believed." said Ogbuefi Ezeudu. Okonkwo had not bought snuff from him for a long time. Then everything had been broken.

" She went into the hut again and brought down the smoke-black basket in which she kept her dried fish and other ingredients for cooking soup
" She went into the hut again and brought down the smoke-black basket in which she kept her dried fish and other ingredients for cooking soup."Evil Forest then turned to the other group and addressed the eldest of the three brothers. pulled out his staff and thrust it into the earth again. And it was not too hot either. women and children.' Why is that?"There was silence."At last the hen was plucked clean. Listen to me and I shall tell you. Five matches ended in this way." answered his first wife. in each of the countless thatched huts of Umuofia." He then added ten sticks to the fifteen and gave the bundle to Ukegbu. and when he got home he went straight to Okonkwo's hut and told him what he had seen. or Holy Feast as it was called in Ibo. As the rains became heavier the women planted maize. taking each string separately. But this is a matter which we know.

But in this case she ran away to save her life. he is not too young." He threw his head down and gnashed his teeth. and ate up all the wild grass in the fields. they have killed me!" as he ran towards him.Qkonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand.He wanted him to be a prosperous man. he was at a loss. I salute you. Njide. burning forehead. His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it was the sacred week. He could not ask another man to build his own obi for him. The iron horse was still tied to the sacred silk-cotton tree. They had then drawn patterns on them in white. She was particularly fond of Ekwefi's only daughter. and he had moments of sadness and depression But he and Nwoye had become so deeply attached to each other that such moments became less frequent and less poignant.

He remembered once when men had talked in low tones with his father. Okonkwo. And let me tell you one thing." Obierika thought. Uchendu before her.Okonkwo turned on his side and went back to sleep. "1 shall wait here. were whispering together."Go into that room. "Ee-e-e!""We are giving you our daughter today. and about the locusts?? Then quite suddenly a thought came upon him. the white man began to speak to them."The medicine man then ordered that there should be no mourning for the dead child.At the beginning of their journey the men of Umuofia talked and laughed about the locusts. But such was her anxiety for her daughter that she could not rid herself completely of her fear.- then silence descended from the sky and swallowed the noise. I have come to pay you my respects and also to ask a favor.

but he stood beckoning to them. Okonkwo pleaded with her to come back in the morning because Ezinma was now asleep. The spell of sunshine which always came in the middle of the wet season did not appear. warming their bodies. But Unoka was such a man that he always succeeded in borrowing more. They went outside again. A vague chill had descended on him and his head had seemed to swell. and when he died he was buried by his kind in the Evil Forest. A young man from one team danced across the center to the other side and pointed at whomever he wanted to fight. But he threw himself into it like one possessed. Their leader was called Evil Forest. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart." said Obierika. are white like this piece of chalk. Nwoye's mother carried a basket of coco-yams. The young men who kept order flew around. "who will protect us from the anger of our neglected gods and ancestors?""Your gods are not alive and cannot do you any harm.

and something seemed to give way inside him." They laughed and agreed.""That is why the drum has not been beaten to tell Umuofla.Everyone was now about." he asked."Do you know Ogbuefi Ndulue?" Ofoedu asked." and was allowed to go wherever it chose. or ndichie. so heavy and persistent that even the village rain-maker no longer claimed to be able to intervene. When they saw it they drove it back to its owner. I owe that man a thousand cowries. That was the way the clan at first looked at it. paid regular visits to them. seeing that the new religion welcomed twins and such abominations."Who killed this banana tree?" he asked. That showed that in time he would be able to control his women-folk." And he did.

""But someone had to do it. Even the sacred fish in their mysterious lake have fled and the lake has turned the color of blood. "Let us give them a portion of the Evil Forest."When your wife becomes pregnant again."No. At last Sky was moved to pity. Then came the voices of the egwugwu. in the sunshine." he said. But the song spread in Umuofia. light and gay." she called."I have heard. If a man dies at this time he is not buried but cast into the Evil Forest. Their hosts took him as the king of the birds. If a gang of efulefu decided to live in the Evil Forest it was their own affair. for although nobody else knew it.

and he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating." Okonkwo asked himself. only to return to their places almost immediately. almost overnight."Come and show me the exact spot."Ezinma's voice from the darkness warmed her mother's heart. But the Ibo people have a proverb that when a man says yes his chi says yes also. I shall not eat in the house of a man who has no respect for our gods and ancestors. "that he repeated over and over again a word that resembled Mbaino. asked her""Remember that if you do not answer truthfully you will suffer or even die at childbirth. who then unrolled the goatskin which he carried under his arm. On Obierika's side were his two elder brothers and Maduka.Okonkwo returned from the bush carrying on his left shoulder a large bundle of grasses and leaves." said Obierika."Okonkwo was very lucky in his daughters." said Obierika. sang for mercy.

They were silent for a long time. It was there that her third child was born and circumcised on the eighth day. Her heart jumped painfully within her. They were duly presented to the women. therefore. But each time she had borne twins."You are a big man now."Uzowulu's body.At last they took a turning and began to head for the caves. I kill a man on the day that his life is sweetest to him."Be patient. with love. It descended on him again. but never heard its voice. It was slow and painful. He had therefore put his drinking-horn into his goatskin bag for the occasion. She would wait at the mouth.

especially their hair. Okagbue was a very striking figure."I did not say He had a wife. who was the priest of the earth goddess. The moon was definitely rising.It was not yet noon on the second day of the New Yam Festival." he said. She had married Anene because Okonkwo was too poor then to marry. Even the smell of gunpowder was swallowed in the sickly smell that now filled the air."I will come with you. She went back to the hut and brought her pot. Okonkwo did not know at first that she was not at home. and was now accorded great respect in all the clan. But tonight she was addressing her prophecy and greetings to Okonkwo.' said the young kite. endless space in the presence of Agbala. just beyond the borders of Mbaino.

There were also pots of yam pottage. She rubbed each string downwards with her palms until it passed the buttocks and slipped down to the floor around her feet. as Ekwefi had said. She had already walked so long that she began to feel a slight numbness in the limbs and in the head."We are all well."The missionary ignored him and went on to talk about the Holy Trinity. and the burial was near. He can curse the gods of his fathers and his ancestors. Her husband's wife took this for malevolence. took a long broom and swept the ground in front of his father's obi. You buried it in the ground somewhere so that you can die and return again to torment your mother. "Let us go." She died in her eleventh month. Earth's emissary. Maduka.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. He looked at each yam carefully to see whether it was good for sowing.

""We have seen it.Okonkwo was also feeling tired. Why was that?"Okonkwo shook his head." He danced a few more steps and went away. pointing at the far wall of his hut. This year they talked of nothing else but the nso-ani which Okonkwo had committed."We have now built a church. As the Ibo say: "When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk. It was a deep bag and took almost the whole length of his arm. Her husband's wife took this for malevolence. for he knew certainly that something was amiss. succulent breasts. Ezinma's voice soon faded away and only Chielo was heard moving farther and farther into the distance. With the help of his mother's kinsmen he built himself an obi and three huts for his wives. But although it had happened so long ago. overpowered him and obtained his first human head. one of these women went to Ozoemena's hut and told her.

He played on the ogene. Okonkwo had not bought snuff from him for a long time. The children stood in the darkness outside their hut watching the strange event. Kiaga's congregation at Mbanta. 'When mother-cow is chewing grass its young ones watch its mouth. "You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the children.When all the egwugwu had sat down and the sound of the many tiny bells and rattles on their bodies had subsided. You may have heard of the title I intend to take shortly. She was very friendly with Ekwefi and they shared a common shed in the market.But stories were already gaining ground that the white man had not only brought a religion but also a government.""Not before you have had your breakfast. which together formed a half moon behind the obi. where his friend gave them out year by year to sharecroppers."Locusts are descending. Two years after her marriage to Anene she could bear it no longer and she ran away to Okonkwo. And this was the message. and the burial was near.

a thing set apart??a taboo for ever. "But you can explain to her. For although locusts had not visited Umuofia for many years."Tortoise turned to the birds and said: 'You remember that my name is All of you. He asked the birds to take a message for his wife. are white like this piece of chalk. We do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. he immediately bought gourds of palm-wine. "I warned Nwankwo to keep a sharp eye and a sharp ear. Her coming was quite useless. he thought over the matter. Her eyes were useless to her in the darkness. Not long after. But they were very rare and short-lived. through lonely forest paths. It was an angry.These outcasts.

if it lost its tail it soon grew another. and he loved the first kites that returned with the dry season."Tell my wife. When he had swallowed them. "I shall carry you on my back. Somebody was dead."Ekwefi. Okonkwo was.She had prayed for the moon to rise. They surged forward as the two young men danced into the circle. folded her arms across her breast and sighed. was passing by the church on his way from the neighboring village. The first cock has crowed." came the voice like a sharp knife cutting through the night. men. who had given much money to the white man's messengers and interpreter. The earth goddess whom you have insulted may refuse to give us her increase.

self-assured and confident. No woman ever asked questions about the most powerful and the most secret cult in the clan. But Okagbue said he was not tired yet. "who will protect us from the anger of our neglected gods and ancestors?""Your gods are not alive and cannot do you any harm. Anyone who knew his grim struggle against poverty and misfortune could not say he had been lucky. We do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. He was like an elder brother to Nwoye. he was at a loss. She pulled again and it came off. He was a leper."Okonkwo was very lucky in his daughters. They sang the latest song in the village:" If I hold her handShe says. slanting showers through sunshine and quiet breeze. The spell of sunshine which always came in the middle of the wet season did not appear. The dark top soil soon gave way to the bright red earth with which women scrubbed the floors and walls of huts.' said her mother."It is iba.

""The only other person is Udenkwo. Rain fell as it had never fallen before. because it judged a man by the work or his hands. "I have heard that many years ago. making music and feasting. women and children left their work or their play and ran into the open to see the unfamiliar sight. You may have heard of the title I intend to take shortly."He sprang to his feet." He paused. He ate a few more pieces of plaintain and pushed the dish aside. I fear for you. Ekwefi mopped her with a piece of cloth and she lay down on a dry mat and was soon asleep. Listen to me and I shall tell you. Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offense he had committed inadvertently? But although he thought for a long time he found no answer. Everyone knew then that she would live because her bond with the world of ogbanje had been broken.Okonkwo's neighbors heard his wife crying and sent their voices over the compound walls to ask what was the matter. It seemed as if the world had gone mad.

Ezinma was always surprised that her mother could lift a pot from the fire with her bare hands. only they did not understand him. A sudden fury rose within him and he felt a strong desire to take up his machete. Kiaga. he belonged to the clan as a whole. 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. "1 want Okonkwo to answer me.Ekwefi put a few live coals into a piece of broken pot and Ezinma carried it across the clean swept compound to Nwoye's mother. and Obiageli told her mournful story."Oye. They saluted one another and then reappeared on the ilo. They haggle and bargain as if they were buying a goat or a cow in the market. Kiaga. I would not have believed." said Ogbuefi Ezeudu. Okonkwo had not bought snuff from him for a long time. Then everything had been broken.