they heard someone crying just outside their compound. He lelt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul.

If a man kills the sacred python in the secrecy of his hut
If a man kills the sacred python in the secrecy of his hut. Wherever he went he carried with him the mark of his forbidden caste??long.Umuofia had indeed changed during the seven years Okonkwo had been in exile. and was not given the first or the second burial. When the youngest wife went to call her again to be present at the washing of the body." she said.Having sworn that oath. and you can teach us the things of the new faith. Then the metal gong sounded and the flute was blown. So I have brought the matter to the fathers of the clan. and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back. And so one Sunday two of them went into the church. But they always returned to the long rope he trailed behind. It was only on his fourth trip that he had found Ekwefi."The crowd answered-.""Too much of his grandfather. As the Ibo say: "When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk. He then adjusted his cloth.The wrestlers were now almost still in each other's grip. And this was the message."Umuofia kwenu!" shouted the leading egwugwu.

""Do you think a thief can do that kind of thing single-handed?" asked Nwankwo."I shall return very soon." and was allowed to go wherever it chose. And there were again only three. When they finished."Look at that wall.Okonkwo's neighbors heard his wife crying and sent their voices over the compound walls to ask what was the matter. Even in those days he was not a man of many words. Some of it also went to the bride and her attendant maidens."On the following Sunday. His greatest friend."Have you slept enough?" asked her mother. Most communal ceremonies took place at that time of the day. calling on her mother.'"He began to eat and the birds grumbled angrily. and washed away the yam heaps. Ekwefi had nothing but good wishes for her. that I am not afraid of blood and if anyone tells you that I am.She set the pot on the fire and Okonkwo took up his machete to return to his obi. and he saw himself taking the highest title in the land. Mosquito.

They were grieved by the indignity and mourned for their neglected farms. Now he has won our brothers. And if they could not help in digging up the yams."When your wife becomes pregnant again." said Machi. saw clearly that Okonkwo had yielded to despair and he was greatly troubled. who only stayed in the hope that it might come to chasing the men out of the village or whipping them." Okonkwo threatened. The rainy season was approaching when they would go away until the dry season returned. They set out early that morning. Her fear had vanished. He breathed heavily." Ezinma said. But he had long learned how to lay that ghost. Ezinma rushed out of the hut. whose sad story is still told in Umuofia unto this day.When they had all gathered. his sixteen-year-old son. but the villagers told them that there was no king. and most of them never did because they died too young - before they could be asked questions. Obierika's relatives counted the pots as they came.

' said Tortoise. These men must be mad. so heavy and persistent that even the village rain-maker no longer claimed to be able to intervene. When everything had been set before the guests. "there is no slave or free. came to visit him. Ekwefi trudged along between two fears.The arrival of the missionaries had caused a considerable stir in the village of Mbanta. They sang the latest song in the village:" If I hold her handShe says. as was the custom."Outside the obi Okagbue and Okonkwo were digging the pit to find where Ezinma had buried her iyi-uwa."Ekwefi turned the hen over in the mortar and began to pluck the feathers. and sent for the missionaries. returning. The crime was of two kinds."Our father.Ikemefuna had begun to feel like a member of Okonkwo's family. breakfast was hastily eaten and women and children began to gather at Obierika's compound to help the bride's mother in her difficult but happy task of cooking for a whole village.The priestess had now reached Okonkwo's compound and was talking with him outside his hut. Nothing happened at its proper time. It was always quiet except on moonlight nights.

But she had got worse and worse. and sat down." Obierika again drank a little of his wine. how he had often wandered around looking for a kite sailing leisurely against the blue sky. His name was Uchendu. They were merely cleansing the land which Okonkwo had polluted with the blood of a clansman. "Beware of exchanging words with Agbala. followed by the bride and the other women. But as he flew home his long talon pierced the leaves and the rain fell as it had never fallen before. And so Nwoye was developing into a sad-faced youth. He knew the names of all the birds and could set clever traps for the little bush rodents."Sometimes I wish I had not taken the ozo title. and hung their goatskin bags and sheathed machetes over their left shoulders. Ekwefi screwed her eyes up in an effort to see her daughter and the priestess. "Beware of exchanging words with Agbala. which was passed under his right arm-pit and tied above his left shoulder. I began to own a farm at your age."You have not eaten for two days."Is this yours?" he asked Ezinma. elina!SalaEze ilikwa ya Ikwaba akwa ogholi Ebe Danda nechi eze Ebe Uzuzu nete egwuSalaHe sang it in his mind. The cut bush was left to dry and fire was then set to it.

"All the gods you have named are not gods at all. On the last night before the festival." Okonkwo thought within himself. Ogbuefi Idigo was talking about the palm-wine tapper. Twenty. He told them that the true God lived on high and that all men when they died went before Him for judgment.His life had been ruled by a great passion??to become one of the lords of the clan."When this was interpreted to the men of Mbanta they broke into derisive laughter. Those who were big enough to carry even a few yams in a tiny basket went with grown-ups to the farm. the "medicine house" or shrine where Okonkwo kept the wooden symbols of his personal god and of his ancestral spirits.She had prayed for the moon to rise. something felt in the marrow. The conversation at once centered on him. The drums and the dancing began again and reached fever-heat." As he looked into the log fire he recalled the name. But he always found fault with their effort. they could see from his color and his language. She was afraid of what might happen if Chielo suddenly turned round and saw her. But Chielo's voice was still a long way away. that my children do not resemble me."Do you know Ogbuefi Ndulue?" Ofoedu asked.

She put back the empty pot on the circular pad in the corner." Ukegbu said. was expected to invite large numbers of guests from far and wide. "You are not a stranger in Umuofia. might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springywalk of Okonkwo." said Uchendu"I swear. Igwelo had a job in hand because he had married his first wife a month or two before. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. And so he did now. The harmattan was in the air and seemed to distill a hazy feeling of sleep on the world. "We are going directly. All that he required was something to occupy his mind. jumping over walls and dancing on the roof. "Your wrestling the other day gave me much happiness.""I think she will stay. Two judges walked around the wrestlers and when they thought they were equally matched. He was quite different. And so on this particular night as the crier's voice was gradually swallowed up in the distance. I sacrifice a cock to Ani."Don't you see the pot is full of yams?" Ekwefi asked. they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground.

and. the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. They would go to such hosts for as long as three or four markets.""The world is large. They then set about painting themselves with cam wood and drawing beautiful black patterns on their stomachs and on their backs. The children had lost interest and were playing. which was fastened to the rafters.The young church in Mbanta had a few crises early in its life."Ezinma looked at her mother. "It wounds my heart to see these young men killing palm trees in the name of tapping.The moon was now up and she could see Chielo and Ezinma clearly. "But I have also heard that Abame people were weak and foolish. i have only a short while to live. "Beware. The yams he had sown before the drought were his own. Nwoye's mother. He had fallen ill on the previous night. and Ekwefi recoiled. When one came to think of it." he said. or rather held out her hand to be shaken.

closed hut like tongues of fire. It is against the will of God. for as soon as the first rain came farming would begin. In these seven years he would have climbed to the utmost heights. Ekwefi was also awakened and her benumbed fears revived."That is the strange part of it. And so when he called Ikemefuna to fetch his gun. Obiageli brought up the rear. it was true. the son of Obierika. and the children who sang songs of welcome to them. It was there that her third child was born and circumcised on the eighth day. As soon as he heard of the great feast in the sky his throat began to itch at the very thought. Okafo raised his right leg and swung it over his rival's head." he said to Ikemefuna. who were putting the last delicate touches of razor to her coiffure and cam wood on her smooth skin."Agbala do-o-o-o! Umuachi! Agbala ekene unuo-o-ol" It was just as Ekwefi had thought." Ezinma said.The priestess had now reached Okonkwo's compound and was talking with him outside his hut. which." said Mgbogo's next-door neighbor.

The child was called Onwumbiko." replied Uzowulu. but he stood beckoning to them." His staff came down again.Thus the men of Umuofia pursued their way. But it only lasted till the end of the service. Had she been running too? How could she go so fast with Ezinma on her back? Although the night was cool. Okonkwo.Having sworn that oath. Many people laughed at his dialect and the way he used words strangely."Sit like a woman!" Okonkwo shouted at her.""They were fools."Go and tell Akueke's mother that we have finished. She will bear you nine sons like the mother of our town. Many years ago when she was the village beauty Okonkwo had won her heart by throwing the Cat in the greatest contest within living memory. The clan was like a lizard. His two younger brothers are more promising. It had not happened for many a long year.The men then continued their drinking and talking.Ekwefi ladled her husband's share of the pottage into a bowl and covered it.At last the young man who was pouring out the wine held up half a horn of the thick.

"she will bring you back very soon. women and children.""How did they get hold of Ancto to hang him?" asked Okonkwo."1 don't know." said Ekwefi. She could no longer think. Yam stood for manliness. As soon as he found one he would sing with his whole being. you can tell a ripe corn by its look. If they became more troublesome than they already were they would simply be driven out of the clan. and sat speechless."Umezulike."But Nwoye's mother dropped her pot of hot soup the other day and it broke on the floor. Okonkwo. Njide. He. Those were good days when a man had friends in distant clans. followed by Akueke. and what is good among one people is an abomination with others. But the song spread in Umuofia. He counted them.

long journey. An oil lamp was lit and Okonkwo tasted from each bowl. especially as he looked somewhat different from the others. Ekwefi mopped her with a piece of cloth and she lay down on a dry mat and was soon asleep. He led it on a thick rope which he tied round his wrist. It was a rare achievement."Go and tell Akueke's mother that we have finished." said Okonkwo. became quite inseparable from him because he seemed to know everything. and when there was no work to do he sat in a silent half-sleep. no one could kill them without having to flee from the clan. tapped it on his kneecap. "God will laugh at them on the judgment day. "We are going directly. armed with sheathed machetes. Brown."Ekwefi." replied her mother. and then you will know. She saw the other children with their water-pots and remembered that they were going to fetch water for Obierika's wife. "Tortoise and Cat went to wrestle against Yams??no.

His name was Nwoye. A sudden hush had fallen on the women. Nothing wouldhappen to Ezinma. is a beast. Obierika. It was a brief resting period between the exacting and arduous planting season and the equally exacting but light-hearted month of harvests. The air." he had said.It seemed to Ekwefi that the night had become a little lighter. and soon returned with a bowl of cool water from the earthen pot in her mother's hut. She did not marry him then because he was too poor to pay her bride-price. not for hearing. But the arrivees persevered. None of them was a man of title. when the sun's heat had softened. they could see from his color and his language. "Three or four of us should stay behind. The story was told in Umuofia. There was nobody in the hut and the fireplace was cold. women and children.The men in the obi had already begun to drink the palm-wine which Akueke's suitor had brought.

ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn."Ezeudu was a great man. and that first man was their harbinger sent to explore the terrain. and so did his little children."Is that enough?" she asked when she had poured in about half of the water in the bowl."Answer me!" he roared again." said Obierika. nine wives and thirty children."The body of Odukwe. calling him "Our father. The crowd then shouted with ainger and thirst for blood. The sickness was an abomination to the earth. It ended on the right. The titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin. Nothing wouldhappen to Ezinma. And what is the result? Their clan is full of the evil spirits of these unburied dead. beans and cassava. Obierika. She called her by her name.As the men ate and drank palm-wine they talked about the customs of their neighbors. And.

"At that moment Obierika's son. He dared not go too near the missionaries for fear of his father. There were only four titles in the clan. And ten thousand men answered "Yaa!" each time. Ikemefuna had an endless stock of folk tales. father? You are beyond our knowledge. the god of yams. "What kind of lover sleeps with a pregnant woman?" There was a loud murmur of approbation from the crowd. Sometimes the sun shone through the rain and a light breeze blew. and the cannon shattered the silence. but even now they have not found the mouth with which to tell of their suffering. Okonkwo's wives had scrubbed the walls and the huts with red earth until they reflected light. She often called her Ezigbo. Obierika offered him a lobe of the kola nut he had broken with Okonkwo. do you know me?""How can I know you. who stood beside her."We are all well." But he was a man of commanding presence and the clansmen listened to him. You have committed a great evil. who laughed uneasily because. And in all the nine villages of Umuofia a town crier with his ogene asked every man to be present tomorrow morning.

And as he told them of the past they sat in darkness or the dim glow of logs. I cannot yet find a mouth with which to tell the story. He had no patience with unsuccessful men. The ancestral spirits of the clan were abroad. they kept their imagination to themselves.She wore a coiffure which was done up into a crest in the middle of the head. Okonkwo and his family went to the farm with baskets of seed-yams. Okonkwo's fear was greater than these. Then he began to speak. He could hardly imagine that Okonkwo was not his real father. who was also a diviner of the Afa Oracle. but he had never yet come across them. I implore you. Obiageli took the first dish and returned to her mother's hut. My in-law. And Okonkwo had already done that.""They are not all that young." He waved at his sons and daughters. She will bear you nine sons like the mother of our town.Share-cropping was a very slow way of building up a barn of one's own."The night was already far spent when the guests rose to go.

And so she brought out her husband's hoes. He. "Life to you. He just hung limp. Okonkwo worked on the outside of the wall and the boys worked from within."Nwakibie cleared his throat." answered his first wife. He thought of his mother and his three-year-old sister and wept bitterly. food and palm-wine. Worshippers and those who came to seek knowledge from the god crawled on their belly through the hole and found themselves in a dark. Okonkwo. with which he carried the brown snuff to his nostrils. but I shall be happy if you marry in Umuofia when we return home. came first."Is Anasi not in?" he asked them. Okafo raised his right leg and swung it over his rival's head. but every farmer knew that without sunshine the tubers would not grow."They do not understand. And so he is bowed with grief.Ekwefi knelt beside the sick child. It was difficult to say which the people enjoyed more.

That was the only time Ekwefi ever saw Ogbu-agali-odu. These moods descended on her suddenly and for no apparent reason. And in a clear unemotional voice he told Umuofia how their daughter had gone to market at Mbaino and had been killed. more terrible and more sinister than the anger.Then the tragedy of his first son had occurred. "Are you mad?"Okonkwo did not answer. Kiaga. They said that some young men had chased them away from the stream with whips." said Mr."Your buttocks said he had a son." said Obierika. When he began again. But if a man caused it." And so they all went to help Obierika's wife??Nwoye's mother with her four children and Ojiugo with her two.' Those men of Abame were fools."When they had cut the goats' throats and collected the blood in a bowl.At that moment they heard someone crying just outside their compound. went down quickly on one knee in an attempt to fling his man backwards over his head. He counted them."You need some sleep yourself. and his eyes were red and fierce like the eyes of a rat when it was caught by the tail and dashed against the floor.

and even in the trees.As soon as his father walked in. And so one Sunday two of them went into the church." Okonkwo made a sound full of disgust. she prayed a thousand times. He called his son. 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. her wrath was loosed on all the land and not just on the offender.""Do you think a thief can do that kind of thing single-handed?" asked Nwankwo. Once or twice he tried to run away. Maduka vanished into the compound like lightning. You will have what is good for you and I will have what is good for me. He could not understand what was happening to him or what he had done. And then like the sound of his cannon he crashed on the compound." asked Obierika. prophesying. Odukwe continued:"Last year when my sister was recovering from an illness. Nwoye's mother went to him and placed her hands on his chest and on his back. But you are still a child. and Nwakibie's two grown-up sons were also present in his obi. And then suddenly like one possessed he shot out his left hand and pointed in the direction of Mbaino.

His name was Okagbue Uyanwa. trembling.But it was really not true that Okonkwo's palm-kernels had been cracked for him by a benevolent spirit. unlike the deep and liquid rumbling of the rainy season. and when he died he was buried by his kind in the Evil Forest. In Umuofia's latest war he was the first to bring home a human head." said another man. "She must have broken her waterpot. unlike the deep and liquid rumbling of the rainy season. Unfortunately for her Okonkwo heard it and ran madly into his room for the loaded gun. You will have what is good for you and I will have what is good for me."Bring me my bag. I weed ?C I??; ??Hold your peace!" screamed the priestess.The Oracle was called Agbala.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. which were passed round for all to see and then returned to him. dead. She was alive and well. his wives and children in their houses could hear him breathe. i have only a short while to live.Okonkwo called his three wives and told them to get things together for a great feast.

through lonely forest paths.Ikemefuna came to Umuofia at the end of the carefree season between harvest and planting. She must have heard a noise behind her and turned round sharply. what did the mother of this duckling say when you swooped and carried its child away?' 'It said nothing. "We are going directly. and none of them died. And as he told them of the past they sat in darkness or the dim glow of logs. Unoka went into an inner room and soon returned with a small wooden disc containing a kola nut. He had a large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth. Amikwu. fresh yams and not the shriveled and fibrous crop of the previous year. Have you not heard the song they sing when a woman dies?"'For whom is it well. Then he poured out for the others. "Ozoemena was." Okonkwo agreed. asked on behalf of the clan to look after him in the interim."Then listen to me.So when the daughter of Umuofia was killed in Mbaino. He continued:"During the last planting season a white man had appeared in their clan.At that moment they heard someone crying just outside their compound. He lelt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul.