egwugwu. and the man growled at him to go on and not stand looking back.

the god who cut a man down when his life was sweetest to him
the god who cut a man down when his life was sweetest to him. He refused to join in the meal. Dangerous animals became even more sinister and uncanny in the dark. Even those which Nwoye knew already were told with a new freshness and the local flavor of a different clan. so his chi agreed. The rainy season was approaching when they would go away until the dry season returned. Like all good farmers."Agbala do-o-o-o! Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! Chi negbu madu ubosi ndu ya nato ya uto daluo-o-o! ??"Ekwefi could already see the hills looming in the moonlight. The first day passed and the second and third and fourth. Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man. It was sudden and tremendous." he said.As Okonkwo sat in his hut that night." said Akukalia.Chielo's voice was now rising continuously. as a sullen husband refuses his wife's food when they have quarrelled. just emerged from the earth. And she enjoyed above all the secrecy in which she now ate them. like a son. Now and then a cold shiver descended on his head and spread down his body. and who like a madman had cut the anklet of his titles and cast it away to join the Christians.

"Is that not Obiageli weeping?" Ekwefi called across the yard to Nwoye's mother. Ezinma was always surprised that her mother could lift a pot from the fire with her bare hands. Ekwefi had a feeling of spacious openness. having enough in his barn to feed the ancestors with regular sacrifices. every man with his goatskin bag hung on one shoulder and a rolled goatskin mat under his arm. But Ekwefi and Ezinma had heard the noise and run out to see what it was. setting up a wave of expectation in the crowd. How then could he have begotten a son like Nwoye." Ekwefi said firmly. or the teeth of an old woman. Ekwefi was also awakened and her benumbed fears revived." said Ofoedu. and he told them stories of the land??masculine stories of violence and bloodshed. in spite of his failings in other directions. The egwugwu had emerged once again from their underground home. only more holy than the village variety. The air was cool and damp with dew. saluted the spirits and began his story.At last the two teams danced into the circle and the crowd roared and clapped. the wife who had just been beaten murmured something about guns that never shot."As they spoke Ezinma emerged from the hut.

he was repentant. said Ezeugo. But let us drink the wine first. and asked Okonkwo to have a word with him outside. Unoka. on their backs and their thighs.""What has happened to that piece of land in dispute?" asked Okonkwo. and everyone filled his bags and pots with locusts. alive with sinister forces and powers of darkness. Behind them was the big and ancient silk-cotton tree which was sacred. No matter how prosperous a man was. close to the Great Shrine." he said. Okonkwo's first son. Ekwefi uttered a scream and sprang to her feet." he said. and of the forces of nature. Okonkwo ate the food absent-mindedly."Obiageli broke her pot today. "What kind of lover sleeps with a pregnant woman?" There was a loud murmur of approbation from the crowd. would wipe them off the face of the earth.

She stood until Chielo had increased the distance between them and she began to follow again. food and palm-wine. A man's life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors."Before God. Everybody had been invited??men. behind the crowd. my great friend. and each party brought with them a huge pot of palm-wine. His wives wept bitterly and their children wept with them without knowing why." she said. the priest of the earth goddess. Unoka. But he had recently fallen ill. Then the rain became less violent.""Yes.She did not know how long she waited. When all was laid out. took her stick and walked over to the obi. Then the metal gong sounded and the flute was blown.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.Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had.

" Obierika again drank a little of his wine. and since he now had three wives his guests would make a fairly big crowd. and Umuofia was still swallowed up in sleep and silence when the ekwe began to talk. It was the dead man's sixteen-year-old son. She thought they must be going towards the sacred cave." Ezinma said. Dangerous animals became even more sinister and uncanny in the dark. "Your wrestling the other day gave me much happiness.That night he collected his most valuable belongings into head-loads. who then unrolled the goatskin which he carried under his arm. people said it was refusing food." answered his first wife.""Let us not reason like cowards. unless it be the emotion of anger.Ikezue held out his right hand. He was like an elder brother to Nwoye. Whenever the thought of his father's weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it by thinking about his own strength and success. And so he killed her."That was many years ago. women and children.Okagbue went back into the pit.

There was coming and going between them." He threw his head down and gnashed his teeth. And so Tortoise ate the best part of the food and then drank two pots of palm-wine. He had a large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth.The daughters of the family were all there. She did not return to Okonkwo's compound until three days before the naming ceremony. Evergreen trees wore a dusty coat of brown. "1 shall wait here. It was the dead man's sixteen-year-old son. the priestess of Agbala."You need some sleep yourself.As the palm-wine was drunk one of the oldest members of the umunna rose to thank Okonkwo:"If I say that we did not expect such a big feast I will be suggesting that we did not know how openhanded our son. He knew that he was a fierce fighter. that Ekwensu. And so they fled into Umuofia with a woeful story." He looked in the direction of Okonkwo. You know as well as I do that our forefathers ordained that before we plant any crops in the earth we should observe a week in which a man does not say a harsh word to his neighbor. And to their greatest amazement the missionaries thanked them and burst into song. She hurried through Okonkwo's hut and went outside."On what market-day was it born?" he asked." he said.

tangled and dirty hair.It was going to be Okonkwo's last harvest in Mbanta. She is buried there."There must be something behind it. Each of them carried a long cane basket. That was always the trouble with Okeke's snuff. meanwhile. in fact. "Will you go?""Yes. They did not really want them near to the clan. Sometimes it was not necessary to dig. There was no barn to inherit."1 have told you to let her alone. the women who had gone for red earth returned with empty baskets.Okoye was also a musician. a man of war. despite his madness. The women had come to the church with empty waterpots. When they carried him away. the wife of Amadi. They never answered yes for fear it might be an evil spirit calling.

to go before the mighty Agbala of your own accord? Beware. almost overnight. Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man. who suddenly gave up his trade. The clan was like a lizard. Then the metal gong sounded and the flute was blown. My mother's people have been good to me and 1 must show my gratitude. the wife of Amadi." said Okonkwo as he rose to go."Because I did not want to. "1 thought you were going into the shrine with Chielo. but they were really talking at the top of their voices." ';.Ezinma brought them a bowl of water with which to wash their hands. or ndichie. The first thing he would do would be to rebuild his compound on a more magnificent scale. Okonkwo was the greatest wrestler and warrior alive. But he was always uncomfortable sitting around for days waiting for a feast or getting over it. Go home and work like a man."Why is Okonkwo with us today? This is not his clan. Earth's emissary.

It was addressed as "Our Father. She was the priestess of Agbala. suddenly changed his mind and agreed to take the message. Amikwu. The oldest member of this extensive family was Okonkwo's uncle. Amalinze was a wily craftsman. Okonkwo on his bamboo bed tried to figure out the nature of the emergency - war with a neighboring clan? That seemed the most likely reason. burning forehead.As these things went through her mind she did not realize how close they were to the cave mouth.But there were many others who saw the situation differently.Ikemefuna came to Umuofia at the end of the carefree season between harvest and planting." replied Odukwe. Why is that? Your mother was brought home to me and buried with my people. they say. Nwoye." her mother warned as she moved near the fireplace to bring the pestle resting against the wall."I must go home to tap my palm trees for the afternoon. She trudged slowly along. But it was really a woman's ceremony and the central figures were the bride and her mother. She was about sixteen and just ripe for marriage.The night was very quiet.

"Get me a pot. watching. and the sound of wooden mortar and pestle as Nwayieke pounded her foo-foo. The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought there by their young sons or slaves. Then everything had been broken. because her father had called her one evening and said to her: "There are many good and prosperous people here. The egwugwu had emerged once again from their underground home.""I shall wait too. vibrating heat. "I warned Nwankwo to keep a sharp eye and a sharp ear.The Christians had grown in number and were now a small community of men." said Ekwefi with a heavy sigh. a length of cloth and a hundred cowries. had entered his eye. for you people. was a widely-traveled man who knew the customs of different peoples." said Ogbuefi Ezeudu. And so it was time for the final ceremony of confession. like the prospect of annihilation. whose frantic rhythm was no longer a mere disembodied sound but the very heartbeat of the people. the people of the sky set before their guests the most delectable dishes Tortoise had even seen or dreamed of.

Those things a man built for himself or inherited from his father. came first.On a moonlight night it would be different.""You sound as if you question the authority and the decision of the Oracle. Soon it covered half the sky. Their fathers had never dared to stand before our ancestors. There was nothing new in that. He then installed his personal god and the symbols of his departed fathers. building a new red-earth and thatch house for their teacher.Okonkwo was well received by his mother's kinsmen in Mbanta. Your generation does not know that. and men dashed about in frenzy. He worked. "is it true that when people are grown up. And he did pounce on people quite often.""Don't cry. and others prepared vegetable soup. Akueni. and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back. and the elusive dance rose and fell with the wind. Children were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits.

the emanation of the god of water. His actions were deliberate.""Yes. a length of cloth and a hundred cowries. and he gave to Vulture rain wrapped in leaves of coco-yam. 1 know you will not despair.""How did they get hold of Ancto to hang him?" asked Okonkwo.The footway had now become a narrow line in the heart of the forest. Okonkwo rose to speak. It was a cry in the distance: oji odu aru ijiji-o-o! (The one that uses its tail to drive flies away!). Can you tell me. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. burning forehead. and the dry. And there he stood in his hard shell full of food and wine but without any wings to fly home."Ekwefi went to bring the pot and Okonkwo selected the best from his bundle. neither getting too near nor keeping too far back." said some of the elders. had gone to consult the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves to find out why he always had a miserable harvest. Ozoemena??"May it not happen again. And what is the result? Their clan is full of the evil spirits of these unburied dead.

The Oracle said to him.The drums were still beating. followed by the bride and the other women."Ekwefi. He sang the song again. and he was not afraid of war. A snake was never called by its name at night. 'When people are invited to a great feast like this. "In many other clans a man of title is not forbidden to climb the palm tree. No. She went back to the hut and brought her pot.His life had been ruled by a great passion??to become one of the lords of the clan." he said." he said and cleared his throat. the god of the sky. Sometimes it was not necessary to dig. not for hearing. the old man supporting himself with his stick. "You look very tired. Fortunately. and the women sat on a sisal mat spread on a raised bank of earth.

so that he was full of food and drink and his body filled out in his shell. It was the dead man's sixteen-year-old son." he said. whom they had asked to leave them for a while so that they might "whisper together. "It's true that a child belongs to its father. And what is the result? Their clan is full of the evil spirits of these unburied dead. looked forward to the New Yam Festival because it began the season of plenty??the new year. hungry to do harm to the living."What are you doing here?" Obierika had asked when after many difficulties the missionaries had allowed him to speak to the boy.In spite of this incident the New Yam Festival was celebrated with great joy in Okonkwo's household. "You are our teacher. Her heart jumped painfully within her. There was an oil lamp in all the four huts on Okonkwo's compound. one of those evil essences loosed upon the world by the potent "medicines" which the tribe had made in the distant past against its enemies but had now forgotten how to control. vibrating heat. one saw that there was sorrow and grief there. And they began to shoot. Go home and work like a man. in their proper order. Okonkwo walked behind him."Okoli was not there to answer.

But some of the egwugwu were quite harmless. yellow and dark green. He would stamp out the disquieting signs of laziness which he thought he already saw in him. If you are sending him on an errand he flies away before he has heard half of the message. Everybody knew she was an ogbanje. Cam wood was rubbed lightly into her skin. "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. somewhat indulgently. each carrying a pot of wine." replied Ekwefi. for you people.' Maduka has been watching your mouth. "Ozoemena was. and the planting began."At last the great day came and Tortoise was the first to arrive at the meeting place.""All their customs are upside-down."We are all well. Then Chielo's renewed outburst came from only a few paces ahead.Everybody at the kindred meeting took sides with Osugo when Okonkwo called him a woman. A man's place was not always there. When i say no to them they think i am hard hearted.

Everybody stood to let her pass and then filed after her." he said.The whole village turned out on the ilo. who had felt more angry than the others. And so nobody gave serious thought to the stories about the white man's government or the consequences of killing the Christians. I owe that man a thousand cowries.He sighed heavily. The whole church raised a protest and was about to drive these people out. Chielo passed by. who laughed uneasily because. Earth's emissary. And when she returned he beat her very heavily. Evil Forest addressed the two groups of people facing them." She stood up and pulled out the fan which was fastened into one of the rafters. Everybody in the crowd was talking."Our father. stood near the edge of the pit because he wanted to take in all that happened.' Why is that?"There was silence. They became ordinary human beings again.""I don't know how we got that law. as the Ibo people say.

She started to cry. But I want you to have nothing to do with it. And if the clan did not exact punishment for an offense against the great goddess. But before they left each took back the feather he had lent to Tortoise. I shall give you twice four hundred yams. Nwoye's mind had gone immediately to Nwayieke. took a long broom and swept the ground in front of his father's obi. His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it was the sacred week. The priestess."Having spoken plainly so far."Who taps your tall trees for you?" asked Obierika. he kept it secret. The bush was alive with the tread of feet on dry leaves and sticks and the moving aside of tree branches. Every man and woman came out to see the white man. And then suddenly like one possessed he shot out his left hand and pointed in the direction of Mbaino."It is iba. feeling with her palm the wet. "Are you mad?"Okonkwo did not answer. He picked it up. They must have bypassed it long ago. Where is my daughter.

the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. Ezinma. "my eyelid is twitching. She was. silence returned to the world. slanting showers through sunshine and quiet breeze. sat on a mat on the floor.Okonkwo did as the priest said. with her suitor and his relatives. He was always alone and was shaped like a coffin. But he had long learned how to lay that ghost. because the cold and dry harmattan wind was blowing down Irom the north. also had a basket of plantains and coco-yams and a small pot of palm-oil. they say. No punishment was prescribed for a man who killed the python knowingly. And what is the result? Their clan is full of the evil spirits of these unburied dead. and everybody agreed that he was as sharp as a razor. food was presented to the guests. he is telling a lie. but its vigor was undiminished. We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers.

""All their customs are upside-down. was passing by the church on his way from the neighboring village. But Chielo's voice was still a long way away." said Obierika's eldest brother. The story had arisen among the Christians themselves. to sit with him in his obi. You are a great man in your clan. sprang to his feet and gripped him by the neck. It was not the same Chielo who sat with her in the market and sometimes bought beancakes for Ezinma. and very strong. nor even a young wife. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy. my daughter. And she enjoyed above all the secrecy in which she now ate them. When Okonkwo brought him home that day he called his most senior wife and handed him over to her. Although they come from a village that is known for being closefisted. "The world has no end. became for Ekwefi mere physical agony devoid of promise.""You do not understand." said Ezinma. People made way for him on all sides and the noise subsided.

roasting and eating maize. Odukwe continued:"Last year when my sister was recovering from an illness. His priestess stood by the sacred fire which she built in the heart of the cave and proclaimed the will of the god. And he knew which trees made the strongest bows. who was then an ailing man." he always said. They will serve you when I have eaten. He had a bad chi or personal god.""Why?" asked Obierika and Okonkwo together. A mighty wind arose and filled the air with dust."Will you give Ezinma some fire to bring to me?" Her own children and Ikemefuna had gone to the stream. all its metal taken out of it by the vast emptiness of the cave. There was foo-foo and yam pottage. It was a miracle.' "I have no more to say to you." and they argued like this for a few moments before Unoka accepted the honor of breaking the kola. Ukegbu counted them." said one of them. He did not cry. the priestess of Agbala. It rose and faded with the wind??a peaceful dance from a distant clan.

It was evening and the sun was settingUchendu's eldest daughter."Umezulike. "I warned Nwankwo to keep a sharp eye and a sharp ear. The first voice gets to Chukwu. was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness. Mighty tree branches broke away under them. It is the law of our fathers.What moved Obierika to visit Okonkwo was the sudden appearance of the latter's son. "lest Agbala be angry with you. "Bear no hand in his death. He had a slight stammer and whenever he was angry and could not get his words out quickly enough. and Maduka brought in a pot of palm-wine. Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation. It was a very expensive ceremony and he was gathering all his resources together. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman. It was a little village called Mbanta. Everybody in the crowd was talking. After that they began to eat and to drink the wine. Okonkwo was still pleading that the girl had been ill of late and was asleep.As they spoke two other groups of people had replaced the first before the egwugwu. and the man growled at him to go on and not stand looking back.