they had covered. And so heavily did it rain onVulture that he did not return to deliver his message but flew to a distant land.

They were silent for a long time
They were silent for a long time. but he did not say it. So he waited impatiently for the dry season to come. The first day passed and the second and third and fourth. Ekwefi had a feeling of spacious openness. Although he had prospered in his motherland Okonkwo knew that he would have prospered even more in Umuofia. the white men had also brought a government. Okonkwo had clearly washed his hands and so he ate with kings and elders."Uzowulu's body."Is this yours?" he asked Ezinma."It was in the second year of Okonkwo's exile that his friend. Ezinma brought her two legs together and stretched them in front of her. They stood round in a huge circle leaving the center of the playground free. and none of them died. I cannot yet find a mouth with which to tell the story. a man of war. calling him "Our father.

The younger of his sons.The whole village turned out on the ilo. Kiaga's joy was very great. Evil Forest represented the village of Umueru. There were only four titles in the clan." he always said. And she realized too with something like a jerk that Chielo was no longer moving forward. He remembered once when men had talked in low tones with his father."The crowd answered-. to her right and to her left. called round his neighbors and made merry. She broke a piece in two and gave it to Ezinma." He rose and left the hut. the beating of drums and the brandishing and clanging of machetes increased. only they did not understand him."Looking at a king's mouth. who will hold his head up among my people.

He had been a great and fearless warrior in his time. And that is why we say that mother is supreme. Cooking pots went up and down the tripods and foo-foo was pounded in a hundred wooden mortars Some of the women cooked the yams and the cassava. Somebody was dead. We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers. Soon it covered half the sky. if they were stubborn. She did not return to Okonkwo's compound until three days before the naming ceremony. Ekwefi was the only person in the happy company who went about with a cloud on her brow. 1 know more about the world than any of you. As far as the villagers were concerned. Quick as the lightning of Amadiora. Okonkwo got ready quickly and the party set out with Ikemefuna carrying the pot of wine. But she refused them all."Those who knew Amadi laughed. or the teeth of an old woman. the village playground.

They told the white man and he smiled benevolently." said Obierika. for he had no grave. Ekwefi quickly took her to their bedroom and placed her on their high bamboo bed. guns and even his cannon. Then the metal gong sounded and the flute was blown. He thought of his mother and his three-year-old sister and wept bitterly. There was an oil lamp in all the four huts on Okonkwo's compound. The bush was alive with the tread of feet on dry leaves and sticks and the moving aside of tree branches." said the interpreter. and through these Okonkwo passed the rope. It tried Okonkwo's patience beyond words.Many years ago when Okonkwo was still a boy his father. The first day passed and the second and third and fourth."My hand is on the ground. This was about eight days after the fight. Ani played a greater part in the life of the people than any other diety.

There were also pots of yam pottage. and they were merely her messengers." said Idigo. Uchendu's eldest daughter had come from Obodo. Sometimes it was not necessary to dig. "But what is good in one place is bad in another place.Okagbue had again taken over the digging from Okonkwo. But it was impossible to refuse Ezinma anything. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. But although it had happened so long ago. The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought there by their young sons or slaves. He then adjusted his cloth. suddenly found an outlet.Ezinma lay shivering on a mat beside a huge fire that her mother had kept burning all night. The rain became lighter and lighter until it fell in slanting showers. but inwardly they were happy for what they took to be their own foresight." said Ezinma.

" And so they all went to help Obierika's wife??Nwoye's mother with her four children and Ojiugo with her two. It was true they were rescuing twins from the bush. He hoped to get another four hundred yams from one of his father's friends at Isiuzo. Once in a while Chielo was possessed by the spirit of her god and she began to prophesy. And what is the result? An abominable religion has settled among you. The rainy season was approaching when they would go away until the dry season returned. For two or three moons the sun had been gathering strength till it seemed to breathe a breath of fire on the earth.It seemed to Ekwefi that the night had become a little lighter. And at last the locusts did descend. He led it on a thick rope which he tied round his wrist. Unoka was never happy when it came to wars." said Obierika. And she enjoyed above all the secrecy in which she now ate them. The egwugwu with the springy walk was one of the dead fathers of the clan. And so he changed the subject and talked about music. She would wait at the mouth. he was already one of the greatest men of his time.

He ran a few steps in the direction of the women. nearly half a day's journey away. Okonkwo knew how to kill a man's spirit. Cam wood was rubbed lightly into her skin."No. like learning to become left-handed in old age. but Okonkwo sat unmoved."Thank you. Without further argument Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping. metallic and thirsty clap. and the smallest group had ten lines." said Mr.But there was a young lad who had been captivated. That was in fact the reason why he had come to see Unoka."Did she ask you to feed them before she went?""Yes."Don't you know what kind of man Uzowulu is? He will not listen to any other decision."Do you know Ogbuefi Ndulue?" Ofoedu asked.

In the end Parrot. which. She only began to weep when they got near the iroko tree outside their compound."You know what it is. "His name is Amadi. I did not hang myself.As they trooped through Okonkwo's obi he asked: "Who will prepare my afternoon meal?""I shall return to do it. He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages. As soon as he left." said some of the elders. Okonkwo worked on the outside of the wall and the boys worked from within. It was only when he had got there that it had occurred to him that the priestess might have chosen to go round the villages first. The cut bush was left to dry and fire was then set to it." said his father."Take away your kola nut. If one says no to the other." But he was a man of commanding presence and the clansmen listened to him.

and on their way they paid short courtesy visits to prominent men like Okonkwo. and he spoke as he performed them:"1 hope our in-laws will bring many pots of wine. If you turn against me when I am dead I will visit you and break your neck. If you had been a coward. "Our duty is not to blame this man or to praise that. He broke the nut saying: We shall all live. But 1 thought you would need the money now and so I brought it. It descended on him again. That was in fact the reason why he had come to see Unoka. gome. 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. have no toes. carrying a wooden dish with three kola nuts and alligator pepper."There must be something behind it. There were also pots of palm-wine. "My son has told me about you. 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.

for you people. you and me and all of us. The drums went mad and the crowds also. A man can now leave his father and his brothers. or the teeth of an old woman. He then adjusted his cloth. He stepped forward. Okonkwo walked behind him.""The Earth cannot punish me for obeying her messenger. Okagbue was a very striking figure. Unoka. The crowd followed her silently.Okonkwo was well received by his mother's kinsmen in Mbanta. Okonkwo pleaded with her to come back in the morning because Ezinma was now asleep. How could she know that Ekwefi's bitterness did not flow outwards to others but inwards into her own soul. who had been talking. was expected to invite large numbers of guests from far and wide.

""They dare not bring fewer than thirty pots.The nine villages of Umuofia had grown out of the nine sons of the first father of the clan. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy. "If you split another yam of this size. Her coming was quite useless. The new year must begin with tasty. And so when Okonkwo of Umuofia arrived at Mbaino as the proud and imperious emissary of war.The elders of the clan had decided that Ikemefuna should be in Okonkwo's care for a while. He had finished it on the very day the locusts came. who stood beside her." She died in her eleventh month. Unfortunately for her Okonkwo heard it and ran madly into his room for the loaded gun. and sat speechless.Okonkwo planted what was left of his seed-yams when the rains finally returned."There is too much green vegetable. The white man had gone back to Umuofia. But his whole life was dominated by fear.

It came slowly. As soon as Uchendu saw him with his sad and weary company he guessed what had happened. unlike most children. Tortoise was very happy and voluble as he flew among the birds. Okonkwo's house was on the way to the stream. usually before the age of three. When they carried him away. burning torches were set on wooden tripods and the young men raised a song." said Ibe. His visitor was amazed. He took the first of the empty stools and the eight other egwugwu began to sit in order of seniority after him. "Are you afraid you may dissolve?"The harvesting was easy. The children were also decorated. who was then an ailing man. Thirty. If we allow you to come with us you will soon begin your mischief. That showed that in time he would be able to control his women-folk.

and one almost heard them stretching to breaking point. They had built their church there. They were very happy and began to prepare themselves for the great day. and something seemed to give way inside him. But as he walked through the market he realized that people were pointing at him as they do to a madman." he said. That was a favorite saying of children. They were already far enough where they stood and there was room for running away if any of them should go towards them. Is it true that Okonkwo nearly killed you with his gun?""It is true indeed. And he was afraid to look back. But all he said was: "When shall I go home?" When Okonkwo heard that he would not eat any food he came into the hut with a big stick in his hand and stood over him while he swallowed his yams. They were the lazy easy-going ones who always put off clearing their farms as long as they could. Wherever he went he carried with him the mark of his forbidden caste??long. He presented a kola nut and an alligator pepper. The first rains were late. These court messengers were greatly hated in Umuofia because they were foreigners and also arrogant and high-handed. "lest Agbala be angry with you.

who was fat and whose body shone as if oil was rubbed on it??"She broke off because at that very moment a loud and high-pitched voice broke the outer silence of the night. And then one morning three white men led by a band of ordinary men like us came to the clan.She set the pot on the fire and Okonkwo took up his machete to return to his obi. When his wife Ekwefi protested that two goats were sufficient for the feast he told her that it was not her affair. He was quite different. The drums rose to a frenzy. The harmattan was in the air and seemed to distill a hazy feeling of sleep on the world. who drank a cup or two each. But he now knew that they were for foolish women and children. and when he got home he went straight to Okonkwo's hut and told him what he had seen. degenerate and effeminate? Perhaps he was not his son. We did not see it.As they spoke two other groups of people had replaced the first before the egwugwu. They did not really want them near to the clan. especially these days when young men are afraid of hard work."She will bring her back soon. Anyone seeing Chielo in ordinary life would hardly believe she was the same person who prophesied when the spirit of Agbala was upon her.

No one had ever beheld Agbala. came to visit him.' And so Daughter Kite returned the duckling and took a chick instead. But I can trust you. I salute you. and there had been a mad rush for shelter earlier in the day when one appeared with a sharp machete and was only prevented from doing serious harm by two men who restrained him with the help of a strong rope tied round his waist. A sudden hush had fallen on the women. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so." He brought down his staff heavily on the floor. she returned to her mother's hut to help with the cooking. I would sooner strangle him with my own hands.""The world is large. She stood for a while. who was Okonkwo's father. and his happiest moments were the two or three moons after the harvest when the village musicians brought down their instruments. He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's return. He sighed again.

more terrible and more sinister than the anger."You need some sleep yourself. So I shall ask you to come again the way you came before. What is it that has happened to our people? Why have they lost the power to fight?""Have you not heard how the white man wiped out Abame?" asked Obierika. But no one was sure where it was coming from. my friend.He brought with him two young men. This year they were the wise ones. all the descendants of Okolo. At the end they decided. He looked terrible with the smoked raffia "body. The titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin." he said. and she swore within her that if she heard Ezinma cry she would rush into the cave to defend her against all the gods in the world."Thank you."Then I shall go back to the clan. Inwardly.

And you. In that way she will elude her wicked tormentor and break its evil cycle of birth and death. "Now they are behaving like men. The white man was also their brother because they were all sons of God.At last the day came by which all the missionaries should have died. It was instinctive." and was allowed to go wherever it chose."After the Week of Peace every man and his family began to clear the bush to make new farms." Okonkwo replied.No work was done during the Week of Peace. "Your friend Anene asked me to greet you. I sow the yams when the first rain has fallen. They were mostly the kind of people that were called efulefu. or playground.The old man. the distance they had covered. And so heavily did it rain onVulture that he did not return to deliver his message but flew to a distant land.