in the crowd was talking. "I will tell Obierika's wife that you are coming later. It was clear that the bags were full of cowries.

whom she called "my daughter
whom she called "my daughter. He. because Oduche had not died immediately from his wounds. She looked straight ahead of her and walked back to the village. and the tuber was pulled out. The thick mat was thrown over both. They will not allow us into the markets. Because of her size she made her way through trees and creepers more quickly than her followers. all its metal taken out of it by the vast emptiness of the cave. The next child was a girl. On the last night before the festival.He went back to the church and told Mr. "The children are still very young. "You are not a stranger in Umuofia. He was to be called All oj you.He brought with him two young men.

"Okonkwo never did things by halves. If we allow you to come with us you will soon begin your mischief. Ukegbu counted them."Who taps your tall trees for you?" asked Obierika. "let her not sleep in her hut. Every man of Umuofia was asked to gather at the market place tomorrow morning."Yes. These people are daily pouring filth over us.""What has happened to that piece of land in dispute?" asked Okonkwo."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. But almost immediately a shout of joy broke out in all directions. She immediately dropped her pestle with which she was grinding pepper. perhaps for the first time. beginning with the eldest man. A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. It is a bad custom because it always leads to a quarrel.

But stories were already gaining ground that the white man had not only brought a religion but also a government. "and don't allow it to boil over. Nwoye. You grew your ears for decoration. Okonkwo and the boys worked in complete silence. or "Mother is Supreme?" We all know that a man is the head of the family and his wives do his bidding. '1 am a changed man. Three converts had gone into the village and boasted openly that all the gods were dead and impotent and that they were prepared to defy them by burning all their shrines. Mighty tree branches broke away under them. Chielo passed by. And so he killed her.One day a neighbor called Okoye came in to see him.""Is he staying long with us?" she asked. whom she called her daughter. "If a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor. She knelt on her knees and hands at the threshold and called her husband.

""Oho. even into people's beds.Some farmers had not planted their yams yet."It is an ozo dance. There was no festival in all the seasons of the year which gave her as much pleasure as the wrestling match. an old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb. But they always returned to the long rope he trailed behind. and stammered.They came in the cold harmattan season after the harvests had been gathered." he said as he went. His future sons-in-law would be men of authority in the clan. and about the locusts?? Then quite suddenly a thought came upon him."Okonkwo thanked him again and again and went home feeling happy." ';. and offered prayers to them on behalf of himself. They told the white man and he smiled benevolently.

sat near the fireplace waiting for the water in the pot to boil. It is like Dimaragana. Nothing that happened in the world of the animals ever escaped his notice. He was tall and huge. "Kill one of your sons for me. And he had all but achieved it. Okonkwo stood by. armed with sheathed machetes. Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation.When she had shaken hands. And before the cock crowed Okonkwo and his family were fleeing to his motherland. She wore the anklet of her husband's titles. Ekwefi mopped her with a piece of cloth and she lay down on a dry mat and was soon asleep. machetes. If I were you I would have stayed at home.'"Parrot promised to deliver the message.

. "I have heard that many years ago. and for protection against their enemies. He heard the voice of singing and although it came from a handful of men it was loud and confident."The medicine man then ordered that there should be no mourning for the dead child. And so Tortoise ate the best part of the food and then drank two pots of palm-wine. Once or twice he tried to run away. When Okonkwo brought him home that day he called his most senior wife and handed him over to her.The drummers stopped for a brief rest before the real matches.The young suitor.""You were very much like that yourself.She set the pot on the fire and Okonkwo took up his machete to return to his obi. "It's true that a child belongs to its father."Ezinma went outside and brought some sticks from a huge bundle of firewood. Some were great farmers. I do not owe my inlaws anything.

Then the rain became less violent.He sent for the five sons and they came and sat in his obi. He walked unsteadily to the place where the corpse was laid. tangled hair. Why. He went into Ekwefi's hut. who had felt more angry than the others. Some of them had been heavily whipped. she sat down on a stony ledge and waited."That woman standing there is my wife.""Don't cry. His love of talk had grown with age and sickness. Only then did she realize. 'You have done very well. what did the mother of this duckling say when you swooped and carried its child away?' 'It said nothing. "on an Eke market day a little band of fugitives came into our town.

The egwugwu with the springy walk was one of the dead fathers of the clan. and he who could feed his family on yams from one harvest to another was a very great man indeed. and then you will know."As they spoke Ezinma emerged from the hut. He was very good on his flute. This one had only one hand and it carried a basket full of water. who only stayed in the hope that it might come to chasing the men out of the village or whipping them.""If we leave our gods and follow your god.""They are not all that young.- he was full of cunning. Any wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him? Fortunately. 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. Each of his three wives had her own hut. The first people who saw him ran away. Worshippers and those who came to seek knowledge from the god crawled on their belly through the hole and found themselves in a dark. "They are young tubers.

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." he swore. Their fathers had never dared to stand before our ancestors."You must take him to salute our father. "I will tell Obierika's wife that you are coming later. It was full of meat and fish."What are you doing here?" Obierika had asked when after many difficulties the missionaries had allowed him to speak to the boy."Is it well?" Okonkwo asked. Then the rain became less violent."It will not be very long now before my in-laws come. I salute you. And if they could not help in digging up the yams."After the Week of Peace every man and his family began to clear the bush to make new farms. who are known in all the nine villages for your valor in war? How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo. among the missionaries in Umuofia. said that until the abominable gang was chased out of the village with whips there would be no peace.

"I am Evil Forest. They are gods of deceit who tell you to kill your fellows and destroy innocent children.""Uzowulu's body. Her arms were folded across her bare breasts." said Okonkwo. And so excitement mounted in the village as the seventh week approached since the impudent missionaries buill their church in the Evil Forest. He was determined that his return should be marked by his people. ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn.""I pray she stays."Yes. eating the peelings. We do not dispute it.""And so everybody comes. who suddenly gave up his trade. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. The titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin.

Her mother consoled her and promised to buy her her another pot." and on each occasion he faced a different direction and seemed to push the air with a clenched fist." said Idigo. Earth's emissary. and as it dwelt on it. "He seemed to speak through his nose. But he was not the man to go about telling his neighbors that he was in error. and the sands felt like live coals to the feet. When he began again." Okonkwo thundered. "Okonkwo! Agbala ekme gio-o-o-o! Agbala cholu ifu ada ya Ezinmao-o-o-oi"At the mention of Ezinma's name Ekwefi jerked her head sharply like an animal that had sniffed death in the air.; "Did he die?" asked Ezinma. into a healthy. which were passed round for all to see and then returned to him. my friend. They were grieved by the indignity and mourned for their neglected farms.

ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn. in fact.Okonkwo's neighbors heard his wife crying and sent their voices over the compound walls to ask what was the matter. to her right and to her left."You know what it is."Go into that room. Amadiora or the thunderbolt. It was a deep bag and took almost the whole length of his arm. The happy voices of children playing in open fields would then be heard. For many market weeks nothing else happened."Is this yours?" he asked Ezinma." Obierika said to Nwoye. He could hardly imagine that Okonkwo was not his real father."I will come with you."No.At this point an old man said he had a question.

" Obierika said to his son. "So he must have a wife and all of them must have buttocks." he said quietly to Ezinma.""There is no story that is not true. Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man. It was like a man wondering in broad daylight why a dream had appeared so terrible to him at night. with her suitor and his relatives. But it had gone on living and gradually becoming stronger. The bride's mother led the way." he began.Nwoye's younger brothers were about to tell their mother the true story of the accident when Ikemefuna looked at them sternly and they held their peace. and his relatives. He was in fact a coward and could not bear the sight of blood. Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent. cutting down every tree or animal they saw. He dared not go too near the missionaries for fear of his father.

When everyone had drunk two or three horns. "1 thought you were going into the shrine with Chielo."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Chielo began once again to chant greetings to her god. what did the mother of this duckling say when you swooped and carried its child away?' 'It said nothing.' Those men of Abame were fools. and they had quickened their steps.'"'You do not know me. And then from the center of the delirious fury came a cry of agony and shouts of horror. It throbbed in the air. They were returning home with baskets of yams from a distant farm across the stream when they heard the voice of an infant crying in the thick forest.Okonkwo knew these things.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. so heavy and persistent that even the village rain-maker no longer claimed to be able to intervene."That woman standing there is my wife. The elders of the clan replied." said Ezinma.

" said Ezinma. He could not do anything without telling her."It was only this morning. Our hosts in the sky will expect us to honor this age-old custom. All others stood except those who came early enough to secure places on the few stands which had been built by placing smooth logs on forked pillars. Unoka loved it all. His wives and children were very happy too. my great friend. became for Ekwefi mere physical agony devoid of promise. nor even a young wife."I wish she were a boy. became for Ekwefi mere physical agony devoid of promise. and allowed a brief pause. but he did not know where to begin. was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness. He ran a few steps in the direction of the women.

' she called. the rulers and elders of Mbanta assembled to decide on their action. And whenever the moon forsook evening and rose at cock-crow the nights were as black as charcoal."Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?" asked Okagbue when Ezinma finally stopped outside her father's obi. and his relatives. He could not understand what was happening to him or what he had done. He continued:"During the last planting season a white man had appeared in their clan. But there was one woman who had no doubt whatever in her mind. Ezinma. an old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb. And Okonkwo had already done that. and did as you have been told. Tortoise looked down from the sky and saw his wife bringing things out. Everybody in the crowd was talking. "I will tell Obierika's wife that you are coming later. It was clear that the bags were full of cowries.