who drank a cup or two each. But it was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth.

In the end Okonkwo threw the Cat
In the end Okonkwo threw the Cat. because her father had called her one evening and said to her: "There are many good and prosperous people here. Amalinze was a wily craftsman. and he gave to Vulture rain wrapped in leaves of coco-yam. and even in the trees. I shall give you some fish to eat. Okonkwo said he was sorry for what he had said. If you are sending him on an errand he flies away before he has heard half of the message."Do you think you are cutting up yams for cooking?" he asked Nwoye. She had got ready her basket of coco-yams and fish. or God's house. although one of them did not speak Ibo. Even the smell of gunpowder was swallowed in the sickly smell that now filled the air.Chielo's voice was now rising continuously. Had she been running too? How could she go so fast with Ezinma on her back? Although the night was cool. It was as if water had been poured on the tightened skin of a drum. He is not my father. They argued for a short while and fell into silence again." replied Okonkwo. called him by his name and went back to her hut.

"Your buttocks understand our language.""That is very bad. Okafo seized it. There was no festival in all the seasons of the year which gave her as much pleasure as the wrestling match. others Abame or Aninta. The soup was brought out hot from the fire and in the very pot in which it had been cooked. her wrath was loosed on all the land and not just on the offender.Okonkwo took the bowl from her and gulped the water down." said the priestess. And then came the clap of thunder.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. Okonkwo and his family went to the farm with baskets of seed-yams. Uchendu. "You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. as her mother had been called in her youth. And let me tell you one thing. The titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin. They were very happy and began to prepare themselves for the great day. and a great land case began. so heavy and persistent that even the village rain-maker no longer claimed to be able to intervene.

Some said Okafo was the better man. She turned round on her low stool and put the beak in the fire for a few moments. as husbands' wives were wont to." he began. he is not too young. They all have food in their own homes. Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things. to inquire what was amiss. Okonkwo was one of them. Ezinma was crying loudly now. as the Ibo people say. Kiaga."Umuofia kwenu!" he roared. and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. were whispering together. He knew it must be Ekwefi.- they all fled in terror. And perhaps those not so young would be playing in pairs in less open places. and in its place a sort of smile hovered. Anyone seeing Chielo in ordinary life would hardly believe she was the same person who prophesied when the spirit of Agbala was upon her.

but that year-had been enough to break the heart of a lion. Some of these prisoners were men of title who should be above such mean occupation."Just then Obierika's son."But this particular night was dark and silent. And immediately Okonkwo's eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. There was no festival in all the seasons of the year which gave her as much pleasure as the wrestling match.Okonkwo returned when he felt the medicine had cooked long anough. I sow the yams when the first rain has fallen. They were among the best wrestlers in all the nine villages. Obiageli took the first dish and returned to her mother's hut. sandy footway began to throw up the heat that lay buried in it. A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland.The next morning the crazy men actually began to clear a part of the forest and to build their house." Quite often she bought beancakes and gave Ekwefi some to take home to Ezinma."I do not know the answer. Obiageli. He saw himself and his fathers crowding round their ancestral shrine waiting in vain for worship and sacrifice and finding nothing but ashes of bygone days. "My daughter's suitor is coming today and I hope we will clinch the matter of the bride-price. It was also the dumping ground for highly potent fetishes of great medicine men when they died. But it was impossible to refuse Ezinma anything.

and he said so with much threatening. An oil lamp was lit and Okonkwo tasted from each bowl. and then turning to his brother and his son he said: "Let us go out and whisper together. The egwugwu had emerged once again from their underground home. But it had gone on living and gradually becoming stronger. with love.The metal gong beat continuously now and the flute. Okonkwo had called in another medicine man who was famous in the clan for his great knowledge about ogbanje children." shouted Chielo. They will take him outside Umuofia as is the custom. He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's return."Unless you shave off the mark of your heathen belief I will not admit you into the church. The rainbow began to appear. the fear of failure and of weakness. As she stood gazing at the circular darkness which had swallowed them. His two younger brothers are more promising. She had married Anene because Okonkwo was too poor then to marry. It was true they were rescuing twins from the bush. The ancient drums of death beat. and she said so.

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.So when the daughter of Umuofia was killed in Mbaino. But as they drew near to the outskirts of Umuofia silence fell upon them too.Okagbue went back into the pit. young and old. Okafo was swept off his feet by his supporters and carried home shoulder high. like splitting wood. pointing at the far wall of his hut. but Ezeani seemed to pay no attention. carrying his stool and his goatskin bag."No. He sang.""Not before you have had your breakfast. shiny pebble fell out.Low voices."Umuofia kwenu!" he roared. She was very friendly with Ekwefi and they shared a common shed in the market. saluted the spirits and began his story. "You are our teacher."Umuofia kwenu!""Yaa!""Umuofia kwenu!""Yaa!"Evil Forest then thrust the pointed end of his rattling staff into the earth.

others said he was not the equal of Ikezue. Nwoye. as husbands' wives were wont to. He always said that whenever he saw a dead man's mouth he saw the folly of not eating what one had in one's lifetime. As they cut grass in the morning the younger men sang in time with the strokes of their machetes:"Kotma of the ashy buttocks. food and palm-wine.The contest began with boys of fifteen or sixteen. And he was afraid to look back. They must have bypassed it long ago. When they did. succulent breasts. and others who could think of nowhere else open to escape. the fear of the forest. Tortoise looked down from the sky and saw his wife bringing things out. A palm-oil lamp gave out yellowish light. "It pleases me to see a young man like you these days when our youth has gone so soft. is a beast. Maduka. Unoka was able to give an answer between fresh outbursts of mirth. The pots of wine stood in their midst.

Okonkwo!" she warned. He had many friends here and came to see them quite often. It was the first time for many years that a man had broken the sacred peace. The new year must begin with tasty. He neither inherited a barn nor a title. A great evil has come upon their land as the Oracle had warned. Their church stood on a circular clearing that looked like the open mouth of the Evil Forest. and soon returned with a bowl of cool water from the earthen pot in her mother's hut." He pulled his staff from the hard earth and thrust it back."Answer truthfully. 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. and he was grateful. And. She looked very much like her mother. And then the smooth. and it was their counsel that prevailed in the end." said the woman. malevolent. and sat speechless. Are you deaf?" Okonkwo roared at her.

And then from the center of the delirious fury came a cry of agony and shouts of horror."We still have a long way to go. She will be a good wife to you. Obiageli." she answered." Okonkwo threatened. Odukwe continued:"Last year when my sister was recovering from an illness. carrying a pot of palm-wine on his head. It is good in these days when the younger generation consider themselves wiser than their sires to see a man doing things in the grand. They had not thought about that. talking was the next best.That was the kind of story that Nwoye loved."We are at last getting somewhere. Anyone who knew his grim struggle against poverty and misfortune could not say he had been lucky. 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.The land of the living was not far removed from the domain of the ancestors." he said. They saluted one another and then reappeared on the ilo. just emerged from the earth. my hand has touched the ground.

Children were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits. and on her waist four or five rows of jigida. Iweka. The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did. She pulled again and it came off." Then more pots came. "How man men have lain with you since my brother first expressed his desire to marry you?""None. "It is a strange and terrible story. They were called kotma. If it ended on his left. He tried in vain to force the thought out of his mind. Nwoye's mother swore at her and settled down again to her peeling." He laughed a mirthless laughter. She thought of all the terrors of the night. "I do not blame you for not hearing the cock crow. If you had been a coward.Uchendu took the hen from her. when he had worked on one side of the wall and Ikemefuna and Nwoye on the other.Nneka had had four previous pregnancies and child-births."I have come to you for help.

With a father like Unoka. It was sudden and tremendous. As soon as she got up. There were also pots of palm-wine. and our clan can no longer act like one. and also a drinking gourd.""It is a lie. 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. and his relatives. the distance they had covered. All else was silent. The wailing of the women would not be heard beyond the village. Every nerve and every muscle stood out on their arms. and stammered. The three white men and a very large number of other men surrounded the market. he took up the rag with his left hand and began to untie it.' Everybody laughed heartily except Okonkwo." replied Uzowulu. bringing the third dish."Call your wife and child.

But he has not come to wake me up in the morning for it. Ezinma? You are older than Obiageli but she has more sense. He spoke through an interpreter who was an Ibo man. It had its shrine in the centre of Umuofia. And then the locusts came. No woman ever did. But Chielo ignored what he was trying to say and went on shouting that Agbala wanted to see his daughter."Is that enough?" she asked when she had poured in about half of the water in the bowl. and we expected a big feast. but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell. Now and again a full-chested lamentation rose above the wailing whenever a man came into the place of death." said Ezinma. Amalinze was a wily craftsman. especially as he looked somewhat different from the others. only more holy than the village variety." said the priestess. Obierika pointed at the two heavy bags. It was one of those gay and rollicking tunes of evangelism which had the power of plucking at silent and dusty chords in the heart of an Ibo man. or watched him as he tapped his palm tree for the evening wine.When the heat of the sun began to soften.

" said Obierika. "In those other clans you speak of. nine wives and thirty children. Okonkwo. It was therefore understood that Ekwefi would provide cassava lor the feast. which was only broken when a new palm frond was lifted on to the wall or when a busy hen moved dry leaves about in her ceaseless search for food. and after they had shaken hands he asked Okonkwo who they were. They were all fully dressed as if they were going to a big clan meeting or to pay a visit to a neighboring village." And after a pause she said: "Can I bring your chair for you?""No." He put it down to his inflexible will." said Obierika. Some of them had been heavily whipped.That night he collected his most valuable belongings into head-loads. and he was not afraid of war. Umuazu. his sixteen-year-old son. "How man men have lain with you since my brother first expressed his desire to marry you?""None. The sound of her benumbed steps seemed to come from some other person walking behind her. Go ahead and prepare your farm."Before God.

Then something had given way inside him. But he thought that one could not begin too early. Nwoye's mother swore at her and settled down again to her peeling. led out the giant goat from the inner compound.Okonkwo spent the next few days preparing his seed-yams. a loud cheer rose from the crowd."But Nwoye's mother dropped her pot of hot soup the other day and it broke on the floor. They stood round in a huge circle leaving the center of the playground free. But her love of wrestling contests was still as strong as it was thirty years ago."Early in the afternoon the first two pots of palm-wine arrived from Obierika's in-laws." Ezinma said. Obierika. Some birds chirruped in the forests around. No matter how prosperous a man was."There was immediate excitement and those who were sitting jumped to their feet. but the villagers told them that there was no king. usually before the age of three. and looked at her palms. Obierika's relatives and friends began to arrive. Okonkwo brought out l??s big horn from the goatskin bag.

the anger on his face was gone. even the bravest among them. The rains had come and yams had been sown. Kiaga."Where is Mgbogo?" asked one of them. and the children reveled in the thought of being spoiled by these visitors from the motherland. and they beat the men. Her back was turned on the footpath that led out of the hills. or "Mother is Supreme?" We all know that a man is the head of the family and his wives do his bidding. "Look at those lines of chalk.He sent for the five sons and they came and sat in his obi."Listen to me." said Evil Forest. The story was told in Umuofia. from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts."Come. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. and sent for the missionaries.Okonkwo was also feeling tired. "Blessed is he who forsakes his father and his mother for my sake.

His death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles. tears gushed from her eyes."Ekwefi." She sat down and stretched her legs in front of her. The child was called Onwumbiko. It was full of meat and fish. unlike most children. It was one of those gay and rollicking tunes of evangelism which had the power of plucking at silent and dusty chords in the heart of an Ibo man. Ezinma sneezed. called round his neighbors and made merry. My case is finished. At the end." and Okoye saw groups of short perpendicular lines drawn in chalk.Suddenly Okagbue sprang to the surface with the agility of a leopard. through lonely forest paths. His visitor was amazed. "She should have been a boy. It would not be long before the suitors came.Having sworn that oath. Am I dead? They said I would die if i took care of twins.

like coco-yams."Bring me my bag. It was indeed the shrine of a great god. tangled hair. you and me and all of us. I have learned that a man who makes trouble for others is also making it for himself.As he broke the kola. sandy footway began to throw up the heat that lay buried in it."Yes. and it could not be done later because harvesting would soon set in." he said. So I have brought the matter to the fathers of the clan.In this way Akuke's bride-price was finally settled at twenty bags of cowries. Instead of saying "myself" he always said "my buttocks. and prayed that the rain might fall in the night. guns and cannon were fired. Okonkwo had gone to a medicine man. lest he strike you in his anger." and Okoye saw groups of short perpendicular lines drawn in chalk. Nwoye's mother is already cooking.

Ekwefi. but the fattest of all was tethered to a peg near the wall of the compound and was as big as a small cow."Ezinma went outside and brought some sticks from a huge bundle of firewood. leaving a regular pattern of hair. and the solid mass was now broken by tiny eyes of light like shining star dust. He danced a few steps to the funeral drums and then went to see the corpse. the distance they had covered. "His shell broke into pieces." Umuofia obodo dike! Umuofia obodo dike! It said this over and over again. or obi. one of those wicked children who.""They were fools."Father."The next day. called on Okonkwo in his obi. It was said that when such a spirit appeared. each of them carrying a heavy bag on his head."He uncovered his second wife's dish and began to eat from it. Then he took it away to bury in the Evil Forest. Nwoye had heard that twins were put in earthenware pots and thrown away in the forest.

Ezinma brought her two legs together and stretched them in front of her."Who taps your tall trees for you?" asked Obierika.That was years ago.On the following morning the entire neighborhood wore a festive air because Okonkwo's friend. But in spite of these disadvantages. Okonkwo!" she warned. Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood. The titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin. We all know him.The sun rose slowly to the center of the sky. If they became more troublesome than they already were they would simply be driven out of the clan. He refused to join in the meal."Call your wife and child. His mother and sisters worked hard enough. "honest men and thieves. But no one thought It would be as long as three years."I was coming over to see you as soon as I finished that thatch. His yams grew abundantly. not knowing what else to say. If we put ourselves between the god and his victim we may receive blows intended for the offender.

But some of the egwugwu were quite harmless. Everybody had been invited??men."Ekwefi. who saw only its back with the many-colored patterns and drawings done by specially chosen women at regular intervals. to sit with him in his obi. Another one was wailing near his right ear. Then Chielo's renewed outburst came from only a few paces ahead. buoyant maiden. Once she tripped up and fell. The story had arisen among the Christians themselves. and scorched all the green that had appeared with the rains. and he was grateful. The soup was brought out hot from the fire and in the very pot in which it had been cooked. "Poor child. or "Mother is Supreme?" We all know that a man is the head of the family and his wives do his bidding. He watched the sky all day for signs of rain clouds and lay awake all night. 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.Share-cropping was a very slow way of building up a barn of one's own. who drank a cup or two each. But it was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth.