felt. But it is not so. suddenly found an outlet. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut. more fierce than it had ever been known. They will serve you when I have eaten.

It was like the pulsation of its heart
It was like the pulsation of its heart. But she refused them all. The dark top soil soon gave way to the bright red earth with which women scrubbed the floors and walls of huts."Thank you. Okonkwo cleared his throat. Maduka. There were three men in one group and three men and one woman in the other.But some of the egwugwu were quite harmless." said Mr. the harvest of the previous year. i fear for the clan. It must be the thought of going home to his mother. Ekwefi then became defiant and called her next child Onwuma??"Death may please himself. He was imprisoned with all the leaders of his family. greeted Okonkwo and turned towards the compound. "It wounds my heart to see these young men killing palm trees in the name of tapping. And it was not too hot either. Even as a little boy he had resented his father's failure and weakness. "Let us hear Odukwe.

Such a thing could never happen in his fatherland. His own home had gradually become very faint and distant. and something seemed to give way inside him. I am not afraid of work. and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten. gome. occasionally feeling with her palm the wet. occasionally feeling with her palm the wet. She looked straight ahead of her and walked back to the village. Amalinze was a wily craftsman. another man asked a question: "Where is the white man's horse?" he asked. and he was not afraid of war. Her fear had vanished. and sat speechless. His younger wives did that. And how is my daughter. and so they suffered. Not long after.As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his machete.

He then installed his personal god and the symbols of his departed fathers." Altogether there were fifty pots of wine. Ukegbu. and the burial was near. He continued:"During the last planting season a white man had appeared in their clan. but not overmuch. The crowd followed her silently. but the ekwe carried the news to all the nine villages and even beyond. And so at a very early age when he was striving desperately to build a barn through share-cropping Okonkwo was also fending for his father's house.On the following morning the entire neighborhood wore a festive air because Okonkwo's friend. His mother might be dead. He did not cry.""But he had no wings. "You fear that you will die. 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. he broke it and they ate. many years. Your mother is there to protect you. and she guessed they must be on the village ilo.

There was pounded yam and also yam pottage cooked with palm-oil and fresh fish. They were duly presented to the women. Kiaga that he had decided to go to Umuofia where the white missionary had set up a school to teach young Christians to read and write. "You are not a stranger in Umuofia. I am not afraid of work." said Obierika."The body of Odukwe.The sun rose slowly to the center of the sky.The old man.Later. He can curse the gods of his fathers and his ancestors. they kept their imagination to themselves. The man who had whispered now called out aloud. He looked at each yam carefully to see whether it was good for sowing. Ezinma. She placed Ezinma carefully on the bed and went away without saying a word to anybody. broken now and again by singing. and two days later he returned home with a lad of fifteen and a young virgin. Ekwefi even gave her such delicacies as eggs.

""We have seen it. "and don't allow it to boil over. And when."Call your wife and child. for as soon as the first rain came farming would begin. He can curse the gods of his fathers and his ancestors."Come along then and show me the spot. "I shall tell them my mind if they do.And then the priestess screamed. He neither inherited a barn nor a title. He then adjusted his cloth. And there he stood in his hard shell full of food and wine but without any wings to fly home. Ezinma turned left as if she was going to the stream. He would return later to his mother and his brothers and sisters and convert them to the new faith. If ever a man deserved his success. she prayed a thousand times. Okonkwo ground his teeth in disgust." said Obierika. "that he repeated over and over again a word that resembled Mbaino.

And as if they had been waiting for that. Okonkwo on his bamboo bed tried to figure out the nature of the emergency - war with a neighboring clan? That seemed the most likely reason. A woman fled as soon as an egwugwu came in sight. He passed her a piece of fish. burning forehead.""It was always said that Ndulue and Ozoemena had one mind.The royal python was the most revered animal in Mbanta and all the surrounding clans. "In many other clans a man of title is not forbidden to climb the palm tree. Maduka vanished into the compound like lightning." replied Ekwefi. "I know what it is??the wrestling match. or the teeth of an old woman."Then kill yourself. Your generation does not know that. "But I cannot understand these things you tell me. Darkness was around the corner."That was all he had said. They had built their church there. who will hold his head up among my people.

"Okonkwo never did things by halves. She will be a good wife to you." said Okonkwo. At last I went to my in-laws and said to them." She sat down and stretched her legs in front of her. She would wait at the mouth."He has married Okadigbo's second daughter. "It is a strange and terrible story." she replied and disappeared in the darkness. because it would hear. or "Mother is Supreme?" We all know that a man is the head of the family and his wives do his bidding. She was very heavy with child. She pulled again and it came off. The goat was then led back to the inner compound. Even the few kinsmen who had not been able to come had their shares taken out for them in due term."Looking at a king's mouth. watching." He waved at his sons and daughters. "I do not blame you for not hearing the cock crow.

when he had worked on one side of the wall and Ikemefuna and Nwoye on the other. They chose to fly home on an empty stomach."Okonkwo was very lucky in his daughters. That was his fifth head and he was not an old man yet. He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth. the rulers and elders of Mbanta assembled to decide on their action. Everyone knew then that she would live because her bond with the world of ogbanje had been broken." He got up painfully. his mother was alive. who had given much money to the white man's messengers and interpreter.""The only other person is Udenkwo. they take new names for the occasion.Everybody agreed that Igwelo should drink the dregs. he burst out laughing. was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness. But it was momentary. Again and again Iguedo was called and men waited breathlessly in all the nine villages." he always said. holding the ancestral staff of the family.

and he sent his kotma to catch Aneto. armed with sheathed machetes."Thank you. Go ahead and prepare your farm. It is a bad custom which these people observe because they lack understanding. Most of them were sons of our land whose mothers had been buried with us. blowing it with her breath. And what was more. and Maduka brought in a pot of palm-wine. And what made it worse in Okonkwo's case was that he had to support his mother and two sisters from his meagre harvest. Okonkwo's first son. "You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the children. who was also the youngest man in the group. His wives."One of them passes here frequently. and Okonkwo's women and children heard from their huts all that she said. When one came to think of it. They do not decide bride-price as we do. And you.

She wore the anklet of her husband's titles." said Ezinma. It very quickly went damp."At last the great day came and Tortoise was the first to arrive at the meeting place. But two years later when a son was born he called him Nwofia??"Begotten in the Wilderness. the old man supporting himself with his stick. The sun breaking through their leaves and branches threw a pattern of light and shade on the sandy footway. the rulers of Mbanta gave to the missionaries. and then painted his big toe. "Let us not presume to do so now.The young men who kept order on these occasions dashed about. It must have been a very long time. and the elders of his family. but he went to the birds and asked to be allowed to go with them. Perhaps she has come to stay.The priestess screamed. She walked numbly along. and stayed. and was now accorded great respect in all the clan.

like something agitating with a metallic life." he bellowed a fifth time. Sometimes another village would ask Unoka's band and their dancing egwugwu to come and stay with them and teach them their tunes.When the women retired. A few moments later he went behind the hut and began to vomit painfully. Because of her size she made her way through trees and creepers more quickly than her followers.""I did not know that. Nwakibie brought down his own horn." He paused for a long time and then said: "I told you on my last visit to Mbanta how they hanged Aneto." replied Okukwe. 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. This was before the planting season began. Throughout that day Nwoye sat in his mother's hut and tears stood in his eyes."Swear on this staff of my fathers. If we allow you to come with us you will soon begin your mischief. pushed back the bolt on his door and ran into Ekwefi's hut. whose eyes. It was the time for treading red earth with which to build walls. empty men.

and each stroke is one hundred cowries. and when there was no work to do he sat in a silent half-sleep."When did you set out from home?" asked Okonkwo."Mr.""But someone had to do it. and was punished. unlike most children. There was an oil lamp in all the four huts on Okonkwo's compound.Mr. "I have heard that many years ago. There was something in it like the companionship of equals." and they argued like this for a few moments before Unoka accepted the honor of breaking the kola. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy.""Yes. If a man dies at this time he is not buried but cast into the Evil Forest."The body of Odukwe. But it was really a woman's ceremony and the central figures were the bride and her mother. Maduka. Maduka.

But it was impossible to refuse Ezinma anything. Then he poured out for the others. I have cleared a farm but have no yams to sow. But he was happy to leave his father. Ezenwa took it. There were only four titles in the clan." said Ezinma touching the ground with her finger. The rainbow began to appear. she thought. who will hold his head up among my people.All this had happened more than a year ago and Ezinma had not been ill since.' "I have no more to say to you. on the day that Nwoye's mother celebrated the birth of her three sons with feasting and music. The medicine man ignored him. She broke them into little pieces across the sole of her foot and began to build a fire. The children stood in the darkness outside their hut watching the strange event. If it ended on his left. all talking in low voices. He addressed Nwakibie.

She was. At an early age he had achieved fame as the greatest wrestler in all the land. In Umunso they do not bargain at all. The locusts settled in the bushes for the night and their wings became wet with dew. and all were happy. pushing the air with his raffia arms.""The world is large."No. Kiaga was praying in the church when he heard the women talking excitedly.""You were very much like that yourself. but he went to the birds and asked to be allowed to go with them. 'She should have been a boy. "my eyelid is twitching."None. and she agreed also." Ezinma said. And so they arrived home again. Okagbue worked tirelessly and in silence." said Obierika.

"Beware of exchanging words with Agbala. An oil lamp was lit and Okonkwo tasted from each bowl. The neighbors and Okonkwo's wives were now talking.And the little church was at that moment too deeply absorbed in its own troubles to annoy the clan. making music and feasting. carrying a wooden dish with three kola nuts and alligator pepper. An ultimatum was immediately dispatched to Mbaino asking them to choose between war - on the one hand. Okonkwo!" she warned. not even with broomsticks. And to their greatest amazement the missionaries thanked them and burst into song. Chielo's voice now came after long intervals. Obiageli. not even with broomsticks. "Amadiora will break your head for you!"Some days later. who also counted them and said:"We had not thought to go below thirty.""And so everybody comes. And so when he called Ikemefuna to fetch his gun. She gave the dish to her father's eldest brother and then shook hands. I have already spoken to you about him.

fifth and sixth years. they say."Look at that wall."Our father. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. No! he could not be. and they beat the men. and thank Okonkwo for having looked after him so well and for bringing him back. If ever a man deserved his success. fresh yams and not the shriveled and fibrous crop of the previous year. I have come to pay you my respects and also to ask a favor. It was even said that they had hanged one man who killed a missionary."Have you slept enough?" asked her mother." he swore. But there was a great medicine man in the neighborhood. on their backs and their thighs.' said Mother Kite. "I am an old man and I like to talk. whom he had thrown away.

But the Ibo people have a proverb that when a man says yes his chi says yes also. and at the end of it beat his instrument again." asked another man. "But if the Oracle said that my son should be killed I would neither dispute it nor be the one to do it. food was presented to the guests.' Maduka has been watching your mouth. Dangerous animals became even more sinister and uncanny in the dark. the feasting and fellowship of the first day or the wrestling Contest of the second. Ekwefi trudged along between two fears. They were both Uzowulu's neighbors. He could not stop the rain now. quietly and deliberately. His body rattled like a piece of dry stick in his empty shell." he said to Ikemefuna. As soon as Uchendu saw him with his sad and weary company he guessed what had happened. It was full of meat and fish.So when the daughter of Umuofia was killed in Mbaino. They became ordinary human beings again. Machi.

The elders. He had five other sons and he would bring them up in the way of the clan. but never heard its voice. The drums beat the unmistakable wrestling dance - quick. as husbands' wives were wont to. but the fattest of all was tethered to a peg near the wall of the compound and was as big as a small cow." he said." said one of the women. urging the others to hurry up. too busy to argue. But it went from day to day without a pause. Nwoye's mother is already cooking. in fact. When one came to think of it. We are only his mother's kinsmen. She did not marry him then because he was too poor to pay her bride-price. in a cleared spot. who must taste his wine before anyone else. but offered to use his teeth.

and in a basket beside her were green vegetables and beans. "I had something better to do. shiny pebble fell out."I was coming over to see you as soon as I finished that thatch. We do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. But I think you ought to break it. All the other dancers made way for her. the village playground. He told you that he came to take back her bride-price and we refused to give it him. a place which was already becoming remote and vague in his imagination. But no one was sure where it was coming from. "We will allow three or four women to stay behind."We shall be late for the wrestling. It was after such a day at the farm during the last harvest that Nwoye had felt for the first time a snapping inside him like the one he now felt. But it is not so. suddenly found an outlet. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut. more fierce than it had ever been known. They will serve you when I have eaten.