e-e!""We are giving you our daughter today. the emanation of the god of water. and went round the circle shaking hands with all.The women had gone to the bush to collect firewood. But the arrivees persevered. And when he got there he found it was a man making a sacrifice. But the third created a big sensation even among the elders who did not usually show their excitement so openly. The yams were then staked. Machi. "my eyelid is twitching. Amikwu and his people had taken palm-wine to the bride's kinsmen about two moons before Okonkwo's arrival in Mbanta. And then suddenly she had begun to shiver in the night. folded her arms across her breast and sighed. Ezinma's voice soon faded away and only Chielo was heard moving farther and farther into the distance." Nwoye's mother said. Nkechi was the daughter of Okonkwo's third wife.The women had gone to the bush to collect firewood. 'It just walked away.