dead and gone to join the ancestors. And the other boy was flat on his back. But she refused them all.

" And he took another pinch of snuff
" And he took another pinch of snuff. Some of these prisoners were men of title who should be above such mean occupation. for he had no grave. which was shaved in places. That is all I am good for now. and two days later he returned home with a lad of fifteen and a young virgin.As they trooped through Okonkwo's obi he asked: "Who will prepare my afternoon meal?""I shall return to do it. When she came to the main road. They saw the iron horse and went away again. Nwoye knew that Ikemefuna had been killed. nine wives and thirty children. after the rains. What crime had they committed? The Earth had decreed that they were an offense on the land and must be destroyed. Whenever one of these ancient men appeared in the crowd to dance unsteadily the funeral steps of the tribe. which together formed a half moon behind the obi." He paused for a long time and then said: "I told you on my last visit to Mbanta how they hanged Aneto.

" Obierika thought. He was a good eater and he could drink one or two fairly big gourds of palm-wine. talking was the next best." He prayed especially for Okonkwo and his family. He was greatly surprised. and most of them never did because they died too young - before they could be asked questions. She was the ultimate judge of morality and conduct. i fear for the clan. There was once a man who went to sell a goat. The married women wore their best cloths and the girls wore red and black waist-beads and anklets of brass. But as he walked through the market he realized that people were pointing at him as they do to a madman. The men stood outside the circle. and before they began to speak in low tones Nwoye and Ikemefuna were sent out."Is that me?" Ekwefi called back. He looked it over and said it was done. The pots of wine stood in their midst.

" He threw his head down and gnashed his teeth. "We have been sent by this great God to ask you to leave your wicked ways and false gods and turn to Him so that you may be saved when you die. and the solid mass was now broken by tiny eyes of light like shining star dust. Very often it was Ezinma who decided what food her mother should prepare. As soon as he heard of the great feast in the sky his throat began to itch at the very thought. they say."As they spoke Ezinma emerged from the hut. From then on. He had court messengers who brought men to him for trial.Ezinma was an only child and the center of her mother's world."Have you?" asked Obierika. the messenger of earth."In her hut. "you. Ekwefi and her daughter. It all began over the question of admitting outcasts.

If a man dies at this time he is not buried but cast into the Evil Forest. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. And so they walked out together."Ezeudu was a great man. and he sent his kotma to catch Aneto. 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. She then went down on one knee. solid drops of frozen water which the people called "the nuts of the water of heaven. I greet you. But it is not so."Yes. You will have what is good for you and I will have what is good for me. The glowing logs only served to light up vaguely the dark figure of the priestess. Darkness held a vague terror for these people." said Obierika. Even the very little children seemed to know.

especially with the children." Ukegbu said. women and children. He had lost the chance to lead his warlike clan against the new religion. it said. They formed a circular ring with a break at one point through which the foot-track led to the center of the circle. Kiaga. She was very friendly with Ekwefi and they shared a common shed in the market. But as he walked through the market he realized that people were pointing at him as they do to a madman. It was then that the one-handed spirit came. Who knows what may happen tomorrow? Perhaps green men will come to our clan and shoot us. 'What did the mother of this chick do?' asked the old kite." said Ezinma. that Ekwensu. Okonkwo had gone to a medicine man.They came in the cold harmattan season after the harvests had been gathered.

He was a great man. During those years no single day passed in the sky without his beating the woman. Now that she walked slowly she had time to think. Dum! Dum! Dum! boomed the cannon at intervals. with a start. But he was not a failure like Unoka. Kiaga. asked on behalf of the clan to look after him in the interim."Uzowulu's body. the sun is shining. It was a day old."We are all well. It was the time of the year when everybody was at home. He neither inherited a barn nor a title." she said. There was an oil lamp in all the four huts on Okonkwo's compound.

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."It has not always been so. too busy to argue. light and gay. I have come to pay you my respects and also to ask a favor. It had been early in the morning.The young church in Mbanta had a few crises early in its life. how many twins she has borne and thrown away. the Evil Forest was a fit home for such undesirable people. each carrying a pot of wine. If one says no to the other. She was called Crystal of Beauty." her mother warned as she moved near the fireplace to bring the pestle resting against the wall. She was very heavy with child. She nodded. She rose from her mat.

and sat down. Why should I? But the Oracle did not ask me to carry out its decision. Nwoye's mother. We put our fingers into our ears to stop us hearing. and others who could think of nowhere else open to escape." Okonkwo replied. Only the word of our God is true.One morning Okonkwo's cousin. is a beast. unless it was one of the stubborn ones who returned. "Amadiora will break your head for you!"Some days later. suddenly changed his mind and agreed to take the message.""That is very true. Nwoye was there. His name was Okagbue Uyanwa. For how else could he explain his great misfortune and exile and now his despicable son's behavior? Now that he had time to think of it.

The yams put on luxuriant green leaves. and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. and they knocked against each other as he searched. Some of it also went to the bride and her attendant maidens. And for many days this rare food was eaten with solid palm-oil. Obiageli. and we would be like Abame. setting up a wave of expectation in the crowd. And he did pounce on people quite often. Now and then a cold shiver descended on his head and spread down his body. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart. Without looking at the man Okonkwo had said: "This meeting is for men."Ezinma began to cry."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."Uzowulu's body.At last the rain came.

" said Ojiugo. She was the ultimate judge of morality and conduct. They haggle and bargain as if they were buying a goat or a cow in the market. Njide." said one man."Having spoken plainly so far. His eldest brother broke the first one. They passed their cloths under the right arm-pit. and it ended on the left. which was shaved in places. Sometimes it poured down in such thick sheets of water that earth and sky seemed merged in one gray wetness. he had stalked his victim. who only stayed in the hope that it might come to chasing the men out of the village or whipping them.Very soon after. "I marvel at what the Lord hath wrought. whose frantic rhythm was no longer a mere disembodied sound but the very heartbeat of the people.

Obierika's relatives and friends began to arrive. He held out his hands to them when they came into his obi. Kiaga. talking was the next best. he fled to Aninta to escape the wrath of the earth." replied Nwoye. and two others after her." said Mr." he said. Ekwefi trudged along between two fears. If such a thing were ever to happen. But they dared not complain openly. but so great was the work the new religion had done among the converts that they did not immediately leave the church when the outcasts came in. "you. he was not a hunter." She died in her eleventh month.

the fear of failure and of weakness. Those things a man built for himself or inherited from his father. My mother's people have been good to me and 1 must show my gratitude.' replied the man.""They dare not bring fewer than thirty pots. Whenever the thought of his father's weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it by thinking about his own strength and success. But tonight she was addressing her prophecy and greetings to Okonkwo. 'Don't touch!' If i hold her footShe says. Go home and work like a man. "But the law of the land must be obeyed."No. Between Chielo's outbursts the night was alive with the shrill tremor of forest insects woven into the darkness. And as he told them of the past they sat in darkness or the dim glow of logs. "they killed him and tied up his iron horse. and they knocked against each other as he searched." Ezinma pointed out.

Kiaga. who had taken two titles. Okoye. He exchanged greetings with Okonkwo and led the way into his obi. Tortoise looked down from the sky and saw his wife bringing things out. And so he killed her. But all of a sudden she would go down again. Even the smell of gunpowder was swallowed in the sickly smell that now filled the air. Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. sang for mercy. Tortoise stood up in his many-colored plumage and thanked them for their invitation." The three rose and went outside. They were already far enough where they stood and there was room for running away if any of them should go towards them.""You worry yourself for nothing. He had been a great and fearless warrior in his time. But it was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth.

buoyant maiden. for in spite of their worthlessness they still belonged to the clan. The troublesome nanny-goat sniffed about. yellow and dark green. Even the enemy clan knew that. Then came the voices of the egwugwu. The thick dregs of palm-wine were supposed to be good for men who were going in to their wives. He held out his hands to them when they came into his obi. like a son."The crowd answered-. Then they washed them and cut them up for the women who prepared the soup."It is very near now. some of them having come a long way from their homes in distant villages. usually before the age of three. A sickly odor hung in the air wherever he went. Nwoye stood looking at him and did not say a word.

" They offered them as much of the Evil Forest as they cared to take. Spirits of good children lived in that tree waiting to be born. The oldest member of this extensive family was Okonkwo's uncle."I do not blame you.""We have seen it. and about the locusts?? Then quite suddenly a thought came upon him.""You do not understand." said Ezinma.It came slowly. And what was more. saw clearly that Okonkwo had yielded to despair and he was greatly troubled. A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi." said Okagbue. A man's life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors. If any one of you prefers to be a woman. asked her""Remember that if you do not answer truthfully you will suffer or even die at childbirth.

I greet you. "The children are still very young. seeing that the new religion welcomed twins and such abominations. greeted themselves in their esoteric language. 'She should have been a boy. he would use his fists. before they finally left for their village."Why do you stand there as though she had been kidnapped?" asked Okonkwo as he went back to his hut." said Obierika. "And so they killed the white man and tied his iron horse to their sacred tree because it looked as if it would run away to call the man's friends."But you said it was where they bury children?" asked the medicine man. Okonkwo!" she warned. and a man who committed it must flee from the land. He wanted Nwoye to grow into a tough young man capable of ruling his father's household when he was dead and gone to join the ancestors. And the other boy was flat on his back. But she refused them all.