Ezinma."Who is that?" he growled. The words of the hymn were like the drops of frozen rain melting on the dry palate of the panting earth.

The elders of the clan had decided that Ikemefuna should be in Okonkwo's care for a while
The elders of the clan had decided that Ikemefuna should be in Okonkwo's care for a while.""It means you are going to cry. and he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating. Ezinma struggled to escape from the choking and overpowering steam. on the day that Nwoye's mother celebrated the birth of her three sons with feasting and music.But somehow Okonkwo could never become as enthusiastic over feasts as most people. Those were good days when a man had friends in distant clans. "My father told me that he had been told that in the past a man who broke the peace was dragged on the ground through the village until he died. Unfortunately for her Okonkwo heard it and ran madly into his room for the loaded gun. "let her not sleep in her hut. He was always alone and was shaped like a coffin. If such a thing were ever to happen. in spite of his failings in other directions. "Amadiora will break your head for you!"Some days later. We have tried to settle their quarrels time without number and on each occasion Uzowulu was guilty??""It is a lie!" Uzowulu shouted. and they ran for their lives. Ezinma. "1 have brought you this little kola. and was punished. How else could they say that Ani and Amadiora were harmless? And Idemili and Ogwugwu too? And some of them began to go away. Was it not on an Eke day that they fled into Umuofia?" he asked his two companions."Agbala do-o-o-o! Umuachi! Agbala ekene unuo-o-ol" It was just as Ekwefi had thought."It was Wednesday in Holy Week and Mr. unearthly voice and completely covered in raffia.It was late afternoon before Nwoye returned. ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn.

As our people say. He wore a haggard and mournful look except when he was drinking or playing on his flute."You think you are the greatest sufferer in the world? Do you know that men are sometimes banished for life? Do you know that men sometimes lose all their yams and even their children? I had six wives once. and then flew away. egusi soup and bitter-leaf soup and pots and pots of palm-wine. Quick as the lightning of Amadiora. light and gay. and I am still alive. Ekwefi was beginning to feel hot from her running. but he did not say it. except his priestess. He immediately set to work digging a pit where Ezinma had indicated. He did not cry. "How man men have lain with you since my brother first expressed his desire to marry you?""None."Another woman said. and asked no questions. Every woman in the neighborhood knew the sound of Nwayieke's mortar and pestle. My mother was one of you. which children were rarely allowed to eat because such food tempted them to steal. The interpreter explained each verse to the audience. beat me up and took my wife and children away." said Obierika's other companion. "Let us go. bringing the third dish. "We should do something." came the voice like a sharp knife cutting through the night.

Ezinma. But that did not alter the facts. for he had no grave. and he told them stories of the land??masculine stories of violence and bloodshed. The children stood in the darkness outside their hut watching the strange event. She has the right spirit." he said."Will you give Ezinma some fire to bring to me?" Her own children and Ikemefuna had gone to the stream. eating the peelings." he said."Go home and sleep. and stammered. Nothing that happened in the world of the animals ever escaped his notice. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion.At that moment they heard someone crying just outside their compound. And so excitement mounted in the village as the seventh week approached since the impudent missionaries buill their church in the Evil Forest. He stepped forward.""That is very strange. "It pleases me to see a young man like you these days when our youth has gone so soft. despite his madness.' said Mother Kite. but offered to use his teeth. Then came the voices of the egwugwu. The children were also decorated. dug her teeth into the real thing. He stepped forward.

for he knew certainly that something was amiss. and we expected a big feast. Throughout that day Nwoye sat in his mother's hut and tears stood in his eyes." said Obierika.Ekwefi was tired and sleepy from the exhausting experiences of the previous night. I salute you." said Okonkwo. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. chewing the fish. Unoka went into an inner room and soon returned with a small wooden disc containing a kola nut. Ezinma? You are older than Obiageli but she has more sense. Amikwu and his people had taken palm-wine to the bride's kinsmen about two moons before Okonkwo's arrival in Mbanta."For three years Ikemefuna lived in Okonkwo's household and the elders of Umuofia seemed to have forgotten about him. dug her teeth into the real thing. and all the rest rushed away to see the cow that had been let loose. She could no longer think. Onwumbiko??"Death. And when he did this he saw that his father was pleased. All the family were there and some of the neighbors too. just as he would not attempt to start it in the heart of the dry season. Okonkwo looked away."I have kola. "she will bring you back very soon."Thank you. she had said."It should be ready in four days or even three.

came to visit him.The young suitor. Sometimes he decided that a yam was too big to be sown as one seed and he split it deftly along its length with his sharp knife. It tried Okonkwo's patience beyond words. Her heart jumped painfully within her." Okonkwo said."Okoli was not there to answer. The women and children sent up a great shout and took to their heels. "The children are still very young.""Yes. but no one spoke.Many young men and prosperous middle-aged men of Mbanta came to marry her. Okonkwo and his family went to the farm with baskets of seed-yams. and the children who sang songs of welcome to them. The clan was worried. A proud heart can survive a general failure because such failure does not prick its pride. Ezinma was crying loudly now. "The bell-man announced it last night. "You are already a skeleton." said Ojiugo."The next day. gome. If we should try to drive out the white men in Umuofia we should find it easy." said Machi. They were grieved by the indignity and mourned for their neglected farms. For many market weeks nothing else happened.

They painted their bodies with red cam wood and drew beautiful patterns on them with uli. Okonkwo's first wife.So when the daughter of Umuofia was killed in Mbaino. and turned to his sons and daughters."You have all seen the great abomination of your brother. but he went to the birds and asked to be allowed to go with them. "But I have also heard that Abame people were weak and foolish. and stammered. So they made a powerful medicine. It was true they were rescuing twins from the bush. If the clan had disobeyed the Oracle they would surely have been beaten. Nwoye's mother was very kind to him and treated him as one of her own children. They went outside again. They are gods of deceit who tell you to kill your fellows and destroy innocent children.'Ask my dead father if he ever had a fowl when he was alive. Some of them were too angry to eat.He is fit to be a slave. He was a great man. They came when misfortune dogged their steps or when they had a dispute with their neighbors. or rather held out her hand to be shaken."I wish she were a boy. It was not the mad logic of the Trinity that captivated him. neither early nor late."That is the strange part of it. years ago. Thelocusts had not come for many.

"Ogbuefi Ndulue of Ire village. this feeling. His mother and sisters worked hard enough."Nwoye did not fully understand."The court messengers did not like to be called Ashy-Buttocks. When they had gone round the circle they settled down in the center. and there was no hurry to decide his fate. but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders. But good men who worshipped the true God lived forever in His happy kingdom. one hen. I sacrifice a cock to Ani. I sacrifice a cock to Ani. She looked straight ahead of her and walked back to the village. Sometimes the sun shone through the rain and a light breeze blew. It was said that he wore glasses on his eyes so that he could see and talk to evil spirits. and when he died he was buried by his kind in the Evil Forest. Ezinma went with her and helped in preparing the vegetables. and when he got home he went straight to Okonkwo's hut and told him what he had seen. palm-oil and pepper for the soup. Kiaga was going to send into the village for his men-converts when he saw them coming on their own. that night. The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did. I would have asked you to get life." said his daughter Ezinma when she brought the food to him. He was a good eater and he could drink one or two fairly big gourds of palm-wine." And he told him what an osu was.

" and they argued like this for a few moments before Unoka accepted the honor of breaking the kola. That is why Tortoise's shell is not smooth." Altogether there were fifty pots of wine. Temporary cooking tripods were erected on every available space by bringing together three blocks of sun-dried earth and making a fire in their midst. Once she tripped up and fell. Okonkwo's first son. If a man dies at this time he is not buried but cast into the Evil Forest."Obiageli broke her pot today."The crowd roared with laughter. Ekwefi and her daughter. "and a thick mat. brought in a pot of sweet wine tapped from the raffia palm. "Look at those lines of chalk. When Okonkwo brought him home that day he called his most senior wife and handed him over to her.He was by nature a very lively boy and he gradually became popular in Okonkwo's household. From a distance the noise was a deep rumble carried by the wind. In the other group were her husband." he said to Okonkwo. Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offense he had committed inadvertently? But although he thought for a long time he found no answer. The men were seized and beaten until they streamed with blood.Ezinma brought them a bowl of water with which to wash their hands."He said nothing. Ezenwa took it. Ogbuefi Idigo was talking about the palm-wine tapper. Only the really great men in the clan were able to do this. Old men and children would then sit round log fires.

"How dare you. scooped out two mouthfuls and fled from the hut to chew the cud in the goats' shed. should bring to your mother a heavy face and refuse to be comforted? Be careful or you may displease the dead. It was as if a spell had been cast. Okonkwo's first son. The wailing of the women would not be heard beyond the village. The elders of the clan replied. using some of the chicken. He still had the eight hundred from Nwakibie and the four hundred from his father's friend."Okonkwo had just blown out the palm-oil lamp and stretched himself on his bamboo bed when he heard the ogene of the town crier piercing the still night air. It must have been a very long time. He then invited the birds to eat. it is play'." And after a pause she said: "Can I bring your chair for you?""No. male and female. He had cracked them himself. It was like a wedding feast. It was even said that they had hanged one man who killed a missionary. They had not thought about that." he said. "Ozoemena was. But it was as silly as all women's stories. People made way for him on all sides and the noise subsided. but she was held down. a machete for cutting down the soft cassava stem. and he loved this season of the year.

she could bear no other person but her father.The contest began with boys of fifteen or sixteen. At the end of it Okonkwo was fully convinced that the man was mad. "Ee-e-e!""We are giving you our daughter today. Some birds chirruped in the forests around. The priestess in those days was a woman called Chika.Large crowds began to gather on the village ilo as soon as the edge had worn off the sun's heat and it was no longer painful on the body. broken now and again by singing. Her two children belong to Uzowulu. I salute you. "The evil you have done can ruin the whole clan. One day as Ezinma was eating an egg Okonkwo had come in unexpectedly from his hut. A great evil has come upon their land as the Oracle had warned. and of the bird eneke-nti-oba who challenged the whole world to a wrestling contest and was finally thrown by the cat. folded her arms across her breast and sighed. Soon after. and each party brought with them a huge pot of palm-wine. Then there was perfect silence. When i say no to them they think i am hard hearted. I want you to be there." he asked. He went into the obi and saluted his father."Those women whom Obierika's wife had not asked to help her with the cooking returned to their homes. in turn. So much of it was cooked that."We shall be late for the wrestling.

His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it UGG Kids Bootswas the sacred week. He walked unsteadily to the place where the corpse was laid. it was true." replied Okonkwo. There is only one true God and He has the earth. But it went from day to day without a pause.At last they took a turning and began to head for the caves. We would then not be held accountable for their abominations. Then he began to speak.Ezinma brought them a bowl of water with which to wash their hands. His own home had gradually become very faint and distant."Odukwe's body."Yes." answered his first wife. But if a man caused it. The young tendrils were protected from earth-heat with rings of sisal leaves. A few moments later he went behind the hut and began to vomit painfully. as her mother had been called in her youth.And then the egwugwu appeared. only to return to their places almost immediately. the anger on his face was gone."What happened?" her mother asked.In spite of this incident the New Yam Festival was celebrated with great joy in Okonkwo's household. worthless. that night. And that was also the year Okonkwo broke the peace.

The oldest member of this extensive family was Okonkwo's uncle."Ekwefi came out from her hut carrying her oil lamp in her left hand. Ekwefi could now discern the figure of the priestess and her burden.""Very true." He filled the first horn and gave to his father. he fled to Aninta to escape the wrath of the earth. And ten thousand men answered "Yaa!" each time. And what made it worse in Okonkwo's case was that he had to support his mother and two sisters from his meagre harvest. a long. worthless. each carrying a pot of wine.""That is why the drum has not been beaten to tell Umuofla." Ezinma said." Okonkwo was specially fond of Ezinma. Okonkwo's gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy's heart. "Whoever has a job in hand. Okonkwo did not know at first that she was not at home. impotent ash.In the morning the market place was full.""Your words are good. and when he died he was buried by his kind in the Evil Forest. but its vigor was undiminished. who also counted them and said:"We had not thought to go below thirty. And when he got there he found it was a man making a sacrifice. the emanation of the god of water. and about some effeminate men who had refused to come with them.

But he left hold of Nwoye. and does not lose it even if he steals. beat me up and took my wife and children away." He brought down his staff heavily on the floor. Tears of gratitude filled her eyes. He presented a kola nut and an alligator pepper. Suppose when he died all his male children decided to follow Nwoye's steps and abandon their ancestors? Okonkwo felt a cold shudder run through him at the terrible prospect. It was addressed as "Our Father.- one could not have known where one's mouth was in the darkness of that night. If you are sending him on an errand he flies away before he has heard half of the message. Okonkwo and the two boys were working on the red outer walls of the compound."We shall be going. She was going to the stream to fetch water. The ancient drums of death beat. Cooking pots went up and down the tripods and foo-foo was pounded in a hundred wooden mortars Some of the women cooked the yams and the cassava. What you have done will not please the Earth.And then the egwugwu appeared. and she put all her being into it. It was not the same Chielo who sat with her in the market and sometimes bought beancakes for Ezinma. scooped out two mouthfuls and fled from the hut to chew the cud in the goats' shed. with which he carried the brown snuff to his nostrils."Evil Forest then turned to the other group and addressed the eldest of the three brothers.Ekwefi peeled the yams quickly." His tone now changed from anger to command. had gone to consult Agbala. He searched his bag again and brought out a small.

He fell and fell and fell until he began to fear that he would never stop falling. Many people laughed at his dialect and the way he used words strangely. and sometimes two rainbows. "it is this eyelid. but she went to Okonkwo's compound. How old is she now?""She is about ten years old. or what?"The interpreter spoke to the white man and he immediately gave his answer. though his dialect was different and harsh to the enrs of Mbanta. He held out his hands to them when they came into his obi.Sometimes a man came to consult the spirit of his dead father or relative. It throbbed in the air. Ekwefi could now discern the figure of the priestess and her burden. Unfortunately for her Okonkwo heard it and ran madly into his room for the loaded gun. Even the smell of gunpowder was swallowed in the sickly smell that now filled the air.And then the storm burst. Behind them was the big and ancient silk-cotton tree which was sacred. who only stayed in the hope that it might come to chasing the men out of the village or whipping them. "We shall give them a piece of land."Locusts are descending. But if a man caused it. "you. His mother had wept bitterly. who had given much money to the white man's messengers and interpreter.Uzowulu stepped forward and presented his case. Nwoye's mother and Ojiugo would provide the other things like smoked fish. I salute you.

"What about you? Can you answer my question?"They all shook their heads. Inwardly. and only the old people had seen them before. I implore you. like a mother and her daughter. who walked away and never returned. His mother's kinsmen had been very kind to him.Uzowulu stepped forward and presented his case. Ezinma. and to soften his heart with a song of the suffering of the sons of men. they say.""What has happened to that piece of land in dispute?" asked Okonkwo.""That is very strange. Young men and boys in single file. The pot fell and broke in the sand. They passed their cloths under the right arm-pit. Ezinma turned left as if she was going to the stream. Twenty. Okafo was swept off his feet by his supporters and carried home shoulder high. Ezeudu was the oldest man in this quarter of Umuofia. The house was now a pandemonium of quavering voices: Am oyim de de de de! filled the air as the spirits of the ancestors. Do you know how many children I have buried??children I begot in my youth and strength? Twenty-two. for that was his father's name. "Three or four of us should stay behind. In her hand was the cloth pad on which the pot should have rested on her head. especially these days when young men are afraid of hard work.

In the end the fearless ones went near and even touched him. scooped out two mouthfuls and fled from the hut to chew the cud in the goats' shed. The white man has no sense.He did not sleep at night. and all were happy." said Obierika."Okonkwo tried to explain to him what his wife had done. The first thing he would do would be to rebuild his compound on a more magnificent scale. spread her mat on the floor and built a fire." said Okagbue.""Yes. Each of his three wives had her own hut." said the priestess. The white missionary was very proud of him and he was one of the first men in Umuofia to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion.But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through. The suitor was a young man of about twenty-five.The moon was now up and she could see Chielo and Ezinma clearly. he is not too young. The heathen say you will die if you do this or that. through lonely forest paths. Obiageli took the first dish and returned to her mother's hut. Ikemefuna felt like a child once more.""How did they get hold of Ancto to hang him?" asked Okonkwo. clay and metal instruments went from song to song. and then turning to his brother and his son he said: "Let us go out and whisper together.'to bring out all the soft things in my house and cover the compound with them so that I can jump down from the sky without very great danger.

"Will you give Ezinma some fire to bring to me?" Her own children and Ikemefuna had gone to the stream." said Obierika. Kiaga's congregation at Mbanta. He would remember his own childhood. But it was the season of rest between the harvest and the next planting season. and a little hoe for digging out the tuber. should he. skirting round the subject and then hitting it finally. "I planted the farm nearly two years ago. He died and rotted away above the earth. He asked Okagbue to come up and rest while he took a hand. But he had recently fallen ill. She went on fanning it until it burst into flames.- instead of thirty there were now only fifteen. But they always returned to the long rope he trailed behind." said Nwoye's mother. nearly half a day's journey away."This is Obierika. welcoming it back from its long. In ordinary life Chielo was a widow with two children."Father. the one young and beautiful. She had balanced it on her head. my daughter. nor even a young wife. another man asked a question: "Where is the white man's horse?" he asked.

perhaps for the first time." said Obierika."You are right."Those who knew Amadi laughed. and Ikemefuna. He looked terrible with the smoked raffia "body. His fame rested on solid personal achievements.The only course open to Okonkwo was to flee from the clan. It was always quiet except on moonlight nights. He would return later to his mother and his brothers and sisters and convert them to the new faith. Some of these prisoners were men of title who should be above such mean occupation. I have cleared a farm but have no yams to sow. though his dialect was different and harsh to the enrs of Mbanta. Two years after her marriage to Anene she could bear it no longer and she ran away to Okonkwo. Now he is no longer my son or your brother." He rose and left the hut. And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion - to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved.At this point an old man said he had a question. Every woman immediately abandoned whatever she was doing and rushed out in the direction of the cry. Unoka would play with them.The land of the living was not far removed from the domain of the ancestors.That was the kind of story that Nwoye loved. Was it waiting to snap its teeth together? After passing and re-passing by the church. But he has not come to wake me up in the morning for it. 1 know you will not despair. when he was young.

like coco-yams. One mind said to her: "Woman. solid drops of frozen water which the people called "the nuts of the water of heaven. A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland. He went into Ekwefi's hut. how he had often wandered around looking for a kite sailing leisurely against the blue sky. Okonkwo said yes very strongly. succulent breasts." said Obierika."A little more?? I said a little. He continued:"During the last planting season a white man had appeared in their clan. he had begun even in his father's lifetime to lay the foundations of a prosperous future. The old man who received him was his mother's younger brother.The footway had now become a narrow line in the heart of the forest. After that nothing happened for a long time between the church and the clan." asked Obierika." said Okonkwo. in fact. Nwoye had heard that twins were put in earthenware pots and thrown away in the forest. let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him. she could not ignore the fact that some really evil children sometimes misled people into digging up a specious one. "When I think that it is only eighteen months since the Seed was first sown among you."The weeping was now quite close and soon the children filed in.Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son's development. but he did not know where to begin. who sat next to him.

I sacrifice a cock to Ani.""There is no song in the story. "They want to ruin us. They had then drawn patterns on them in white.Uchendu had been told by one of his grandchildren that three strangers had come to Okonkwo's house. He wanted first to know why they had been outlawed." Obierika agreed. Obierika sent word that the two huts had been built and Okonkwo began to prepare for his return. I salute you. He looked it over and said it was done." His tone now changed from anger to command. In the end Parrot. A bowl of pounded yams can throw him in a wrestling match. In the end Parrot. but even now they have not found the mouth with which to tell of their suffering. They have joined his religion and they help to uphold his government. afraid of your next-door neighbor. 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. If you think you are the greatest sufferer in the world ask my daughter.Many people went out with baskets trying to catch them. and the other an old and faint shadow. Does a man speak when a god speaks? Beware!"She walked through Okonkwo's hut into the circular compound and went straight toward Ekwefi's hut. but not today.' replied the man.- you stay at home and offer sacrifices to a reluctant soil. Each of Uchendu's five sons contributed three hundred seed-yams to enable their cousin to plant a farm.

""Yes" said Obierika." Obierika again drank a little of his wine. It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman. The crowd followed her silently. Ezinma was crying loudly now."Bring me my bag. as she had accepted others??with listless resignation. and we shall all perish.Mr. At last I went to my in-laws and said to them. Alone Nnadi is cooking and eating. and in the end it was decided to ostracize the Christians. She went in and knocked at his door and he came out."Where have you been?" he stammered. and most of them never did because they died too young - before they could be asked questions. She often called her Ezigbo. Although they come from a village that is known for being closefisted. with Ezinma sleeping on her back. She could not see beyond her nose." said Ezinma at last.But apart from the church. It was like the pulsation of its heart.The elders.' replied the young kite. His name was Nwoye. "If a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor.

That was always the trouble with Okeke's snuff. "That boy calls you father." said Evil Forest.Many young men and prosperous middle-aged men of Mbanta came to marry her. "Welcome. "people should not talk when they are eating or pepper may go down the wrong way.""All their customs are upside-down. who was also the youngest man in the group."Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?" Okagbue had asked Ezinma. If they became more troublesome than they already were they would simply be driven out of the clan. a place which was already becoming remote and vague in his imagination."Tufia-al" the priestess cursed. but to settle the dispute. they could gather firewood together for roasting the ones that would be eaten there on the farm. His eldest brother broke the first one.Ezinma led the way back to the road." he said as he broke it. will not understand me. The hosts nodded in approval and seemed to say. and did as you have been told. Like all good farmers. He was reclining on a mud bed in his hut playing on the flute. raised the pot on his left knee and began to pour out the wine. folded her arms across her breast and sighed. and there was a murmur of surprise and disagreement. Amalinze was a wily craftsman.

"Where is Mgbogo?" asked one of them. When i say no to them they think i am hard hearted. We put our fingers into our ears to stop us hearing.' Why is that?"There was silence. but every farmer knew that without sunshine the tubers would not grow. But they were very rare and short-lived. The earth goddess whom you have insulted may refuse to give us her increase. They said she was coming."That was many years ago. He had a large barn full of yams and he had three wives. In that way she will elude her wicked tormentor and break its evil cycle of birth and death." said Obierika's eldest brother. everybody knew by instinct that they were very good to eat. And now he was going to take the Idemili title. and he was not afraid of war." said Okonkwo. a vibrant silence made more intense by the universal trill of a million million forest insects. On the second day Uchendu called together his sons and daughters and his nephew. "I will tell Obierika's wife that you are coming later. And to their greatest amazement the missionaries thanked them and burst into song. and the smell of burning hair blended with the smell of cooking. He was a leper. On great occasions such as the funeral of a village celebrity he drank his palm-wine from his first human head.""It is true. long way from home." And after a pause she said: "Can I bring your chair for you?""No.

when the rains had stopped and the sun rose every morning with dazzling beauty. And he went. unearthly voice and completely covered in raffia.But." he said to Okonkwo.Ezinma grew up in her father's exile and became one of the most beautiful girls in Mbanta. But each time she had borne twins. But if a man caused it. After all the toil one only got a third of the harvest. Then he and another man went before Ikemefuna and set a faster pace. For two or three moons the sun had been gathering strength till it seemed to breathe a breath of fire on the earth. succulent breasts. The yams were then staked.And then quite suddenly a shadow fell on the world. Without it. He hoped to get another four hundred yams from one of his father's friends at Isiuzo. or waist beads. If we allow you to come with us you will soon begin your mischief.Okonkwo's head was bowed in sadness as Obierika told him these things. no one could kill them without having to flee from the clan. The first day passed and the second and third and fourth." Obierika said to Nwoye. Then something had given way inside him. It had to be done slowly and carefully. he was treated with great honor and respect. You buried it in the ground somewhere so that you can die and return again to torment your mother.

The yams put on luxuriant green leaves. If I were you I would have stayed at home."Ezinma is dying."For the first time in three nights. And if anything happened to her could she stop it? She would not dare to enter the underground caves."Everybody thanked Okonkwo and the neighbors brought out their drinking horns from the goatskin bags they carried. The first cock has crowed. as most people were. Some kinsmen ate it with egusi soup and others with bitter-leaf soup. They were locusts. everybody knew by instinct that they were very good to eat. go in peace. and Obiageli told her mournful story. "Umuofia kwenu. his son's crime stood out in its stark enormity. and no longer rebuked him or beat him. and was full of the sap of life. When the moon rose late in the night. thus completing a circle with their hosts.The last match was between the leaders of the teams. It was sudden and tremendous. No one had actually seen the man do it.At last the rain came. Elumelu. "Every day I tell you that jigida and fire are not friends. A proud heart can survive a general failure because such failure does not prick its pride.

Okonkwo. They thought the priestess might be going to her house."Point at the spot with your finger. or God's house. This was about eight days after the fight. It was also the dumping ground for highly potent fetishes of great medicine men when they died. An evil forest was where the clan buried all those who died of the really evil diseases. twenty years or more. fifth and sixth years. Okonkwo's second wife had merely cut a few leaves off it to wrap some food. talking and laughing among themselves and with others who stood near them.""That is very true. I greet you. There was a long break. His two younger brothers are more promising. cutting down every tree or animal they saw. Rain fell as it had never fallen before. Obierika's relatives and friends began to arrive.From that day Amikwu took the young bride and she became his wife. He could not ask another man to build his own obi for him. She slowed down her pace so as to increase the distance between them. And when she returned he beat her very heavily. its sullenness over." Okonkwo was specially fond of Ezinma."Who is that?" he growled. The words of the hymn were like the drops of frozen rain melting on the dry palate of the panting earth.