next day a group of elders from all the nine villages of Umuofia came to Okonkwo's house early in the morning.

One man tied his cloth to a tree branch and hanged himself
One man tied his cloth to a tree branch and hanged himself."When this was interpreted to the men of Mbanta they broke into derisive laughter. somewhat lamely. Onwumbiko??"Death. Okonkwo remembered his own father. and only then realized for the first time that the child had died on the same market-day as it had been born. as the saying goes. I shall give you some fish to eat. where titled men climb trees and pound foo-foo for their wives. They haggle and bargain as if they were buying a goat or a cow in the market. Each of them carried a long cane basket. if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man. It was the first time for many years that a man had broken the sacred peace. He wanted first to know why they had been outlawed. his sixteen-year-old son.

" said Uchendu. killed his animals and destroyed his barn. took out two leaves and began to chew them."But the leaves will be wet. With this magic fan she beckons to the market all the neighboring clans. and his relatives. But whenever they came to preach in the open marketplace or the village playground.In the morning the market place was full. This was about eight days after the fight. she could bear no other person but her father." said Uchendu to his peers when they consulted among themselves. men. "Those that hear my words are my father and my mother. Mr."Those women whom Obierika's wife had not asked to help her with the cooking returned to their homes.

his half-sister."That is very good. Young men pounded the foo-foo or split firewood. Umuofia has decided to kill him.Ezinma was an only child and the center of her mother's world.It was clear from the way the crowd stood or sat that the ceremony was for men. He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth. in the sunshine."Because I did not want to. and old men and women would remember their youth. "When I think that it is only eighteen months since the Seed was first sown among you. And he found that Okonkwo did not wish to speak about Nwoye. But the third created a big sensation even among the elders who did not usually show their excitement so openly. passed through his obi and into Ekwefi's hut and walked into her bedroom. When a man was afflicted with swelling in the stomach and the limbs he was not allowed to die in the house.

to harvest cassava tubers. As she stood gazing at the circular darkness which had swallowed them.As he broke the kola. She wore the anklet of her husband's titles. Now Ekwefi was a woman of forty-five who had suffered a great deal in her time. "Perhaps you can already guess what it is. "and a thick mat. Now he has won our brothers. facing the elders. nine of the greatest masked spirits in the clan came out together it was a terrifying spectacle. 'You are full of cunning and you are ungrateful. but she must wait for Ezinma to wake.The land of the living was not far removed from the domain of the ancestors."I do not know the answer. endless space in the presence of Agbala.

"It wounds my heart to see these young men killing palm trees in the name of tapping." said Ekwefi. But for a young man whose father had no yams. Okonkwo walked behind him. Even Mgbafo took to her heels and had to be restrained by her brothers.When the rain finally came. But it is not our custom to debar anyone from the stream or the quarry. Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent. These sudden bouts of sickness and health were typical of her kind." But Death took no notice." Umuofia obodo dike! Umuofia obodo dike! It said this over and over again. hungry swarm. Tortoise stood up in his many-colored plumage and thanked them for their invitation. Clearly his personal god or chi was not made for great things. But it was a resilient spirit.

condemned for seven years to live in a strange land.""There is no story that is not true. And so he changed the subject and talked about music. although one of them did not speak Ibo." said Nwoye's mother." he asked Obierika. and the smell of burning hair blended with the smell of cooking. But such was her anxiety for her daughter that she could not rid herself completely of her fear. 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. Why was that?"Okonkwo shook his head. There are only two of them. He heaved a heavy sigh and went away with the gun. "It pleases me to see a young man like you these days when our youth has gone so soft."Ekwefi!" a voice called from one of the other huts. The egwugwu had emerged once again from their underground home.

" said Ezinma. astride the steaming pot. He held up a piece of chalk.The last match was between the leaders of the teams. In these seven years he would have climbed to the utmost heights. The blazing sun returned. One of these days your jigida will catch fire on your waist." replied Uzowulu. But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship.Very soon after. Between Chielo's outbursts the night was alive with the shrill tremor of forest insects woven into the darkness. But his wives and young children were not as strong. who were putting the last delicate touches of razor to her coiffure and cam wood on her smooth skin.Many years ago when Okonkwo was still a boy his father. When everyone had drunk two or three horns.

We do not dispute it. from Umuofia to Mbaino. If only he could find some work to do he would be able to forget.The crowd set out with Ezinma leading the way and Okagbue following closely behind her. calling him "Our father.'"Parrot promised to deliver the message. She saw the other children with their water-pots and remembered that they were going to fetch water for Obierika's wife. Why had Okonkwo withdrawn to the rear? Ikemefuna felt his legs melting under him.As the last heavy rains of the year began to fall." And he did." said Okonkwo after a pause. It was always quiet except on moonlight nights."Ekwefi."That wine is the work of a good tapper.There were seven drums and they were arranged according to their sizes in a long wooden basket.

you would still have committed a great evil to beat her. i fear for the clan. he was terribly afraid." said Evil Forest. It is the law of our fathers. came first."1 have told you to let her alone. Men and women. And there he stood in his hard shell full of food and wine but without any wings to fly home. A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi. The bride's mother led the way. others Abame or Aninta. "Kill one of your sons for me." he said. he was not a hunter.

"And you know how leaves become smaller after cooking. "the goddess of the earth. And they began to shoot. they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground." He got up painfully. Nwoye.It came slowly." said the old man. The birth of her children."Ekwefi. guttural and awesome. his face beaming with blessedness and peace. He remembered the story she often told of the quarrel between Earth and Sky long ago.""Ee-e-e!""And this will not be the last. and they each gave him a feather.

But it is not our custom to debar anyone from the stream or the quarry. Then everything had been broken. although one of them did not speak Ibo. the "medicine house" or shrine where Okonkwo kept the wooden symbols of his personal god and of his ancestral spirits.Okonkwo returned when he felt the medicine had cooked long anough. And she enjoyed above all the secrecy in which she now ate them. "Ozoemena was. smiling.""I think it is good that our clan holds the ozo title in high esteem. blew into it to remove any dust that might be there. Then all Umuofia turned out in spite of the cold harmattan. Okonkwo brought out l??s big horn from the goatskin bag. when Ogbuefi Ezeudu came in. None of his converts was a man whose word was heeded in ihe assembly of the people. One morning three of them came to my house.

except the old and the sick who were at home and a handful of men and women whose chi were wide awake and brought them out of that market. The elders of the clan replied. The neighbors and Okonkwo's wives were now talking. He could neither marry nor be married by the free-born. were whispering together. they set off in a body. because it would hear. He had never been fond of his real father. Okafo raised his right leg and swung it over his rival's head. "We have men of high title and the chief priests and the elders."Is Anasi not in?" he asked them."Point at the spot with your finger." She went into the hut again and brought down the smoke-black basket in which she kept her dried fish and other ingredients for cooking soup. She trudged slowly along. gome.

who has promised everlasting life to all who believe in His holy name. who had lived about two hundred years before. On great occasions such as the funeral of a village celebrity he drank his palm-wine from his first human head. She could not be expected to cook and eat while her husband starved. like coco-yams. nor the walls of his compound.""That is very true. Nwoye. the shouting and the firing of guns. We are only his mother's kinsmen. Di-go-go-di-go-di-di-go-go floated in the message-laden night air. so heavy and persistent that even the village rain-maker no longer claimed to be able to intervene. When Ekwefi had followed the priestess." said Okonkwo."They are here.

but he did not say it. This year they talked of nothing else but the nso-ani which Okonkwo had committed. Then it went nearer and named the village: " Iguedo of the yellow grinding-stone!" It was Okonkwo's village. the sky. whom he nearly shot. and he loved this season of the year." Obierika replied sharply.In this way Akuke's bride-price was finally settled at twenty bags of cowries." came her voice. Dew fell heavily and the air was cold. Ekwefi quickly moved away from her line of retreat. in fact. He could neither marry nor be married by the free-born. Obierika presented kola nuts to his in-laws. a long.

And he was already beginning to know some of the simple stories they told.But before this quiet and final rite. She had got ready her basket of coco-yams and fish. She put back the empty pot on the circular pad in the corner." asked another man.It was a great funeral. I will only have a son who is a man. he is telling a lie." said her mother. sat on the floor waiting for him to finish. The moon had been rising later and later every night until now it was seen only at dawn. Okonkwo and his wife followed at a respectful distance. But it is not so. On his head were two powerful horns."The next day a group of elders from all the nine villages of Umuofia came to Okonkwo's house early in the morning.