adherents of the new faith. father? You are beyond our knowledge. unless it be the emotion of anger. Then the metal gong sounded and the flute was blown.

the priestess of Agbala
the priestess of Agbala.When the rain finally came." she said. machetes. He would speak to him after the isa-ifi ceremony."Nwoye always wondered who Nnadi was and why he should live all by himself. "But you can explain to her.The wrestlers were now almost still in each other's grip. And then appeared on the horizon a slowly-moving mass like a boundless sheet of black cloud drifting towards Umuofia. "1 shall think of another one with a song. "The world has no end. Almost immediately the women came in with a big bowl of foo-foo. But there was one woman who had no doubt whatever in her mind. mother is going. sprang to his feet and gripped him by the neck. There was nobody in the hut and the fireplace was cold.

He led it on a thick rope which he tied round his wrist. her face streaming with tears. She was very heavy with child. But he has not come to wake me up in the morning for it. But when he reached Tortoise's house he told his wife to bring out all the hard things in the house. Without further argument Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping. and the women sat on a sisal mat spread on a raised bank of earth. but even now they have not found the mouth with which to tell of their suffering. and there was too much saltpeter in it. They can steal your cloth from off your waist in that market. His own hut. But if a man caused it. But everybody knew that he was going to die and Aneto got his belongings together in readiness to flee. and was about to say something when the old man continued:"Yes. The young ailing girl who had caused her mother so much heartache had been transformed. When everything had been set before the guests.

dressed in garbs of war. He was always alone and was shaped like a coffin. He heard Ikemefuna cry. There were twenty-two of them. It was even said that they had hanged one man who killed a missionary. when he was young.Chielo's voice was now rising continuously. It seemed as if the world had gone mad.'When Ekwefi brought the hoe." Okonkwo thundered. As soon as Unoka understood what his friend was driving at. She would die with her. It was Okonkwo's uncle.The old man. Those who were big enough to carry even a few yams in a tiny basket went with grown-ups to the farm. You are a great man in your clan.

and sat speechless. She could not see beyond her nose. The men stood outside the circle. wiping the foam of wine from his mustache with the back of his left hand. His love of talk had grown with age and sickness. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. Ezinma was crying loudly now. and the hosts looked at each other as if to say. Such a thing could never happen in his fatherland. the son of Obierika. He fell and fell and fell until he began to fear that he would never stop falling. A mighty wind arose and filled the air with dust. But two years later when a son was born he called him Nwofia??"Begotten in the Wilderness. Kiaga. At his age I was already fending for myself."Leave her to me.

Ekwefi had a feeling of spacious openness. this feeling. I greet you. with Ezinma sleeping on her back. and he owed every neighbor some money. As the elders said. and Umuofia. There were also pots of palm-wine. and everybody agreed that he was as sharp as a razor. fifth and sixth years."Yes.After the singing the interpreter spoke about the Son of God whose name was Jesu Kristi. on the other hand. Behind them was the big and ancient silk-cotton tree which was sacred. as she had accepted others??with listless resignation. He always gnashed his teeth as he listened to those who came to consult him.

Such a man was Ogbuefi Ugonna. Kiaga restrained them. As long as they cheap uggslasted. and the lad Ikemefuna." said Okonkwo. and the women had formed themselves into three groups for this purpose.- you stay at home and offer sacrifices to a reluctant soil. When they had all taken. Then Chielo's renewed outburst came from only a few paces ahead. he took with him his flute. With this magic fan she beckons to the market all the neighboring clans. Ekwefi. Your mother is there to protect you. She felt cold. The ancestral spirits of the clan were abroad. "The bell-man announced it last night.

"Ekwefi went into her hut and came out again with Ezinma. The hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and in fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul??the question of the twins crying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killed. the old man supporting himself with his stick. talking excitedly and praying that the locusts should camp in Umuofia for the night. 'You are full of cunning and you are ungrateful." He filled the first horn and gave to his father. afraid to go in."When nearly two years later Obierika paid another visit to his friend in exile the circumstances were less happy. I am an old man and you are all children. burning forehead. Then all Umuofia turned out in spite of the cold harmattan. and the rest went back. That was his fifth head and he was not an old man yet. my friend. They saw the iron horse and went away again. Ikemefuna came first with the biggest pot.

"Is that not Obiageli weeping?" Ekwefi called across the yard to Nwoye's mother. But 1 thought you would need the money now and so I brought it. There was a long break. Let us give them a real battlefield in which to show their victory. "Who will drink the dregs?" he asked. A snake was never called by its name at night. There is only one true God and He has the earth. welcoming it back from its long. had said to him during that terrible harvest month: "Do not despair.It was late afternoon before Nwoye returned. A child cannot pay for its mother's milk. in silence. "She must have broken her waterpot.The festival was now only three days away. gome. stopped them.

also carrying an oil lamp. She was nine then and was just recovering from a serious illness. who had taken two titles. He broke the nut saying: We shall all live. the matter lies between him and the god. There was no barn to inherit." said Okonkwo after a pause. and allowed a brief pause. "It wounds my heart to see these young men killing palm trees in the name of tapping. in their due proportions.Sometimes a man came to consult the spirit of his dead father or relative. And what made it worse in Okonkwo's case was that he had to support his mother and two sisters from his meagre harvest." he said.But the most dreaded of all was yet to come. Ekwefi quickly took her to their bedroom and placed her on their high bamboo bed. or took pity on their mothers.

It was unbelievable. Gome." he said. and others who could think of nowhere else open to escape. everybody knew by instinct that they were very good to eat."It will not take us long to harvest as much as we like. who had joined in plucking the feathers.All this anthill activity was going smoothly when a sudden interruption came." came the voice like a sharp knife cutting through the night. Ekwefi brought her to the fireplace. It was indeed the shrine of a great god. Three converts had gone into the village and boasted openly that all the gods were dead and impotent and that they were prepared to defy them by burning all their shrines. 'You have done very well. and when he died he was buried by his kind in the Evil Forest. But they always returned to the long rope he trailed behind. their legs and feet.

Anasi was the first wife and the others could not drink before her. the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams. He still missed his mother and his sister and would be very glad to see them. and there was too much saltpeter in it. None of them was a man of title. As the Ibo say: "When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk. As for his converts. "Life to all of us. do not allow him a moment's rest."Come along then and show me the spot." They all laughed. but every farmer knew that without sunshine the tubers would not grow. tears gushed from her eyes. It was said that he wore glasses on his eyes so that he could see and talk to evil spirits. "Life to you.

and then he continued: "Each group there represents a debt to someone. She beckons in front of her and behind her. and the smell of burning hair blended with the smell of cooking. You know as well as I do that our forefathers ordained that before we plant any crops in the earth we should observe a week in which a man does not say a harsh word to his neighbor. The air."We had meant to set out from my house before cockcrow. "I have felt it." they said. He would stamp out the disquieting signs of laziness which he thought he already saw in him. He was imprisoned with all the leaders of his family. was telling two other men who came to visit him that the punishment for breaking the Peace of Ani had become very mild in their clan. self-assured and confident. the beating of drums and the brandishing and clanging of machetes increased. who had joined in plucking the feathers."The court messengers did not like to be called Ashy-Buttocks.""Go and bring our own.

A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it hatches."On the following Sunday. Even the sacred fish in their mysterious lake have fled and the lake has turned the color of blood. buoyant maiden.""All their customs are upside-down. Kiaga's congregation at Mbanta. "Somebody is walking behind me!" she said. 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."Don't you know what kind of man Uzowulu is? He will not listen to any other decision.From that day Amikwu took the young bride and she became his wife. These sudden bouts of sickness and health were typical of her kind. and she put all her being into it. are white like this piece of chalk. But he was struck. The seven wasted and weary years were at last dragging to a close. It was a cry in the distance: oji odu aru ijiji-o-o! (The one that uses its tail to drive flies away!).

The man who dug it up was the same Okagbue who was famous in all the clan for his knowledge in these matters. and the elusive dance rose and fell with the wind. It was indeed the shrine of a great god." he said. And ten thousand men answered "Yaa!" each time. the beating of drums and the brandishing and clanging of machetes increased." Ukegbu said.""Let them laugh. Then he remembered that he had not taken out his snuff-spoon. Ezinma. the messenger of earth. and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna." continued Odukwe. the grown-up. and perhaps other women as well. Okonkwo.

and. His mind went to his latest show of manliness. his half-sister. "Perhaps you can already guess what it is. "Who will drink the dregs?" he asked. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart. It was not that they had been lazy. Ekwefi had a feeling of spacious openness. Your duty is to comfort your wives and children and take them back to your fatherland after seven years. "you."You are right. Why had Okonkwo withdrawn to the rear? Ikemefuna felt his legs melting under him. was the wife of Ogbuefi Udo. He presented a kola nut and an alligator pepper. and by then he had become gravely worried. and Ekwefi recoiled.

now desperate. She prepared it the way he liked??with slices of oil-bean and fish. Then he burst out:"Never kill a man who says nothing. should bring to your mother a heavy face and refuse to be comforted? Be careful or you may displease the dead. his face beaming with blessedness and peace. there was no other way. one of these women went to Ozoemena's hut and told her.""I did not know that."That woman standing there is my wife. He calls you his father. and you can teach us the things of the new faith. and men dashed about in frenzy. and soon they were the strongest adherents of the new faith. father? You are beyond our knowledge. unless it be the emotion of anger. Then the metal gong sounded and the flute was blown.