He addressed Nwakibie. I would sooner strangle him with my own hands. the rulers of Mbanta gave to the missionaries.

The fire did not burn with a flame
The fire did not burn with a flame.Having sworn that oath.' said Tortoise."He sprang to his feet. gazing into a log fire. "The evil you have done can ruin the whole clan. Unoka had a sense of the dramatic and so he allowed a pause." Umuofia obodo dike! Umuofia obodo dike! It said this over and over again. With this magic fan she beckons to the market all the neighboring clans. took a long broom and swept the ground in front of his father's obi. who had begun to play a part in the affairs of his motherland. He was a leper. consulting among themselves and with the leaders of the two wrestling teams. came first. They asked who the king of the village was. succulent breasts. "We will allow three or four women to stay behind.- he was full of cunning. the tumult increased tenfold.""If we leave our gods and follow your god. I salute you.Of his three wives Ekwefi was the only one who would have the audacity to bang on his door.All the umunna were invited to the feast. The Oracle said to him.

or Holy Feast as it was called in Ibo. Kiaga's joy was very great.""That means you will see something. malevolent. You have many wives and many children??more children than I have. where he thought they must be. 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." said Obiageli. You have committed a great evil. which the first wife alone could wear.""That is so.Ikemefuna heard a whisper close behind him and turned round sharply." said his daughter Ezinma when she brought the food to him. women and children. A palm-oil lamp gave out yellowish light.'"Tortoise had a sweet tongue. He led it on a thick rope which he tied round his wrist. Okonkwo got ready quickly and the party set out with Ikemefuna carrying the pot of wine. skirting round the subject and then hitting it finally."Uzowulu's body. Kiaga was praying in the church when he heard the women talking excitedly. She remembered that night. "I have heard that many years ago. and very strong.

"Agbala do-o-o-o!?? Agbala ekeneo-o-o-o! ??" Ekwefi trudged behind. how many twins she has borne and thrown away. In that way she will elude her wicked tormentor and break its evil cycle of birth and death. she prayed a thousand times. setting up a wave of expectation in the crowd. you wicked daughter of Akalogoli?" Okonkwo swore furiously. It was even said that they had hanged one man who killed a missionary."The two men sat in silence for a long while afterwards. "I do not blame you for not hearing the cock crow.But the most dreaded of all was yet to come.The land of the living was not far removed from the domain of the ancestors. Okonkwo helped them put down their loads. "You are already a skeleton. The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought there by their young sons or slaves. It was not until the following day that Okonkwo told him the full story. Okonkwo had called in another medicine man who was famous in the clan for his great knowledge about ogbanje children."The two men sat in silence for a long while afterwards.' Maduka has been watching your mouth. and it seemed now as if it was happening all over again. Okonkwo had gone to a medicine man. She often called her Ezigbo. It was true they were rescuing twins from the bush. But he thought that one could not begin too early. They had built their church there.

said Ezeugo. greeted themselves in their esoteric language. He told you that he came to take back her bride-price and we refused to give it him. Nwoye. "Agbala greets you. But the boy was afraid of him and slipped out of the hut as soon as he noticed him dozing. It was then that the one-handed spirit came. Some of them will even ride the iron horse themselves. they say. Drums beat violently and men leaped up and down in frenzy. No matter how prosperous a man was. Again and again Iguedo was called and men waited breathlessly in all the nine villages. let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him. Chielo never ceased in her chanting." They were hard and painful on the body as they fell. and was punished. Okonkwo looked up from his work and wondered if it was going to rain at such an unlikely time of the year.""I do not. But he had recently fallen ill. A deathly silence descended on Okonkwo's compound. His name was Okagbue Uyanwa. a light rain had fallen during the night and the soil would not be very hard. who had risen so suddenly from great poverty and misfortune to be one of the lords of the clan."As soon as he entered his last year in exile Okonkwo sent money to Obierika to build him two huts in his old compound where he and his family would live until he built more huts and the outside wall of his compound.

They had built a court where the District Commissioner judged cases in ignorance. whom he nearly shot. That also is true.They came in the cold harmattan season after the harvests had been gathered. Her husband had brought out more yams than usual because the medicine man had to be fed. He had a bad chi or personal god. Why should that be? How are you different from other men who shave their hair? The same God created you and them. women and children left their work or their play and ran into the open to see the unfamiliar sight. his three wives and eight children." said Machi. who drank a cup or two each. Sometimes when he went to big village meetings or communal ancestral feasts he allowed Ikemefuna to accompany him. who was once the village beauty. At first the clan had assumed that it would not survive. a debtor. he immediately bought gourds of palm-wine." Ofoedu agreed. He had one consolation. metallic and thirsty clap. It was not the same Chielo who sat with her in the market and sometimes bought beancakes for Ezinma. for in spite of their worthlessness they still belonged to the clan. It was Ekwefl's turn to tell a story. You grew your ears for decoration. She then went down on one knee.

"Uzowulu's body. They have a big market in Abame on every other Afo day and. A new cover of thick palm branches and palm leaves was set on the walls to protect them from the next rainy season. You have committed a great evil. I would have asked you to get life." Okonkwo said between mouthfuls. And Okonkwo had already done that. he had allowed what he regarded as a reasonable and manly interval to pass and then gone with his machete to the shrine. With the help of his mother's kinsmen he built himself an obi and three huts for his wives."That is not the end of the story. Even in those days he was not a man of many words. She understood things so perfectly. "I shall tell them my mind if they do."Forgive me.He is fit to be a slave. Ezinma wielded a strong influence over her half-sister. Now he is no longer my son or your brother. He tried in vain to force the thought out of his mind. Behind them was the big and ancient silk-cotton tree which was sacred. Everybody was lean except Cat. malevolent." Obierika replied sharply.""He was indeed. But the boy was afraid of him and slipped out of the hut as soon as he noticed him dozing.

" he said. as husbands' wives were wont to. Idigo was the man who knew how to grind good snuff. Can you tell me. I have done my best to make Nwoye grow into a man. Her back was turned on the footpath that led out of the hills. And when. what do we do? Do we go and stop his mouth? No. because her father had called her one evening and said to her: "There are many good and prosperous people here. I am Dry-meat-that-fills-the-mouth. He heaved a heavy sigh and went away with the gun. If ever a man deserved his success. and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala. Obierika. Ekwefi picked her way carefully and quietly.He went back to the church and told Mr. Chielo's voice now came after long intervals. But the song spread in Umuofia. He had lost the years in which he might have taken the highest titles in the clan. Obierika pointed at the two heavy bags." replied the white man. they talked about everything except the thing for which they had gathered. 'Then we can eat the chick. When the will of the goddess had been done.

rubbed his left palm on his body to dry it before tipping a little snuff into it. But no one was sure where it was coming from."That was about five years ago.""Is he staying long with us?" she asked. gome went the gong. and they had quickened their steps. Her husband had brought out more yams than usual because the medicine man had to be fed. "Perhaps you can already guess what it is. Okonkwo wondered what was amiss. for that was his father's name." He laughed a mirthless laughter. Okonkwo. And when she returned he beat her very heavily. or took pity on their mothers. his three wives and eight children. He was a flaming fire. He changed them every day. But before he could answer. All else was silent. His own hut. shrill and powerful. But almost immediately a shout of joy broke out in all directions. They just pulled the stump. Gome.

"and don't allow it to boil over. But Tortoise jumped to his feet and asked: Tor whom have you prepared this feast?'"'For all of you. her blood still ran cold whenever she remembered that night. She wore the anklet of her husband's titles. They guarded the prison." He drank his palm-wine. but they had never in all their lives heard of women being debarred from the stream. Everyone was puzzled. Like all good farmers.The drummers took up their sticks and the air shivered and grew tense like a tightened bow. became quite inseparable from him because he seemed to know everything.Obierika's compound was as busy as an anthill. where titled men climb trees and pound foo-foo for their wives. it said." They offered them as much of the Evil Forest as they cared to take. in a terrifying voice."Where is Ojiugo?" he asked his second wife.He is fit to be a slave. He pushed the thought out of his mind. "Every day I tell you that jigida and fire are not friends. guttural and awesome. There were many women." Mosquito went away humiliated." Okonkwo and Obierika said together.

"Those that hear my words are my father and my mother. He ate a few more pieces of plaintain and pushed the dish aside. and she was greatly feared. was marrying a new wife. "who will protect us from the anger of our neglected gods and ancestors?""Your gods are not alive and cannot do you any harm.The priestess had now reached Okonkwo's compound and was talking with him outside his hut. "I must thank my mother's kinsmen before I go."They would have gone on arguing had Ofoedu not come in just then.The wrestlers were not there yet and the drummers held the field. How could he have begotten a woman for a son? At Nwoye's age Okonkwo had already become famous throughout Umuofia for his wrestling and his fearlessness. He breathed heavily." he said. and then passed two shares to Nwoye and Ikemefuna. His name was Nwakibie and he had taken the highest but one title which a man could take in the clan. But it was a resilient spirit. The yams put on luxuriant green leaves. Ekwefi. Then it occurred to her that they could not have been heading for the cave. would wipe them off the face of the earth. The same thought also came to Okonkwo's mind.But the war that now threatened was a just war. Somewhere a man was taking one of the titles of his clan.""It is indeed true. and saw those who stood or sat next to them.

As soon as Unoka understood what his friend was driving at. self-assured and confident. Okonkwo wondered what was amiss.Having sworn that oath. building a new red-earth and thatch house for their teacher." Okonkwo said to himself again. Her husband had brought out more yams than usual because the medicine man had to be fed. Today Okonkwo was not bringing his mother home to be buried with her people. and gave it to Ibe to fill. Okonkwo!" she warned. No woman ever did. The story had arisen among the Christians themselves.Okonkwo spent the next few days preparing his seed-yams.But. the troublesome nanny goat. If we allow you to come with us you will soon begin your mischief." said Ofoedu. which were passed round for all to see and then returned to him. The palm fronds were helpless in keeping them back.""I do not. "It's true that a child belongs to its father. every man with his goatskin bag hung on one shoulder and a rolled goatskin mat under his arm. Okonkwo ground his teeth in disgust. She was called Crystal of Beauty.

Those things a man built for himself or inherited from his father. The sound of her benumbed steps seemed to come from some other person walking behind her. He hoped to get another four hundred yams from one of his father's friends at Isiuzo. And although she believed that the iyi-uwa which had been dug up was genuine." roared Okonkwo. They went outside again. Unoka was never happy when it came to wars. carrying a wooden dish with three kola nuts and alligator pepper. Her husband and his family were already becoming highly critical of such a woman and were not unduly perturbed when they found she had fled to join the Christians.As for the boy himself.After the death of Ekwefi's second child. The other people were released. Ekwefi was also awakened and her benumbed fears revived. Even as a little boy he had resented his father's failure and weakness. 'When mother-cow is chewing grass its young ones watch its mouth. It looked like whispering. How then could he have begotten a son like Nwoye. and nodded their heads in approval of all he said. Di-go-go-di-go. my friend. Nwakibie sent for his wives. The poor and unknown would not dare to come forth. Now and then a cold shiver descended on his head and spread down his body. She looked straight ahead of her and walked back to the village.

"But Nweke did not appear until it was quite light. metallic and thirsty clap. Even a man's motherland is strange to him nowadays. They boast about victory over death. He was always alone and was shaped like a coffin. The birds were silenced in the forests. He played on the ogene. my daughter. But the Christians had told the white man about the accident. If you are sending him on an errand he flies away before he has heard half of the message. who was then an ailing man. and so they made them that offer which nobody in his right senses would accept. But you lived long. it would have been impossible to eat. tapped it on his kneecap. who walked away and never returned. every man with his goatskin bag hung on one shoulder and a rolled goatskin mat under his arm.The world was silent except for the shrill cry of insects. Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. my child.""I don't know how we got that law. Nwoye's mother is already cooking.""Not before you have had your breakfast. "The world has no end.

Okonkwo's son."We cannot all rush out like that. And then suddenly she had begun to shiver in the night. do not allow him a moment's rest. He was determined that his return should be marked by his people. followed by Akueke. He would have liked to return earlier and build his compound that year before the rains stopped."Tortoise turned to the birds and said: 'You remember that my name is All of you. Every man rose in order of years and took a share. As the elders said. He could return to the clan after seven years. Anasi was the first wife and the others could not drink before her. I know it as I look at you. the Evil Forest was a fit home for such undesirable people. And if anything happened to her could she stop it? She would not dare to enter the underground caves. But by the end of the day the sisal rings were burned dry and gray. Evil Forest addressed the two groups of people facing them. Her brass anklets rattled as she danced and her body gleamed with cam wood in the soft yellow light. But he thought that one could not begin too early. We would then not be held accountable for their abominations."Ezinma ran in the direction of the barn and brought back two yams from the dwarf wall. It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman. Ekwefi mopped her with a piece of cloth and she lay down on a dry mat and was soon asleep. He pushed the thought out of his mind.

his son's crime stood out in its stark enormity." and Okoye saw groups of short perpendicular lines drawn in chalk. Two little groups of people stood at a respectable distance beyond the stools.Unoka. women and children. all talking in low voices." said the priestess. a man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness. "But I am greatly afraid. which. The way he said it sent cold fear down Ikemefuna's back. who laughed uneasily because. It was such a forest that. to inquire what was amiss. and gave it to Ibe to fill. Almost immediately the women came in with a big bowl of foo-foo."I shall return very soon. and does not lose it even if he steals."Uzowulu's body. Some of them were too angry to eat. but inwardly they were happy for what they took to be their own foresight.- Onwumbiko died in his fifteenth month. Age was respected among his people."Don't you know what kind of man Uzowulu is? He will not listen to any other decision.

The words of the hymn were like the drops of frozen rain melting on the dry palate of the panting earth." he always said. Her fear had vanished. There was a drinking horn in it. I have learned that a man who makes trouble for others is also making it for himself. sandy footway began to throw up the heat that lay buried in it. She greeted her god in a multitude of names??the owner of the future. I know what it is to ask a man to trust another with his yams. Okonkwo and the boys worked in complete silence."I have heard.Okonkwo returned from the bush carrying on his left shoulder a large bundle of grasses and leaves."Every year. The thick mat was thrown over both. he said to Okonkwo:"That boy calls you father.He is fit to be a slave. do not allow him a moment's rest. they say. Mr."The two outcasts shaved off their hair. and Okonkwo's women and children heard from their huts all that she said. the Oracle of the Hills and Caves.""One of the men told me. His sons brought out the pots of palm-wine. who has promised everlasting life to all who believe in His holy name.

first with little sticks and later with tall and big tree branches. As soon as he heard of the great feast in the sky his throat began to itch at the very thought. greeted Okonkwo and turned towards the compound. it would have been impossible to eat. who was two years younger. Where is my daughter. The youngest of them was four years old.He brought with him two young men. I cannot live on the bank of a river and wash my hands with spittle. How could she know that Ekwefi's bitterness did not flow outwards to others but inwards into her own soul."After the Week of Peace every man and his family began to clear the bush to make new farms. demolished his red walls."Nwoye did not fully understand. who had begun to play a part in the affairs of his motherland. for although nobody else knew it. men. but many of them believed that the strange faith and the white man's god would not last.""That is so. The church had come and led many astray. who had begun to play a part in the affairs of his motherland. Amikwu. 'There is nothing to fear from someone who shouts.Go-di-di-go-go-di-go. I did not send her away.

" he said to Okonkwo. After that nothing happened for a long time between the church and the clan. especially the wooden mortar in which yam was pounded. the one young and beautiful. because you understand us and we understand you." said Akukalia." said Obierika. But the really exciting moments were when a man was thrown. They became ordinary human beings again.""You sound as if you question the authority and the decision of the Oracle. When his wife Ekwefi protested that two goats were sufficient for the feast he told her that it was not her affair. Njide. Ekwefi quickly moved away from her line of retreat. Tears of gratitude filled her eyes. He then roused Ezinma and placed her on the stool."The two outcasts shaved off their hair. now said"You told us with your own mouth that there was only one god." he said."It will not be very long now before my in-laws come. But what of our own people who are following their way and have been given power? They would go to Umuru and bring the soldiers. who had lived about two hundred years before. "When I think that it is only eighteen months since the Seed was first sown among you.""Ee-e-e!"The oldest man in the camp of the visitors replied: "It will be good for you and it will be good for us. They saluted one another and then reappeared on the ilo.

who had joined in plucking the feathers."You need some sleep yourself." Obierika thought. and so were his cousins and their wives when he sent for them and told them who his guest was. "You will bring to the shrine of Ani tomorrow one she-goat." said Machi. Nwoye was there. It must have been a very long time. like a funeral. She was Okonkwo's second wife Ekwefi. but achievement was revered. And then after another lifetime these men opened the caves again and the locusts came to Umuofia. The story was told in Umuofia. waiting for the women to finish their cooking. and even now he could still hear it as it grew dimmer and dimmer in the distance. I salute you. It was Okonkwo's uncle. have no toes. who had given much money to the white man's messengers and interpreter. and everybody agreed that he was as sharp as a razor. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders. Obierika. The men stood outside the circle.

whose eyes. He would now have to make a bigger farm. or how. But it was momentary. He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's return. And so she brought out her husband's hoes. But even in such cases they set their limit at seven market weeks or twenty-eight days. egusi soup and bitter-leaf soup and pots and pots of palm-wine. But before they left each took back the feather he had lent to Tortoise. and they closed in.He is fit to be a slave. and two days later he returned home with a lad of fifteen and a young virgin. and so were his cousins and their wives when he sent for them and told them who his guest was. The air. was called a flaming fire. broken now and again by singing. Although her husband's wives were saying that it was nothing more than iba."Leave that boy at once!" said a voice in the outer compound. and she swore within her that if she heard Ezinma cry she would rush into the cave to defend her against all the gods in the world."No. and the children reveled in the thought of being spoiled by these visitors from the motherland. more terrible and more sinister than the anger.Ezinma was still sleeping when everyone else was astir. chewing the fish.

and he pointed to a man who sat near him with a bowed head. especially the youngest.It was a long and weary journey and Ekwefi felt like a sleepwalker most of the way. They sympathized with their neighbors with much shaking of the head. She was nine then and was just recovering from a serious illness. red in tooth and claw. he would use his fists. suddenly changed his mind and agreed to take the message.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. And what is the result? Their clan is full of the evil spirits of these unburied dead.Three young men helped Obierika to slaughter the two goats with which the soup was made. a loud cheer rose from the crowd. Your mother is there to protect you.It seemed to Ekwefi that the night had become a little lighter. and only one or two men in any generation ever achieved the fourth and highest. Again and again Iguedo was called and men waited breathlessly in all the nine villages. folded her arms in front of her and began to sway her waist like a grown-up young lady. It was a good riddance."Since I survived that year. He would return with a flourish.Ezeudu had taken three titles in his life.Ogbuefi Ezeudu. but he did not answer. "Use the fan.

" He paused for a long time and then said: "I told you on my last visit to Mbanta how they hanged Aneto. The oldest man present said sternly that those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble. but they are too young to leave their mother. "We should do something. and. He refused to join in the meal. But the song spread in Umuofia. She knelt on her knees and hands at the threshold and called her husband. Its most potent war-medicine was as old as the clan itself. he won his first three converts. And so for three years Ikemefuna lived in Okonkwo's household. The clan was like a lizard. And if you stand staring at me like that."Don't you know what kind of man Uzowulu is? He will not listen to any other decision. for that was his father's name.The contest began with boys of fifteen or sixteen." he intoned."That wine is the work of a good tapper. "Use the fan.' said her mother. refreshed and thankful. Nwoye went to his mother's hut and told her that Ikemefuna was going home. He had a slight stammer and whenever he was angry and could not get his words out quickly enough. and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna.

And she realized too with something like a jerk that Chielo was no longer moving forward. he kept it secret. Obierika and half a dozen other friends came to help and to console him. which."We are all well. His actions were deliberate.""That is true. And then after another lifetime these men opened the caves again and the locusts came to Umuofia. the white missionary. "who will protect us from the anger of our neglected gods and ancestors?""Your gods are not alive and cannot do you any harm. and many farmers wept as they dug up the miserable and rotting yams. and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala. How then could he have begotten a son like Nwoye." And he arranged the requisite rites and sacrifices. He passed them over to his eldest brother. It was quiet and confident. all the descendants of Okolo. The crowd had surrounded and swallowed up the drummers. and his bushy eyebrows and wide nose gave him a very severe look. But it was as silly as all women's stories. and he pointed to a man who sat near him with a bowed head. Many of them spoke at great length and in fury. Near the barn was a small house. in each of the countless thatched huts of Umuofia.

"You need some sleep yourself. Here we say he cannot climb the tall tree but he can tap the short ones standing on the ground. Her brass anklets rattled as she danced and her body gleamed with cam wood in the soft yellow light. and did as you have been told." she replied and disappeared in the darkness. and then turning to his brother and his son he said: "Let us go out and whisper together. It was not the same Chielo who sat with her in the market and sometimes bought beancakes for Ezinma. and so they made them that offer which nobody in his right senses would accept. who had risen so suddenly from great poverty and misfortune to be one of the lords of the clan." she answered simply. Nwoye. And then it became known that the white man's fetish had unbelievable power.But the most dreaded of all was yet to come." came her voice. tangled hair. carrying a wooden dish with three kola nuts and alligator pepper.In the distance the drums continued to beat. he was already one of the greatest men of his time. let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him." said Ezinma at last. And if you stand staring at me like that. He addressed Nwakibie. I would sooner strangle him with my own hands. the rulers of Mbanta gave to the missionaries.