Then there was perfect silence. "As for me. stroking her head. Kiaga restrained them. There were five groups. He breathed heavily. that man was okonkwo.

they set off in a body
they set off in a body. The harmattan was in the air and seemed to distill a hazy feeling of sleep on the world. "How much longer do you think you will live?" she asked.' Those men of Abame were fools."That will not be enough.""Nwoye is old enough to impregnate a woman. We do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. We are better than animals because we have kinsmen. And so they arrived home again. He is always in a hurry. and it came floating on the wind. are white like this piece of chalk. He had lost the years in which he might have taken the highest titles in the clan. And he had all but achieved it. impotent ash. "Ee-e-e!""We are giving you our daughter today. Some of them had been heavily whipped. Ekwefi mopped her with a piece of cloth and she lay down on a dry mat and was soon asleep. warming their bodies. was a very exacting king.Okonkwo turned on his side and went back to sleep. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. Some of them were accompanied by their sons bearing carved wooden stools. another man asked a question: "Where is the white man's horse?" he asked. many years. Some women ran away in fear when it was thrown.

"And it died this morning?"Okonkwo said yes. They must have bypassed it long ago. They sang songs as they went. I implore you." said Obiageli."It is very near now. woman. But he was not the man to go about telling his neighbors that he was in error. and hung their goatskin bags and sheathed machetes over their left shoulders. Spirits always addressed humans as "bodies. a vibrant silence made more intense by the universal trill of a million million forest insects.Qkonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand.The Christians had grown in number and were now a small community of men. that man was okonkwo. Nwakibie brought down his own horn. But they were very rare and short-lived. He had become wholly absorbed into his new family." said Obierika. Many people looked around. At last I went to my in-laws and said to them. The story had arisen among the Christians themselves. Every market day. And he had all but achieved it. "Kill one of your sons for me. They were called kotma.""Have you heard.

"That is the strange part of it. who was two years younger."Nwoye did not fully understand.""He was indeed. had gained ground. and for protection against their enemies. may Agbala shave your head with a blunt razor! May he twist your neck until you see your heels!"Ekwefi stood rooted to the spot. Only then did she realize. And she went into her hut to warm the vegetable soup she had cooked last night. Most communal ceremonies took place at that time of the day. and it seldom did. On receiving such a message through a younger brother or sister. Groups of four or five men sat round with a pot in their midst. The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought there by their young sons or slaves. It must be the thought of going home to his mother. But if you allow sorrow to weigh you down and kill you they will all die in exile. And they began to shoot. drank a little and handed back the horn." said Okonkwo's voice. How old is she now?""She is about ten years old." he announced when he sat down."Uzowulu's body." her mother warned as she moved near the fireplace to bring the pestle resting against the wall. I shall do that every year until you return. But it was really a woman's ceremony and the central figures were the bride and her mother. It contained other things apart from his snuff-bottle.

The cannon seemed to rend the sky." He turned to Uzowulu's group and allowed a short pause. the suitor. She stood for a while.He went back to the church and told Mr." replied Odukwe. "But you ought to ask why the drum has not beaten to tell Umuofia of his death. "And let there be friendship between your family and ours.Ezinma grew up in her father's exile and became one of the most beautiful girls in Mbanta. Ekwefi tried to pull out the horny beak but it was too hard. my friend. If we should try to drive out the white men in Umuofia we should find it easy. But they soon returned and everyone was gazing at the rag from a reasonable distance. as if that was paying the big debts first. her blood still ran cold whenever she remembered that night. "The evil you have done can ruin the whole clan. "Every day I tell you that jigida and fire are not friends. Tortoise began to sniff aloud. behind the crowd."And so three goats were slaughtered and a number of fowls. Ekwefi was the only person in the happy company who went about with a cloud on her brow."That is the strange part of it. nine of the greatest masked spirits in the clan came out together it was a terrifying spectacle. He would teach her! But Nwoye resembled his grandfather. Ogbuefi Ezeugo was a powerful orator and was always chosen to speak on such occasions. the rulers of Mbanta gave to the missionaries.

which together formed a half moon behind the obi.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. Ogbuefi Idigo was talking about the palm-wine tapper. endless space in the presence of Agbala.Before it was dusk Ezeani. "Will you go?""Yes. Are you deaf?" Okonkwo roared at her. there was no other way. burning forehead. and he prayed to the ancestors. It was a very good wine and powerful. as her mother had been called in her youth. 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. but even if you came into your obi and found her lover on top of her. and it seldom did. He was a very strong man and rarely felt fatigue. boomed the hollow metal. And then the locusts came. At an early age he had achieved fame as the greatest wrestler in all the land. and because of their ash-colored shorts they earned the additional name of Ashy Buttocks.The Oracle was called Agbala.Ikemefuna came to Umuofia at the end of the carefree season between harvest and planting.But somehow Okonkwo could never become as enthusiastic over feasts as most people. Uchendu ground his teeth together audibly." said another man. The hearing then began.

he fled to Aninta to escape the wrath of the earth. The elders said locusts came once in a generation." said Okonkwo. He held up a piece of chalk. and very strong."Be patient. "I planted the farm nearly two years ago. Only then did she realize.Later. watching. and its priests and medicine men were feared in all the surrounding country. She was peeling new yams."Bring me a hoe. Am I dead? They said I would die if i took care of twins. When a man was afflicted with swelling in the stomach and the limbs he was not allowed to die in the house. and by then he had become gravely worried. picking his words with great care:"It is Okonkwo that 1 primarily wish to speak to. But no one thought It would be as long as three years. 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. Okonkwo and the boys worked in complete silence. It was an angry. Inwardly. as on that day. They had no hatred in their hearts against Okonkwo.Having sworn that oath. They came when misfortune dogged their steps or when they had a dispute with their neighbors.

Okonkwo's son. met to hear a report of Okonkwo's mission.At last the rain came. He searched in it for his snuff-bottle. When he brought out the snuff-bottle he tapped it a few times against his knee-cap before taking out some snuff on the palm of his left hand. yellow and dark green. Last year neither of them had thrown the other even though the judges had allowed the contest to go on longer than was the custom. Their church stood on a circular clearing that looked like the open mouth of the Evil Forest." he intoned. Old men nodded to the beat of the drums and remembered the days when they wrestled to its intoxicating rhythm. The air. but many of them believed that the strange faith and the white man's god would not last. and none of them died. He who brings kola brings life.On the third day he asked his second wife."Ask Akueke's mother to send us some kola nuts. and earth rose. Wherever he went he carried with him the mark of his forbidden caste??long. "I do not blame you for not hearing the cock crow.Okonkwo was popularly called the "Roaring Flame. a length of cloth and a hundred cowries. Evil Forest rose to his feet and order was immediately restored. especially their hair. during the last harvest season. I also kill a cock at the shrine of Ifejioku. The interpreter explained each verse to the audience.

Such a thing could never happen in his fatherland. It looked like an equal match. Everyone was puzzled. "If I had a son like him I should be happy. It was then that the one-handed spirit came. It was clear that the bags were full of cowries."We are at last getting somewhere.His anger thus satisfied."You know what it is. They can steal your cloth from off your waist in that market. Now you talk about his son. One of them was a pathetic cry. But it would be impolite to rush him. Who else among his children could have read his thoughts so well? With two beautiful grown-up daughters his return to Umuofia would attract considerable attention. "Let us give them a portion of the Evil Forest. At first they were afraid they might die." said Okonkwo. On Obierika's side were his two elder brothers and Maduka. his three wives and eight children. in the same way as they would meet if a death occurred . Without looking at the man Okonkwo had said: "This meeting is for men. and looked at her palms. Ezinma was always surprised that her mother could lift a pot from the fire with her bare hands. It was a deep bag and took almost the whole length of his arm. It had been early in the morning."My hand is on the ground.

empty men.When she had shaken hands.""It is so indeed. Evil Forest rose to his feet and order was immediately restored. as her mother had been called in her youth. 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. on the other hand. "But they will understand when they go to their plot of land tomorrow morning."Come. "that I shall bring many iron horses when we have settled down among them. but he did not answer. 'Then we can eat the chick. Uchendu pulled gently at his gray beard and gnashed his teeth." said Uchendu"I swear."Two years ago.Ogbuefi Ezeudu. He would return with a flourish. Okonkwo's first wife." They all laughed. my dear friend.Then the tragedy of his first son had occurred. as she had accepted others??with listless resignation."It is false. A steady cloud of smoke rose from his head. He neither inherited a barn nor a title. living in a special area of the village.

Ogbuefi Ugonna had thought of the Feast in terms of eating and drinking. Throughout that day Nwoye sat in his mother's hut and tears stood in his eyes.That night he collected his most valuable belongings into head-loads. Obierika and half a dozen other friends came to help and to console him. It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights. Ekwefi and her daughter. I sacrifice a cock to Ani. and many farmers wept as they dug up the miserable and rotting yams. It was called a string. "We are going directly. "What kind of lover sleeps with a pregnant woman?" There was a loud murmur of approbation from the crowd.At first.The world was silent except for the shrill cry of insects. shrill and powerful. It was a great feast."My in-law has told you that we went to his house." He looked at Okonkwo. And so he regretted every day of his exile. She often called her Ezigbo.Anasi was a middle-aged woman. The man who had whispered now called out aloud.' And so Daughter Kite returned the duckling and took a chick instead. Nwoye returned home." Okonkwo was surprised. That was not luck. Those men of Abame were fools.

It was said that when such a spirit appeared. It was powerful in war and in magic. "and yet he is full of sorrow because he has come to live in his motherland for a few years. in which he took a pinch of snuff and sneezed noisily. yet young people ran about happily picking up the cold nuts and throwing them into their mouths to melt. The bush was alive with the tread of feet on dry leaves and sticks and the moving aside of tree branches.There were twelve men on each side and the challenge went from one side to the other. They must have bypassed it long ago. It was like the desire for woman. He told them that they worshipped false gods. when the sun's heat had softened.At this point an old man said he had a question. He raised it carefully with the hoe and threw it to the surface. roasting and eating maize. carrying a pot of palm-wine on his head. Ekwefi's mind went back to the days when they were young. others said he was not the equal of Ikezue. The children were also decorated."He belongs to the clan. now said"You told us with your own mouth that there was only one god. Tortoise looked down from the sky and saw his wife bringing things out. Even Mgbafo took to her heels and had to be restrained by her brothers. and earth rose. when she had seen Ogbu-agali-odu. The young tendrils were protected from earth-heat with rings of sisal leaves. They were the harbingers sent to survey the land.

He was merely led into greater complexities."That is the strange part of it. Amikwu. He had tried to protect them from the smoldering earth by making rings of thick sisal leaves around them. Spirits of good children lived in that tree waiting to be born. all strong and healthy. deeply.' said her mother. Ekwefi had been returning from the stream with her mother on a dark night like this when they saw its glow as it flew in their direction." said Obierika's eldest brother. her voice terrible as it echoed through the dark void." he said quietly to Ezinma.- they must be going towards Umuachi. He would return later to his mother and his brothers and sisters and convert them to the new faith." Nwoye's mother said.They came in the cold harmattan season after the harvests had been gathered. because there was no humanity there.Before it was dusk Ezeani. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. the harvest of the previous year. "They had been warned that danger was ahead. some of them having come a long way from their homes in distant villages.But the most dreaded of all was yet to come." said the joker.""The world is large. Okoye.

Ekwefi peeled the yams quickly." said Okonkwo. But a few years later she ran away from her husband and came to live with Okonkwo. and went round the circle shaking hands with all. He immediately set to work digging a pit where Ezinma had indicated. and went back to her hut. and the planting began. They came to discover what the future held for them or to consult the spirits of their departed fathers. He accepted the half-full horn from his brother and drank it."Nwakibie cleared his throat. gome went the gong.""You sound as if you question the authority and the decision of the Oracle. They were duly presented to the women."Did she ask you to feed them before she went?""Yes."Yes.""I don't know how we got that law. you wicked daughter of Akalogoli?" Okonkwo swore furiously. and evil fortune followed him to the grave. I greet you. You. and he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating. only to return to their places almost immediately."Oho. At such times she seemed beyond danger. When they finished. They were grieved by the indignity and mourned for their neglected farms.

whose eyes. When a man was afflicted with swelling in the stomach and the limbs he was not allowed to die in the house. Okonkwo knew how to kill a man's spirit. For three or four moons it demanded hard work and constant attention from cock-crow till the chickens went back to roost. the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. So he waited impatiently for the dry season to come.He wanted him to be a prosperous man. A child cannot pay for its mother's milk. An evil forest was. smiling. Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down." said Okonkwo as he rose to go. "Whether you are spirit or man. Uchendu. and the tuber was pulled out. Later in the day he called Ikemefuna and told him that he was to be taken home the next day. Let her go and stay with her people. He could not take any of the four titles of the clan.' said Mother Kite. I began to fend for myself at an age when most people still suck at their mothers' breasts. which only made the darkness more profound. Mr. And it was not too hot either." His staff came down again."At last the party arrived in the sky and their hosts were very happy to see them.But.

There were only four titles in the clan. in turn. but he did not say it. carrying a wooden dish with three kola nuts and alligator pepper. Most of them were sons of our land whose mothers had been buried with us. for whom is it well? There is no one for whom it is well. If any one of you prefers to be a woman. 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. were fixed on her. You grew your ears for decoration. They were beaten in the prison by the kotma and made to work every morning clearing the government compound and fetching wood for the white Commissioner and the court messengers. the wife who had just been beaten murmured something about guns that never shot. Are you deaf?" Okonkwo roared at her. It was also part of the night. in the same way as they would meet if a death occurred . 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. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace."It should be ready in four days or even three.An iron gong sounded. especially at festivals and also when an old man died. the earth goddess and the source of all fertility. Okafo raised his right leg and swung it over his rival's head. He neither inherited a barn nor a title.He wanted him to be a prosperous man. So I have brought the matter to the fathers of the clan. The three white men and a very large number of other men surrounded the market.

When the will of the goddess had been done. Whenever the thought of his father's weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it by thinking about his own strength and success. And when he did this he saw that his father was pleased. "Whether you are spirit or man. His wives.And then the storm burst."Agbala do-o-o-o!?? Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Ekwefi trudged behind."Akueke moved to the other end of the hut and began to remove the waist-beads. A proud heart can survive a general failure because such failure does not prick its pride." 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. It must be the thought of going home to his mother." pleaded from a reasonable distance. Okonkwo had called in another medicine man who was famous in the clan for his great knowledge about ogbanje children. And for many days this rare food was eaten with solid palm-oil. He heard the voice of singing and although it came from a handful of men it was loud and confident. The imagery of an efulefu in the language of the clan was a man who sold his machete and wore the sheath to battle. You buried it in the ground somewhere so that you can die and return again to torment your mother. Okonkwo and his family went to the farm with baskets of seed-yams. It contained other things apart from his snuff-bottle. She prepared it the way he liked??with slices of oil-bean and fish. But everybody knew that he was going to die and Aneto got his belongings together in readiness to flee. Neither of the other wives dared to interfere beyond an occasional and tentative. He told them that they worshipped false gods." said Ofoedu. The iron horse was still tied to the sacred silk-cotton tree. impotent ash.

The women weeded the farm three times at definite periods in the life of the yams. especially the youngest. Only a week ago a man had contradicted him at a kindred meeting which they held to discuss the next ancestral feast. "Kill one of your sons for me. She broke them into little pieces across the sole of her foot and began to build a fire. and others prepared vegetable soup." said Evil Forest." Umuofia obodo dike! Umuofia obodo dike! It said this over and over again. "Your daughter will bear us sons like you. Okonkwo brought out l??s big horn from the goatskin bag.Okonkwo returned from the bush carrying on his left shoulder a large bundle of grasses and leaves. He had sown four hundred seeds when the rains dried up and the heat returned.Share-cropping was a very slow way of building up a barn of one's own. She stood until Chielo had increased the distance between them and she began to follow again.Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son's development. broke into life and activity. Mgbafo and her brothers were as still as statues into whose faces the artist has molded defiance.The last match was between the leaders of the teams. I think. Okonkwo."I don't know why such a trifle should come before the said one elder to another. "How dare you." replied Nwoye." said Uchendu after a long silence. Ezinma sneezed. Who knows what may happen tomorrow? Perhaps green men will come to our clan and shoot us.

"And he was riding an iron horse. That showed that in time he would be able to control his women-folk."Then listen to me. After that nothing happened for a long time between the church and the clan. Then send him word to fight for us. looking at the position of the sun."Is that enough?" she asked when she had poured in about half of the water in the bowl." he said." said one of the women. and only then realized for the first time that the child had died on the same market-day as it had been born. hung above the fireplace." said Ekwefi. and thank Okonkwo for having looked after him so well and for bringing him back. should he."How can I know you. "Who will drink the dregs?" he asked. "Bear no hand in his death. "We will go with you to meet those cowards." said Okonkwo after a pause. From then on. Abame??I know them all. Behind them was the big and ancient silk-cotton tree which was sacred. It was the day on which her suitor (having already paid the greater part of her bride-price) would bring palm-wine not only to her parents and immediate relatives but to the wide and extensive group of kinsmen called umunna. he thought over the matter. and of the forces of nature. ignorant of the love of God.

of course.Okonkwo returned when he felt the medicine had cooked long anough. The water began to boil. overpowered him and obtained his first human head. A snake was never called by its name at night. who was greatly perplexed. Nobody thought that such a thing could ever happen. red in tooth and claw. I know what it is to ask a man to trust another with his yams. as a sullen husband refuses his wife's food when they have quarrelled. None of his converts was a man whose word was heeded in ihe assembly of the people. 'Don't touch!' If i hold her footShe says." His tone now changed from anger to command.Low voices.The nine villages of Umuofia had grown out of the nine sons of the first father of the clan. Then there was perfect silence. the earth goddess and the source of all fertility. The white man has no sense.Evil Forest began to speak and all the while he spoke everyone was silent." Okonkwo asked himself. He just carried her into his bed and in the darkness began to feel around her waist for the loose end of her cloth. Every man of Umuofia was asked to gather at the market place tomorrow morning."Call your wife and child. He does not belong here."That was all he had said. Because of her size she made her way through trees and creepers more quickly than her followers.

The only work that men did at this time was covering the walls of their compound with new palm fronds. Okoye rolled his goatskin and departed. You grew your ears for decoration. and in the end it was decided to ostracize the Christians."Odukwe's body. All that is true.When she got to the big udala tree Ezinma turned left into the bush.Low voices. Could he remember them all? He would tell her about Nwoye and his mother.""He tapped three of my best palm trees to death." said Obierika.Chielo's voice was now rising continuously. but he went to the birds and asked to be allowed to go with them. Sometimes it poured down in such thick sheets of water that earth and sky seemed merged in one gray wetness.Obierika then presented to him a small bundle of short broomsticks. who were still outside the circle. He was a good eater and he could drink one or two fairly big gourds of palm-wine. You will have what is good for you and I will have what is good for me. And so the two of them refused every offer of marriage in Mbanta." He paused. Although he had felt uneasy at first. It was Nwoye's mother. a length of cloth and a hundred cowries. he immediately bought gourds of palm-wine. Why should I? But the Oracle did not ask me to carry out its decision. and the whole country became the brown-earth color of the vast.

But no one thought It would be as long as three years." urged the other women"None?" asked Njide." said Uchendu"I swear. her wrath was loosed on all the land and not just on the offender. and they beat the men. The first voice gets to Chukwu. but nothing came out. And then it became known that the white man's fetish had unbelievable power. This man told him that the child was an ogbanje. Every man can see it in his own compound. The priestess was now saluting the village of Umuachi. or Holy Feast as it was called in Ibo. The oldest man present said sternly that those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble." she said. Then he took it away to bury in the Evil Forest."The next day. He called his son. She sometimes broke into a run and stopped again suddenly." said Mr."Come along. The priestess was now saluting the village of Umuachi. had crawled out of the shrine on her belly like a snake. Even Mgbafo took to her heels and had to be restrained by her brothers.He was tall but very thin and had a slight stoop. which was strengthened by such little conspiracies as eating eggs in the bedroom."I have kola.

" the medicine man told Okonkwo in a cool."Go to your in-laws with a pot of wine and beg your wife to return to you. He searched in it for his snuff-bottle. And then Nkechi came in. clay and metal instruments went from song to song. "my eyelid is twitching. and turned to his sons and daughters. They set fire to his houses. There was nobody in the hut and the fireplace was cold. It was as if a spell had been cast."Listen to me. It was the time for treading red earth with which to build walls.Umuofia had indeed changed during the seven years Okonkwo had been in exile.Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life. Okonkwo had committed the female." said Ofoedu. How a woman could carry a child of that size so easily and for so long was a miracle."Leave her to me. Obierika nodded in agreement. Okonkwo." he said. and filled the village with excitement.On the third day he asked his second wife. he thought. clay and metal instruments went from song to song.Although such stories were now often told they looked like fairy-tales in Mbanta and did not as yet affect the relationship between the new church and the clan.

If any money came his way. And then from the center of the delirious fury came a cry of agony and shouts of horror.When they had all gathered."Where is Mgbogo?" asked one of them. Chielo passed by. "When did you become one of the ndichie of Umuofia?"And so Nwoye's mother took Ikemefuna to her hut and asked no more questions. tapped it on his kneecap.Ezinma was still sleeping when everyone else was astir. and long stacks of yam stood out prosperously in it. But after a while this custom was stopped because it spoiled the peace which it was meant to preserve. There were huge bowls of foo-foo and steaming pots of soup. and it ended on the left."We cannot all rush out like that. Okonkwo brought out kola nut and placed it before the priest. When they finished. And it began to shake and rattle. "We will go with you to meet those cowards."He said something. He could not stop the rain now. It is against the will of God. I owe that man a thousand cowries. sandy beach. his heels hardly touched the ground and he seemed to walk on springs."Go and burn your mothers' genitals." said Ibe. because her father had called her one evening and said to her: "There are many good and prosperous people here.

Ezinma brought her two legs together and stretched them in front of her. It was a very expensive ceremony and he was gathering all his resources together.When the heat of the sun began to soften. vibrating heat. 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 iron horse was still tied to the sacred silk-cotton tree. "She must have broken her waterpot. And it was not too hot either. that Ekwensu. and so the victim could not be buried in her bowels. Maduka. The saying of the elders was not true??that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed. the old man supporting himself with his stick. It all began over the question of admitting outcasts.Ekwefi had suffered a good deal in her life.It was going to be Okonkwo's last harvest in Mbanta.Chielo's voice was now rising continuously. self-assured and confident. It was a very good wine and powerful. How could he know that his father had taken a hand in killing a daughter of Umuofia? All he knew was that a few men had arrived at their house. and the rest went back.When the women retired. and the quiet spectators murmured to themselves.' said Mother Kite to her daughter. No punishment was prescribed for a man who killed the python knowingly."Ogbuefi Ndulue of Ire village.

raised the pot on his left knee and began to pour out the wine."They would have gone on arguing had Ofoedu not come in just then. and they knocked against each other as he searched. But he was not a failure like Unoka.""I did not know that. And this faith had been strengthened when a year or so ago a medicine man had dug up Ezinma's iyi-uwa. Ekwefi hurried to the main footpath and turned left in the direction of the voice. We all know him. and they were merely her messengers. Okonkwo stood by.That night a bell-man went through the length and breadth of Mbanta proclaiming that the adherents of the new faith were thenceforth excluded from the life and privileges of the clan." He turned to Uzowulu's group and allowed a short pause. where titled men climb trees and pound foo-foo for their wives. Nothing that happened in the world of the animals ever escaped his notice. And perhaps those not so young would be playing in pairs in less open places. The first thing he would do would be to rebuild his compound on a more magnificent scale. but every farmer knew that without sunshine the tubers would not grow. and Okonkwo's women and children heard from their huts all that she said. Nwoye. Okonkwo stood by. Dum! Dum! Dum! boomed the cannon at intervals. The sun breaking through their leaves and branches threw a pattern of light and shade on the sandy footway." At the same time the priestess also said. for he had no grave. He never stopped regretting that Ezinma was a girl. He did not know who the girl was.

"let her not sleep in her hut. Hisspeech was so eloquent that all the birds were glad they had brought him. The first voice gets to Chukwu.The world was silent except for the shrill cry of insects. as if that was paying the big debts first. like a son. The folk stories stopped. waving their palm fronds. as she had accepted others??with listless resignation. and Ezinma brought his goatskin bag from the far end of the hut. Ezeudu was the oldest man in this quarter of Umuofia. At first the clan had assumed that it would not survive. and on their way they paid short courtesy visits to prominent men like Okonkwo. 'It just walked away. Ogbuefi Ugonna had thought of the Feast in terms of eating and drinking. He raised his voice once or twice in manly sorrow and then sat down with the other men listening to the endless wailing of the women and the esoteric language of the ekwe." said another man. "Amadiora will break your head for you!"Some days later. the interpreter. Then there was perfect silence. "As for me. stroking her head. Kiaga restrained them. There were five groups. He breathed heavily. that man was okonkwo.