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Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe

 

Arrow of God Summary

Arrow of God is set in rural Nigeria during the 1920s in a southern part of the country where the Igbo people reside. The novel begins with a war between two neighboring regions of rural Igboland: Umuaro and Okperi. Though we don't know the boundaries of Okperi, we do know that Umuaro is made up of six villages. These six villages are linked by their worship of a common god, Ulu.

The people of Umuaro start a war with Okperi over land they want to claim; they are encouraged to start the war by a wealthy man named Nwaka, who challenges Ulu. This war is launched against the advice of Ulu's chief priest, Ezeulu. The colonial administration steps in to stop the war and rules in favor of Okperi after discussing the matter with Ezeulu, the one man in Umuaro who tells the truth. Captain Winterbottom, a British colonial official who commands the local station, breaks and burns all the guns in Umuaro, becoming a legend. Meanwhile, the people of Umuaro become angry with Ezeulu because he didn't take their side.

Five years later, life in Umuaro has returned to normal. Sort of. Christian missionaries have made major inroads into society, establishing converts and trying to show that the old gods are ineffective. Ezeulu is sending his son Oduche to church, to be his eyes and ears, and to learn the ways of the white man. Animosity between Ezeulu and Nwaka and their respective villages has grown to the point called kill and take the head (4.1). In other words, things have gotten to the point where men in the two villages try to kill each other using poison. Nwaka is fortified and strengthened by his relationship with Ezidemili, the high priest of the god, Idemili. Though Idemili is a lesser god in comparison to Ulu, the competition between the two priests is dividing Umuaro, creating suspicion and ill will among brothers.

But the competition isn't limited to within the Igbo religion; the missionaries call the Chrisitan Igbo, including Oduche, to kill the sacred python. Oduche chickens out at the last minute, putting the snake in a box instead, but his family discovers the terrible deed when he's at church. Doing anything to the royal python is considered an abomination. The royal python belongs to the god Idemili, and as soon as the priest of Idemili hears about it, he sends a messenger to chide Ezeulu, and to ask what he intends to do to purify his house, (i.e., to make up for what his son tried to do). Ezeulu responds by telling Ezidemili to die (literally) and the matter rests there, uneasily.

The colonial administration has commissioned a new road to be built, connecting Okperi with Umuaro. They've run out of funds, but still need to complete the road, so Mr. Wright, the overseer, petitions to conscript labor. He receives permission and Umuaro is the unlucky recipient of the demand for free labor. One day, Ezeulu's son Obika is late getting to work. He had too much palm wine to drink the day before. But when Mr. Wright whips him, it stirs up the resentments of all the men. Why are they forced to work for free, when Okperi men are paid for their labor? What makes them different? Why should they be treated like this? Though they grumble among themselves, they are never able to come to a decision about what to do.

Because Ezeulu assumes that Obika has done something to deserve the whipping, he precipitates a crisis in his own household. Edogo, his oldest son, gets to thinking, and decides that the old man's propensity to choose favorites among his sons has created a problem. He believes that Ezeulu has tried to influence Ulu's decision about which son will be the next priest. By sending Oduche to learn the religion of the white man, Ezeulu has essentially taken Oduche out of the running. And Ezeulu has trained Nwafo in the ways of the priesthood, so he's clearly staking his claim on Nwafo as the one Ulu will choose. But Edogo begins to wonder what will happen if Ulu doesn't choose Nwafo, if he chooses Edogo or Obika. It will create conflict and division in the family and Edogo, as eldest son, will have to deal with it. He goes to Ezeulu's friend, Akuebue, and asks him to speak to Ezeulu.

Akuebue finds that Ezeulu is not receptive to a talk about the divisions within Umuaro, blaming the people of Umuaro for the white man's arrival. The people of Umuaro try to blame Ezeulu because he told the white man the truth when Winterbottom stepped in to stop the war between Okperi and Umuaro.

Ezeulu is also unreceptive to reports of divisions within his own household. He admits that he sacrificed Oduche, not so much to put him out of the running for the priesthood, but because he sees the threat to Umuaro and to the Igbo posed by Christianity. Such a situation requires the supreme sacrifice, that of a human being.

Meanwhile, Captain Winterbottom has been under another kind of stress. "Indirect rule" is the ideology that rules the day and he is under direct orders to find a chief for Umuaro. He decides that Ezeulu is just the man for the job, and sends a messenger to fetch Ezeulu. Ezeulu refuses to come, saying that the Priest of Ulu doesn't leave his hut, and dispatches the messenger back to Winterbottom with the message that if he wants to see Ezeulu, he'll have to come visit Ezeulu. Winterbottom issues an order for Ezeulu's arrest and sends two policemen to fetch him.

The next day, after consulting with the elders and men of title in Umuaro, Ezeulu decides to set out for Okperi, to find out what Winterbottom wanted. His heart is angry because Umuaro continues to blame him for the white man's presence, and because they don't show Ulu proper respect. His archenemy, Nwaka, continues to challenge Ulu and the people do nothing about it. The two policemen sent to arrest Ezeulu pass him on the way, but don't realize it until they reach his compound and learn that Ezeulu has gone to Okperi.

In Okperi, Winterbottom suddenly becomes ill. The African servants decide that Ezeulu must have a lot of power because Winterbottom is struck ill only after he issues the warrant for Ezeulu's arrest. So when Ezeulu arrives, the servants are afraid. They don't want to lock him up as ordered; instead, they pretend that the guardroom is a guest room and try to make him comfortable.

On this first night in Okperi, Ezeulu has a vision and realizes that his real battle is with his own people, not with the white man at all. In his vision, he sees Nwaka challenge Ulu, and the people spitting on him (Ezeulu), saying he is the priest of a dead god. He begins to see that the white man has been able to take advantage of Umuaro's division to sow further seeds of destruction. He hopes Winterbottom detains him for a long time, so he can better plan his revenge.

Ezeulu is detained for a couple of months. First, Clarke decides to teach him a lesson by making him wait. Then he offers Ezeulu the position of chief, but Ezeulu refuses. Angry, Clarke claps him in prison, and Winterbottom commends him, saying he should keep Ezeulu locked up until he learns to cooperate. But Clarke begins to suffer pangs of conscience, realizing that he doesn't have a legitimate reason to keep Ezeulu imprisoned. He's relieved when he hears from Winterbottom's superior advising against creating new Warrant Chiefs. This gives Clarke the excuse to let Ezeulu go.

Ezeulu returns home. Everybody is glad to see him again and Ezeulu realizes that his anger was directed not against his real neighbors but against an idea that they were mocking Ulu and disrespecting Ezeulu. Nevertheless, he lays low and sets his plan in action. When the time for announcing the Feast of the New Yam comes, he fails to announce it. His assistants come to ask if he's forgotten his duties. He gets mad and sends them away.

Next, the elders of the village come and ask, gingerly, why he hasn't announced the Feast of the New Yam. Ezeulu tells them that he has three sacred yams left. He can't announce the Feast of the New Yam until he has finished all the sacred yams. He was unable to eat the sacred yams while imprisoned in Okperi, and now he has to follow the rules – one yam a month. The men are horrified. If they wait three months before they are allowed to harvest their crops, the crops will be ruined and the people of Umuaro will suffer widespread famine.

The elders tell Ezeulu that he should just quickly eat the yams and if there are any repercussions, they will ask Ulu to let it descend on their heads, not Ezeulu's. But Ezeulu is steadfast. Such a thing is unheard of. And anyway, no matter what their intentions are, as chief priest he will be the one to suffer the consequences of breaking the rules. He can't do it. They must wait.

The Christian catechist, Mr. Goodcountry, recognizes this as an opportunity. He says that anybody who wants to offer their yams to the Christian god instead, so they can harvest their yams, will receive the protection of the Christian god as well. As people begin to suffer, they do just that. Meanwhile, Obika – who is sick – is asked to help in the funeral preparations for Amalu, one of the elders in the village who had died some months back. He helps with one of the funeral rituals by carrying the mask for Ogbazulobodo, the night spirit, and chasing after day. He runs so hard and so fast, however, that he drops dead when he returns.

The people say it is a judgment against Ezeulu. His god, Ulu, has spoken: Ezeulu has become stubborn and proud, and the god has not sided with his priest against the people. But it was a bad time to humiliate the priest. It allowed the people to take "liberties." That year, many of the yams were harvested in the name of the Christian god; and the crops reaped afterwards were also reaped in the name of the Christian god. As Arrow of God comes to a close, it seems that worship of the Christian god has replaced that of Ulu.

 

Title

The "arrow of God" is a reference to the role Ezeulu plays in this novel. As Chief Priest of the deity Ulu, Ezeulu is in the enviable or unenviable position of being Ulu's messenger, his "arrow."

As Ulu's messenger, Ezeulu is an important part of Umuaro's cultural and religious life, but he is offered little respect and much criticism. (In an interesting plot parallel, Ezeulu doesn't respect the messengers of the white man either.) In the role as God's arrow, Ezeulu is able to punish the village of Umuaro by withholding the announcement of the Feast of the New Yam; without that announcement, the people cannot harvest their new crops, leading to widespread famine.

Ironically, Ezeulu's insistence on punishing the people of Umuaro leads to the end of worship of his deity, Ulu, as people flock to the Christian church for help and protection. So the title Arrow of God might also, ironically, indicate that Ezeulu has become a useful tool in the hands of the Christian God, helping Christianity achieve dominance over Ulu.

Plot Analysis

Initial Situation

The colonial administration enters Umuaro.

After Umuaro provokes a war with Okperi, the British colonial administration steps in to stop the fighting. They rule in favor of Okperi, based in part because of testimony of Ezeulu, the Chief Priest of Ulu and a resident of Umuaro.

Conflict

Nwaka challenges Ulu and animosity grows between the villages of Umuaro.

Umuaro is angry with Ezeulu for siding with Okperi. They accuse him of bringing the white man into Umuaro, despite the fact that Ezeulu had originally opposed the war with Okperi. Nwaka challenges Ulu, suggesting that he's an impotent god, and he might be replaced him with a new god. Nwaka spreads stories about Ezeulu, suggesting he's power hungry and is angling to be the king of Umuaro. Nwaka aided by Ezidemili, the priest of the lesser deity Idemili, who owns the sacred python. Over the course of several years, the enmity between Ezeulu and Nwaka grows, until it infects both of their villages.

Complication

Oduche commits an abomination.

A few years after the war, Ezeulu sends his son to learn the ways of Christianity. Oduche takes to the new religion, learning theology and admiring the catechist. He wants to be accepted into this community. So when the new catechist suggests that he must prove his faith by confronting old religious beliefs and killing the sacred python, Oduche decides to do just that. He chickens out at the last minute, and puts the sacred python in his box, hoping it will die, but he won't be responsible for killing it. When Ezidemili, the priest of Idemili (the deity that owns the python), hears of it, he sends Ezeulu a message. Ezidemili wants to know what Ezeulu intends to do to purify his house. Ezeulu ups the ante, responding that Ezidemili can take a hike, and the animosity between the two villages continues to grow.

Climax

Ezeulu is jailed.

Winterbottom is forced to comply with British colonial rule, and must appoint a warrant chief for Umuaro. He decides that Ezeulu is just the man, the one honest man he knows in Umuaro. But Ezeulu is reluctant to leave Umuaro when Winterbottom's messengers call, and Winterbottom gets ill while Ezeulu thinks about what he should do. Ezeulu asks his village elders for advice, and they all say he should go to Winterbottom, emphasizing that he's at fault for the white man's presence in their midst. When Ezeulu arrives, Clarke detains him, deciding to teach Ezeulu a lesson. Then Ezeulu refuses the warrant chief position, and Clarke detains him until he has learned to be more "cooperative" (Winterbottom's words). Finally, with no real reason to detain him longer, and with orders from above to forget the warrant chief business, Clarke lets Ezeulu go home.

Suspense

Ezeulu enacts his revenge on the people of Umuaro.

Ezeulu is angry that the people of Umuaro have treated him, the chief priest of Ulu, with so little respect, allowing him to be detained by the white man and blaming him for the British presence. Ezeulu decides that he is Ulu's arrow of punishment. Ulu's revenge begins soon after Ezeulu returns to Umuaro.

When Ezeulu's assistants come to ask him why he hasn't called the Festival of the New Yam, Ezeulu says that the time hasn't yet arrived. The elders call on him. Nobody can harvest the yams until Ezeulu calls the Feast. Ezeulu explains that because he was imprisoned in Okperi for so long, and because nobody visited with Ulu during his absence, there are still three sacred yams left. It will take three months before he can call the Feast of the New Yam.

Though the men plead with him that they will take the punishment on their own heads, Ezeulu refuses. It is his duty to keep the tradition exactly as it is, and he can't eat more than one sacred yam in any given month. The village of Umuaro grows desperate as they hear that Ezeulu plans to stubbornly wait the three months out, knowing that they will begin to starve and their crops will be ruined if they can't harvest.

Denouement

Obika dies.

After a couple of months of famine, the people of Umuaro are suffering. The catechist at the Christian church, John Goodcountry, offers to accept the people's sacrifice of new yams so that they can harvest their crops. He says that the Christian god will protect them from Ulu's wrath. When Ezeulu's son Obika dies suddenly after performing a funeral rite, the people decide that it is Ulu's punishment on his headstrong and stubborn priest.

Conclusion

Christianity replaces the worship of the Igbo gods.

When the people of Umuaro realize that Ulu has punished its priest, Ezeulu, they turn their sights to another god. They ask the Christian god for protection from Ulu's wrath. They plant that year's crops in the name of Christianity.

Genre

Tragedy

Like the other two novels in Chinua Achebe's trilogy, Arrow of God is a classic tragedy. The heroes in Things Fall Apart and No Longer At Ease both had the same fatal flaw that Ezeulu has, that of hubris. All three heroes believe they are invincible, and more righteous than the people that surround them. All three heroes fall hard, and when they fall, they take others with them. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo's fall represents the end of Igbo civilization that they have known it for many generations. Ezeulu's fall represents the downfall of Igbo religion, and the triumph of Christianity. Obi Okonkwo's fall in No Longer At Ease represents the end of pure, idealistic democracy and the triumph of corruption. As such, though the three heroes play the role of the classic Greek tragic hero. They are also symbolic of their culture on a grander scale.

Allusions

Historical References

·                Norman and Saxon battles (3.18)

·                Battle of Crecy (3.18)

·                Battle of Poitiers (3.18)

·                Oliver Cromwell (3.18)

·                Sir Francis Drake (3.18)

·                Sir Martin Frobisher (3.18)

·                Horatio Nelson (3.18)

·                Sir Robert Clive (3.18)

Themes

Competition

Arrow of God revolves around competition. We see competition between Ezeulu's wives for his attention; between Ezeulu, the chief priest of Ulu, and Ezidemili, the chief priest of the lesser deity Idemili; between the communities of Umuaro and Okperi; and between Ezeulu's village and Ezidemili's village. But the most important competition is between the god Ulu and the Christian god. This fight is always in the background, and we realize that Arrow of God is an illustration of the saying "When two brothers fight, a stranger reaps the harvest." As the region roils in division, Christianity quietly steps in and takes the respect and place of honor that had previously belonged to the god Ulu.

Revenge

Much of Arrow of God's plot is precipitated by revenge. If Umuaro hadn't wanted to claim ownership of that land, they wouldn't have sent an emissary to Okperi who was clearly bent on starting a war. That emissary causes his own death, but Okperi fails to send a courteous message about it, so Umuaro must respond by starting the war. Just as entire regions seek revenge, individuals seek satisfaction for real or perceived wrongs. Ezeulu seeks revenge on the people of Umuaro, who fail to give him proper respect as the priest of Ulu. Ezeulu's revenge results in famine and ultimately causes the demise of his own deity.

Religion

Arrow of God explores how Igbo spirituality and religious life dies an ignominious death when confronted by Christianity. Christianity is backed by the white man's military and political power. As a result, Christianity is also identified with the source of their power. When the people of Umuaro are faced with famine because the chief priest of Ulu refuses to break tradition, the catechist at the church offers protection so the people can harvest their yams. When Ezeulu's son Obika dies, the people interpret that as a sign that Ulu was punishing his priest. With Ezeulu's power broken, Umuaro turns to the Christian god for help.

Tradition and Customs

Traditions dictate the lives of the people of Umuaro. Seasons are punctuated by rituals, and festivals are managed by the priests of the various deities associated with each village. The overall deity, Ulu, provides the important purification rites as well as feast associated with the rhythms of agriculture. In Arrow of God we see that these traditions are undermined by the coming of Christianity, the power of the British colonial office, and, most importantly, by Ezeulu's inflexibility and insistence on adhering to tradition. Ezeulu insists on waiting a full month to eat each sacred yam, even though that means he can't call the Feast of the New Yam for another three months. Meanwhile, the people's crops are rotting in the field and people are starving to death. The elders of Umuaro offer to take the punishment on themselves, but Ezeulu refuses. While Ezeulu is stubbornly following tradition – and punishing his people – the people of Umuaro slowly begin to starve because they are unable to harvest the crops.

Power

A lust for power motivates many of the characters in Arrow of God. As the British administration's power rises, the men in Umuaro discover that their power is diminishing. All the men discover that their power is limited when the British administration steps in and stops the war with Okperi. Meanwhile, Nwaka and Ezidemili accuse Ezeulu of desiring power in order to mask their own attempts to unseat him and usurp his place. Ezeulu punishes the people of Umuaro because they didn't accord him and his deity Ulu proper respect. The power struggle between Ezeulu and the people of Umuaro gives the Christian catechist, Mr. Goodcountry, the opportunity to win converts. The book concludes with Ezeulu's power receding as Christianity takes precedence.

Men and Masculinity

Manhood in Igbo life is marked by stages of life – marriage, fatherhood, gaining titles, becoming an elder. A man accrues respect, rights, and power as he moves through the stages of life. Though Obika may drink too much, he is still admired as a man because he is handsome and has physical prowess. Edogo, on the other hand, is steady and dependable, but not flashy; he gets little respect from the people of Umuaro.

Respect and Reputation

In Arrow of God, respect and reputation are highly valued in both Igbo and British cultures. The careers of colonial officials are built on their reputations, as are the careers of men in Igbo culture. In both cultures, titled men and elders have more power than young men or men who lack titles. We see Wright and Clarke gossip about Winterbottom; their attempt to destroy his reputation is also an attempt to build themselves up. Ezeulu feels the sting of the people's lack of respect, first when they ignore his opinion and go to war with Okperi and finally when they continue to blame him for the white man's arrival. Ultimately, it is the destruction of Ezeulu's reputation that causes the people of Umuaro to convert to Christianity.

Duty

In Arrow of God, both the British Captain Winterbottom and the Igbo Ezeulu have inflated senses of duty, which might be why the two men like each other. Winterbottom believes it is his duty to maintain decorum, keep a high moral standard, be an example to others, and be obedient to the Administration's whims even when he doesn't agree. Ezeulu, alternatively, believes that he must do whatever the god Ulu requires of him, even when it's distasteful, and even when he personally suffers as a result.

Race

In Arrow of God, differences between Africans and the British are interpreted racially by both Igbo and British characters alike. Race is associated with culture and, thus, is offered as one of the identifying characteristics of British power. Winterbottom recognizes the power inherent in moral suasion and argues forcefully that white men in Nigeria must behave a certain way in order to maintain their political superiority.

Pride

In Arrow of God, the main character Ezeulu's pride gets him in trouble from the very beginning. Angered by the Umuaro community's decision to ignore him in the matter of going to war with Okperi, he nurses his silent grudge for years. Since Ezeulu is the priest of Ulu, the highest god in Umuaro, Ezeulu shouldn't worry about being #1 – but his jealous pride for his status eventually causes him to take revenge against the people of Umuaro. Ezeulu isn't the only one who is proud. Winterbottom accuses all Igbo men of putting on airs; he argues that if you give an Igbo man a little bit of authority, he will soon be abusing even his own relatives. Winterbottom says that Igbo men love titles, not realizing that his men, Clarke and Wright, have made similar comments about how much Winterbottom loves his own title, "Captain."

Characters

Ezeulu

Ezeulu's pride motivates him throughout Arrow of God. He's the chief priest of Ulu, the god that rules Umuaro. Ezeulu plays a prominent role in Umuaro, a collection of six villages in southeastern Nigeria. As chief priest, Ezeulu feels obligated to offer his advice, even though the people don't seem to pay attention to him. When they ignore him, his feelings get hurt. He believes that the people don't have proper respect for Ulu, and when Nwaka challenges Ulu, suggesting that he may be a useless god and the people should get rid of him, Ezeulu is put on the defensive.

Ezeulu's adherence to duty means that he tells Winterbottom the truth when Winterbottom asks how the war with Okperi began. The people of Umuaro are angry with Ezeulu, especially since it causes Winterbottom to rule in Okperi's favor. They are further disturbed when Ezeulu sends his son Oduche to school and to church to learn the ways of the white man. They blame Ezeulu for bringing the British to Umuaro. Ezeulu resents all the backbiting of his neighbors, friends, and kinsmen, and recognizes that it is coming from one source, Nwaka, who is aided by the priest of Idemili.

When things start to go badly in Ezeulu's household, the tension escalates between Ezeulu and his enemies. Ezeulu's son, Oduche, commits an abomination against the royal python, which belongs to the god Idemili. Because of the priest Ezidemili's insults, Ezeulu refuses to do anything special to purify his house. Then his son Obika is whipped by Mr. Wright because he's late coming to work on the road. Ezeulu blames Obika, and his son Edogo criticizes him for choosing a stranger over his own son.

Ezeulu is further frustrated when Captain Winterbottom sends a mysterious message that Ezeulu should appear before him in Okperi. As chief priest of Ulu, Ezeulu doesn't wander far from his hut. But the elders and men of title convince him that he should go, and he sets out the next day, unaware that Winterbottom has put out a warrant for his arrest.

Detained in Okperi for several days, he has a vision of Nwaka inciting Umuaro to rise up and destroy Ulu. Ezeulu sees the people spitting on him, and claiming that he's the priest for a dead god. He suddenly realizes that his battle is with his own people, not with the white man at all. The longer Ezeulu is detained, the better he can plan his revenge. He recognizes that he is Ulu's arrow of punishment. He believes the people need to be taught a lesson, and need to learn to respect Ulu (and, by default, his priest.) While imprisoned for several months, Ezeulu's anger with Umuaro eats away at him, and he plans the punishment carefully.

When Ezeulu finally returns home, the people of Umuaro welcome him. Ezeulu's anger relents, but not completely. He continues to plan his revenge in secret. What is interesting about Ezeulu's revenge is that he clearly tries to separate himself from this revenge; he doesn't see it as revenge for his own sake, but for Ulu's sake. He sees himself as doing Ulu's will, rather than seeking personal satisfaction for his own wounded pride.

The moment for revenge finally arrives. Ezeulu informs the people that he can't name the day for the Feast of the New Yam until he has finished the sacred yams – because he was gone for so long, there are three yams left, which will take three months to eat. The people panic. After three months, their crops will be ruined, rotted away in the ground. They beg him to reconsider, but Ezeulu is steadfast – he must do what Ulu calls him to do.

Famine settles in to Umuaro. Ezeulu's family also suffers. When Ezeulu's son, Obika, dies suddenly, the people see it as a judgment against Ezeulu, who is too proud, headstrong, and stubborn. It gives them the latitude to turn to Christianity, to a god who seems less unpredictable in his need to punish the people.

Ezeulu's pride is what breaks him in the end. Shocked that Ulu would allow Obika to die, Ezeulu begins to wonder if he is being punished. But he can't figure out what he did to deserve punishment. He was only following Ulu's will, no matter how much he personally suffered as a result. His mind wanders, and he becomes delusional.

Nwaka 

Nwaka is Ezeulu's nemesis. Every time we see Nwaka in Arrow of God, he's challenging Ulu or criticizing Ulu's high priest, Ezeulu. Nwaka believes strongly that Ezeulu is power-hungry, that he's trying to grab more authority than he is due.

Nwaka appears to be motivated by his friendship with Ezidemili, the priest of a lesser god, Idemili. Ezidemili fortifies and strengthens Nwaka in his attacks on Ezeulu's character. Nwaka might be power hungry himself, or he might be manipulated by Ezidemili, who may be hoping to destroy Ulu so that Idemili can take his place.

Though we don't see any growth in Nwaka's character over the course of the novel, he does accompany the other men when they visit Ezeulu to beg him to announce the day for the Feast for the New Yam. In other words, he squashes whatever enmity he has towards Ezeulu for the good of all of Umuaro.

T.K. Winterbottom

Winterbottom is old-school British military: dutiful, patriotic, and obedient to commands from his superiors, even when he disagrees with their orders. At first, we assume Winterbottom simply likes his powerful position when he brags about his reputation in Umuaro. But soon we discover that Winterbottom really believes in the African projects. And not only that, but he holds himself to very high moral standards because he wants to be an example to the Africans around him.

We can see that the Administration's inflexibility and lack of respect for experienced men like Winterbottom who have lived in Africa for years eats away at him. In the final scene, Winterbottom expresses total contempt for the orders of his superior.

Obika 

Obika is Ezeulu's son and is an irresponsible young man who drinks too much and acts impulsively. One example of his impulsive behavior is the time when he almost kills his half-sister's husband. Everybody lets Obika get away with his rash actions, however, because he's so handsome. In the course of the novel, Obika changes. Two things change him: the humiliation of being whipped publicly by the white man and getting married. His marriage in particular seems to help Obika to grow. But Obika doesn't have a chance to explore his new found maturity and wisdom. Almost as soon as he gains it, he dies suddenly.

Oduche 

Oduche, Ezeulu's next to youngest son, is proud to be his father's "eyes and ears" in the white man's culture by attending church and school. But soon, he finds his loyalties are divided. On the one hand, he wants to please his father; on the other hand, he wants to please the catechist at church. He can't do both. There are two critical moments in Arrow of God when Oduche chooses the church over his father, and Ezeulu interprets it as a betrayal.

The first moment is when Oduche locks the royal python up in his box, hoping it will asphyxiate and die. It's an act of rebellion but, more importantly, it's a moment when Oduche tests the taboos of his culture. He discovers that there is no real penalty to his actions. Though Ezeulu rages against him, and though the village talks about what he has done, Oduche suffers no serious consequences.

Based on the fact that there seem to be no repercussions for his actions, Oduche commits a second act that his father considers a betrayal. When the catechist decides to take advantage of Ezeulu's stubbornness and the famine to encourage people to leave the old religion and become Christians, Oduche doesn't mention it to his father. Although Ezeulu intended Oduche to be his eyes and ears, he doesn't realize that Oduche's exposure to another way of life and another god will change him into somebody who no longer fits in his own culture.

Edogo

Edogo seems like a good-hearted man. He loves his wife and his child and worries about their health. He is respectful to his father and fulfills his duties to his family. But deep down inside, he resents the way his father, Ezeulu, favors Nwafo over all his other sons.

Though Edogo doesn't want to be chief priest of Ulu himself, he realizes that his father may be creating a mess by giving Nwafo the impression that he will be the new priest. Ulu is the one who chooses the new priest, not Ezeulu. Because Ezeulu sent Oduche to school and to church to learn the ways of the white man, Edogo realizes that his father may be sacrificing Oduche in order to clear the way for Nwafo.

Edogo finally approaches Ezeulu's best friend, Akuebue, and asks him to speak to his father. Akuebue despises Edogo in that moment, suggesting that he's cowardly and weak; he implies that Edogo really wants to be priest and that he is hiding behind this excuse. At least on the surface, though, Edogo seems to be an honest man, with only one desire – to be a renowned mask carver.

Tony Clarke

Tony Clarke starts out with some progressive ideas about colonialism in Africa. He feels the call of duty to "civilize" Africa, but he believes there must be some good in indigenous institutions, and that they should be preserved. Though he belongs to the officer class, he feels more comfortable with men like Wright, who may be morally questionable but seem to have less of a superiority complex than men like Winterbottom.

Ultimately, however, Clarke begins to realize that he's surrounded by men who are corrupt in some way or another – if not morally, then ideologically. There is no resolution to this aspect in his character however. When we last see Clarke, he is releasing Ezeulu after receiving orders from the Administration that they don't plan to continue appointing new chiefs. In the end it seems that Clarke is slavishly obedient to the whims of the Administration, despite his moral qualms.

Moses Unachukwu 

Moses Unachukwu is the first Christian in Umuaro. Having spent several years on a mission station in a neighboring region, and as the only man in all of Umuaro who speaks English, he feels like something of a local expert.

The people do admire Moses for his skill, but the new catechist at the church, Mr. Goodcountry, thinks he's uppity. The two clash over whether Christians should try to destroy the royal python, a taboo in Umuaro. Moses believes they should leave those symbols alone, while Mr. Goodcountry argues that Christians need to be willing to be martyred for their faith. Moses wins by writing to the bishop and asking for his support. The bishop does offer his support, and Moses wins that round of the battle.

Eventually, the men reconcile and Moses supports Mr. Goodcountry when he decides the church can profit by inviting the people of Umuaro to sacrifice their yams to the Christian god instead of to Ulu.

Mr. Wright

Mr. Wright provides a great contrast with Mr. Clarke and Captain Winterbottom. As a fellow Briton, he's just as immersed in the colonial project as they are. But he chooses a different path. Though he clearly feels superior to the Africans he works with, he isn't bound by any ethical considerations to treat them fairly. He uses violence when it suits him, and he sleeps with African women when it suits him. He feels little solidarity with his fellow countrymen. Though he befriends Mr. Clarke, it's at Winterbottom's expense – the two men bond while disparaging their boss.

Setting

Umuaro, Government Hill in Okperi, 1920s Nigeria

Arrow of God is set in 1920s Nigeria, after the pacification period and long before independence. During these the decades many Nigerians began turning away from their traditional religions, becoming Christians, and sending their children to mission schools to get a more Western education. At the point in which the novel is set, the colonial project is well under way, and many British officials and contractors are in Nigeria building the infrastructure needed to continue this project to "civilize" and modernize Africa.

The novel's two settings – rural Umuaro and the British colonial station – provide a contrast between two different worlds. We see Igbo rural life during the transitional time period as the old culture is slowly giving way to new cultural norms and belief systems. This is contrasted with the British colonial station, where colonial officials debate the merits of official colonial ideology, such as "indirect rule." In Umuaro, we watch as the importance of the deity Ulu slowly declines over the course of several years, after Umuaro makes contact with the colonial administration. At the British colonial station in Okperi, we observe first hand how the inconsistency of colonial ideology affects colonial officials like Winterbottom and Clarke. We also see how Africans who work for the colonial administration, like John Nwodika, have a wider vision of the world than those who have never experienced life outside of Umuaro.

What's Up With the Ending?

Arrow of God closes by suggesting that Christianity will triumph over the traditional religion of Umuaro. The people themselves don't yet recognize that by humiliating his priest, their god Ulu has self-destructed. Ultimately, the death of Umuaro's god also means the death of Umuaro's way of life; the time will come when the people will see what embracing Christianity has done to their culture. The narrator states this directly in the concluding chapter of the novel. After indicating that the people saw Obika's death as a judgment against Ulu's priest, the narrator tells us:

Ulu had chosen a dangerous time to uphold that truth for in destroying his priest he had also brought disaster on himself…For a deity who chose a moment such as this to chastise his priest or abandon him before his enemies was inciting people to take liberties. (19.89)

We can also see that the narrator intends the reader to understand that Ulu's humiliation of Ezeulu will result in his (Ulu's) own death by the placement of this novel in the Things Fall Apart trilogy. Though its chronological time period is earlier than that of the second novel in the trilogy, No Longer At Ease, this novel is the third and final one. If you read the trilogy in order, you will already have observed in No Longer at Ease that, by the 1950s, Christianity has triumphed over the traditional system of gods. Though some traditions run deep, Nigeria has become Christianized (though not Westernized).

Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

Python

The python symbolizes the old gods in the conflict between Christianity and Umuaro's religion. The python is the religious icon that the catechist seizes upon and urges local Christians to kill. Many of the local Christians aren't prepared to violate the sacred python even though they have embraced the new religion. Killing one of the most sacred symbols of traditional religion seems to be going too far. But Oduche, Ezeulu's son, takes the challenge and tries to kill the python; at the last minute he loses his nerve and imprisons it in a box instead. Ezeulu discovers the box and releases the python, horrified that his son could commit such an abomination. Oduche's abomination precipitates one of the crises in the book. The priest of the god Idemili – owner of the royal python – demands that Ezeulu purify his house.

Despite the fact that every character in the book (with the exception of the catechist, John Goodcountry, and Oduche) respects the royal python, we are given hints that the old religion is losing ground. At one point in particular we see Ezeulu's children tell the python to run away, because the Christians are coming. As the python obeys, we come to realize that Christianity has triumphed over traditional religion.

In Ezeulu's dream has in the final chapter, he symbolically becomes the python and must run away when the Christians come. More importantly, Ezeulu is alone. His entire family has disappeared, either because they have joined the Christians or because they are simply gone.

Breaker of Guns

When Captain Winterbottom stopped the war between Okperi and Umuaro, he broke all of Umuaro's guns, except a few that he took as mementos. By doing so, he symbolically took away the manhood of Umuaro's men and turned them into children. By removing the possibility of using weapons, Umuaro could no longer decide to go to war.

Yams

Yams are a crop grown exclusively by men. Growing yams is labor intensive, and the size of a man's fields and harvest says much about his work ethic. Yams are grown to gain wealth and also to feed one's family. They are a symbol of masculinity and ability as a provider.

According to Umuaro religion, the harvest can't take place until the Feast of the New Yam is called by Ulu's chief priest, Ezeulu. And in order to punish Umuaro, Ezeulu stubbornly maintains that he can't call the feast until he eats the three remaining sacred yams. Ezeulu claims that according to Ulu, he can only eat one yam a month. While Ezeulu keeps to this rigid schedule, the rest of Umuaro begins to fall into famine and death.

At the end of Arrow of God, the Christian church invites the people of Umuaro to sacrifice their yams to the Christian god. When this happens, it symbolizes the triumph of Christianity over traditional Umuaro religion.

 

 

Arrow of God Chapter 1

Chapter 1

• Ezeulu, the Chief Priest of the god Ulu, searches the signs of the new moon for the third night in a row. He knows today is the day, but he always looks early just in case.
• His hut (called an obi) is built differently than other men's huts; in addition to the usual long entrance in front, there's a shorter one in back where he can watch the sky for the moon.
• He watches and considers the fact that his eyesight is getting bad. He doesn't like the thought that he might have to find somebody to watch for him someday like they did for his grandfather.
• He watches the thin moon with fear. When he is in his role as Chief Priest, he feels mostly joy instead of the fear.
• He begins to beat a large metal bell (the ogene).
• The senior wife Matefi asks the moon for good luck. The young wife Ugoye says she can't see the moon and wonders if she's blind. Matefi points out where it is, and Ugoye echoes Matefi in asking the moon for good luck. But she says she doesn't like the way it looks, like it's evil. Matefi answers that an evil moon is obvious.
• Obiageli, one of Ezeulu's daughters, asks if the moon kills people. Her brother Nwafo tells her that it kills little girls. To get back at him, she begins to chant that the moon kills little boys.
• Ezeulu goes to his barn and takes down one of the sacred yams – number eight out of twelve. He roasts it over a fire and thinks about his duties as Chief Priest. The next day, he would ask his assistants to announce the day of the festival of the Pumpkin Leaves.
• He considers how much power he has as Chief Priest. Is he just the watchman, or does he control that day? If he fails to announce the feast of the Pumpkin Leaves and the New Yam, would the people plant or reap their crops? But he would not dare refuse to announce the day.
• Then he grows angry. Wouldn't he dare? He just might.
• Then he considers: What was the point of having such power if he never uses it?
• Ezeulu's youngest son Nwafo comes into the obi and sits down. It seems obvious he's going to be the next Chief Priest, even though he's just a young kid.
• Edogo, Ezeulu's oldest son, comes in to the tent, greets his father, and then passes through to his sister Akueke's temporary hut. Ezeulu tells Nwafo to call him back and the two return.
• Ezeulu asks Edogo whether it's true that he's been carving the image of gods. Edogo says that the person who told him this lie must be blind, and must not be able to see the difference between a deity and a Mask.
• Obiageli enters, sits, and begins to quarrel with Nwafo. Ezeulu tells them to be quiet and rolls the now cooked yam out of the fire. He cuts the yam into a wooden bowl.
• Obiageli sings as he eats. She wants some of the yam, but her father always eats the entire sacred yam and never shares. It doesn't stop her from hoping.
• Ezeulu eats and drinks in silence. Then he gets up and looks at the household shrine, a carving with faceless okposi of the ancestors. Nwafo has a special okposi just for him, which had helped heal him from convulsions.
• Ezeulu begins to pray to Ulu, thanking him for another new moon, asking for health and prosperity for his household and the six villages of Umuaro.
• He feels bitter as he prays, remembering the way that Umuaro treated him over the affair of the white man, Wintabota, when he spoke the truth. But how could he tell a lie? Nevertheless, as a result, division had come to the villages.
• Ezeulu hears women's voices returning from the stream. They greet him and he asks if these weren't the women going to the stream during the day. Nwafo reminds him that they had to go all the way to Nwangene because the stream they usually used had been declared dangerous by the oracle due to a boulder resting on two rocks at its source.
• Ezeulu decides that even though his wives would have to travel far for water, it is no excuse for his dinner to be so late.
• They hear Obika whistle as he returns.
• The narrative flashbacks to a time three years earlier when Obika flung himself into the obi, terrified, because he had seen a man in lightning near the ugili tree between their village and another.
• Ezeulu questioned his son and discovered that Obika had seen a light-skinned man, dressed like a wealthy man with an eagle's feather in his red cap, carrying an elephant tusk. Ezeulu announced he had seen the god of wealth, Eru.
• The narrative returns to the present.
• Ojiugo, Matefi's daughter, brings in food for Ezeulu. She tells Nwafo to go to his mother's hut. She resents the fact that he is a favorite. Ezeulu tells her to leave Nwafo alone; instead, he tells her to call her mother.
• Matefi arrives and Ezeulu chides her for bringing in his supper so late. Must he eat later than any other man in the village? But of course, he adds, anything he says to her has no effect.
• She tries to protest that she had to fetch water all the way in Nwangene but he won't listen to her excuses.
• Ojiugo comes to get the bowls. Nwafo is finishing off the soup and she (Ojiugo) gets angry. Her mother Matefi says they can't blame him, since his mother is a poor cook, saving her money to buy herself jewelry instead of making good food.
• She looks toward the hut of Ezeulu's first wife, who was now long dead. His daughter Akueke lives there now, separated from her husband, who beat her badly.
• Obika comes home singing, asking Matefi for food. He criticizes the food but Matefi ignores him since it's obvious he's drunk. Obika is handsome and wild, but always drunk.
• Still, Ezeulu prefers him to his other elder son Edogo, who was quiet and careful, even though he (Ezeulu) always advised Obika to be more like Edogo.
• Recently, Obika had almost murdered a man. When Akueke returned home with her face swollen from a beating her husband had given her, he set up and went to the village of his brother-in-law. There, he not only beat her husband, Ibe, until he almost killed him, but he brought Ibe home tied to his bed. Obika set Ibe under a tree and told everybody not to touch him.
• There Ibe laid for some days until some of his kinsmen came to get an explanation.
• Ezeulu called his daughter Akueke to stand before them, to show off some of her scars. He wants to know why they allowed Ibe to treat her that way. They admit that Ibe was wrong and they don't blame him much, but they still don't think it as right to carry him off away from his home, away from the protection of his relatives.
• Ezeulu tried hard to make peace, but it doesn't seem likely that they will ever return to reclaim Akueke.
• Obika joins the others in Ezeulu's hut. Edogo asks what work Ezeulu has for them in the morning. He suggests that they all go help Obika finish his homestead so he can bring his new wife home.
• Ezeulu's son, Oduche, speaks up and says that he has been chosen to help move the new teacher to the village.
• Ezeulu says that though he has sent Oduche to school to learn the ways of the white man, he is not relieved of his duty to his father. He must tell them no, that tomorrow is the day for Ezeulu's sons, wives, and sons' wives to work for him.

Chapter 2

• This chapter is a flashback to a few years ago.
• Umuaro decides to go to war against Okperi, but it is divided.
• Ezeulu reminds the village that the foundation of their six villages – Umuachala, Umunneora, Umuagu, Umuezeani, Umuogwugwu, and Umuisiuzo – each lived separately, vulnerable to Abame's slave raids. So the people hired a team of powerful medicine men to establish a god that ruled over all of them. This is when they took the name Umuaro. The priest of Ulu became the priest of their common deity.
• And now they are going to war, against the advice of the priest of Ulu.
• Ezeulu reminds them that the land belonged to Okperi when they came together, and that Okperi also gave them the deities Udo and Ogwugwu. He wants no part in fighting the men whose ancestors originally gave their ancestors land.
• Nwaka stirs the men up with his war cry. He claims that his father tells a different story about the founding of Umuaro, one in which the men of Umuaro were wanderers, and were driven away from their land by Umuofia, then Abame and Aninta.
• If they do not fight today, Nwaka warns, it is because they have married the daughters of Okperi and their men marry the daughters of Umuaro and so they have lost heart for war.
• The men roar, and it is clear that Ezeulu has lost the speech, especially since his mother is from Okperi.
• Different men get up to speak. One man, Akukalia, is fiery in his support for war. The oldest man from Akukalia's village gets up to speak and says, "Okay, we're sending you, Akukalia, but let me remind you that you are going to offer Okperi the choice of peace or war. We are not going to make war, but we will do what they decide."
• Ezeulu rises to his feet, angry. He says that the people who have spoken are afraid to be cowards or they are hungry for war. He claims that if the land is truly theirs, Ulu will fight on their side. But in truth, they are sending somebody as an emissary who will start a war.
• Akukalia and two others set of for Okperi the next morning. As they walked, they passed women coming to the famous Okperi market.
• Akukalia, whose mother is from Okperi, explained that the great market was a result of great medicine. His mother's people created a deity who allowed their market to flourish, even though there were other markets nearby.
• One of Akukalia's friends says that they say the same story about the Nkwo market, which attracts even the white men and their merchandise.
• Finally, the men reached the farmland that was the issue at hand. It was fallow and hadn't been used for years. Akukalia says he can remember coming to this land with his father when he was just a child; he's surprised that his mother's people are now claiming it.
• One of his companion claims that it is the white man's fault. The white man had told them not to fight and now that the white man is not around, the weaker one rises up to bully the other.
• The third man with them, who hasn't said much until now, says that Akukalia should ask why Okperi let Umuaro farm the land and cultivate it for years if it really belonged to the Okperi.
• Akukalia claims it isn't their job to ask questions, but simply to ask them if they want war or peace. And, he reminds them to hold their tongues. He claims that he understands the Okperi since his mother is Okperi; he believes that they are a people who say one thing and mean another.
• The three men finally reach Okperi around breakfast time. They go to one of Akukalia's relative's compounds, that belonging to Uduezue. They are not smiling, but Uduezue asks them how their people are.
• Akukalia replies they are well, but he has an urgent mission and must see the rulers of Okperi at once.
• Uduezue says he wondered why they were here so early, and if his sister, Akukalia's mother, had still been alive, he would have wondered if something had happened to her. He offers them a kolanut.
• Akukalia says that they can't think of anything else until they have taken care of their mission.
• Uduezue says that's fine, but then why don't they draw a white line of chalk on the floor? Akukalia refuses to do even that.
• So Uduezue leads the men towards the man who will receive their message. On the way, Akukalia feels very tender towards the village of his mother, and thinks fondly of his mother, who had always been harsh with him.
• They reach Otikpo, Okperi's town crier. He and Uduezue whisper together, then Otikpo offers the men a kolanut.
• Akukalia refuses and says they can't eat or drink until they have come to relay their message.
• Otikpo asks if he can hear their message or whether it needs the town elders.
• Akukalia says it needs the elders.
• Otikpo says they have come at a bad time. Like all the villages around here, the elders are not accessible on the market day.
• Akukalia says he knows this but the mission can't wait.
• Otikpo suggests that they should sleep in Okperi and see the elders in the morning.
• Ebo enters and Akukalia refuses to shake his hand. He also says that it is not possible to see the elders on market day.
• Akukalia says, again, that his message can't wait.
• Ebo says that unless his message is that the earth is coming to an end, they can't hear the message today. Ebo has never heard of a message that could not wait for market day to end.
• Akukalia asks if war came to their town suddenly, would they still wait for market to call the men together?
• Ebo and Otikpo start to laugh. Akukalia and his companions exchange glances.
• The conversation breaks down into yelling, and Ebo tells Akukalia that if he wants to shout like a "castrated bull," he'll need to wait until he gets back to Umuaro.
• (This was the wrong thing to say to a man who is impotent and whose wives were secretly given to other men so they could bear children.)
• Akukalia attacks Ebo and busts open his head. Ebo leaves for his house to get a machete.
• Akukalia follows Ebo, rushes into his hut, takes his ikenga from the shrine, and splits it in two.
• The crowd calls to Otikpo to leave him alone. Ebo is shocked and horrified at the desecration of his shrine, and Akukalia challenges his manhood, daring him to do something.
• Ebo looks at his shrine and begins to weep, calling on his dead father to help him. Then he rushes into his hut and grabs a gun. Akukalia sees the danger to himself and runs forward. But it's too late; Ebo shoots Akukalia and he dies.
• Everyone in Umuaro is shocked when the body is brought home. An emissary had never been killed before. But then they realized that he had done an unforgivable thing. Who could bear a sacrilege like the kind he had inflicted on Ebo?
• This might have ended the affair but they were worried that Okperi had not sent a message to them about what happened. Everyone agreed that Ebo had to do what he did, but when a man was killed, somebody had to say something.

If Okperi chose not to say anything, they were showing great contempt for Umuaro. And Umuaro had to do something about it.

• On the fifth day after Akukalia's death, the men assemble in the village. Many of them think they should just let the matter drop. Others say their pride cannot take it. They must do something.
• Ezeulu was the last to speak. He reminds them of what he advised when they met before, that the adults should not send Akukalia, a mere child, to do this errand. So now he speaks to all the adults who should have known better. He tells the story of a great wrestler who went from village to village, beating all the other wrestlers. Then he wrestles spirits, and he beats them too. He challenges the spirits to bring their best and strongest, and they sent him his personal god, his chi, who smashed him to the ground.
• No matter how great you are, he reminds the men of Umuaro, you should never challenge your own chi. That is what Akukalia did. Today, he says, we are doing the same thing when they talk of taking war to Okperi. Will Ulu fight in blame? he asks.
• Ezeulu warns his people that if they go to war to avenge the death of a man who challenged his chi and rightly died, they will all suffer the consequences.
• At the end of the meeting, Umuaro is still confused. Some want to go to war, others do not. Those who want to go to war have a meeting with Nwaka, a meeting that did not include Ezeulu or anybody from his village.
• Nwaka tells the men that they do not need the permission of the Chief Priest of Ulu to go to war. He is not the king. He is only there to do the ritual required of the god.
• Then Nwaka begins to attack Ezeulu's character, saying he wants power, to be king, priest, diviner, everything. Ulu's priest can't control what they do because he is not king.
• So they go to war. Umuaro kills two men from Okperi on the first day. Then Umuaro kills four men and Okperi kills three.
• Then the white man, Wintabota, marches in with his soldiers and stops the war. The men are afraid of these white soldiers, having heard the story of what they did to Abame.
• So the war is ends. The white man gathers all the guns and breaks them all, except a few that he takes with him. Then he gives the disputed land to Okperi.
• The flashback ends.

Chapter 3

• Winterbottom watches the rain from his veranda.
• He hasn't slept well since December and now it's mid-February. He thinks he might have malaria; he feels the heat in Africa the way one feels they're going to die.
• Fifteen years have passed since he arrived in Africa and now he's hardened. His belief in colonialism was strengthened when he fought the Germans in 1916 during the Cameroon campaign.
• Winterbottom's servant John prepares the house for the arrival of the rain.
• Winterbottom watches the children running around the house and asks John what they're saying. John says they're talking about how quickly the rain is coming. Winterbottom asks, with some envy, if they're his children. No, John replies. Then he points out the two that are Winterbottom's.
• The rain falls for an hour, then stops. Winterbottom, remembering that Tony Clarke was coming for dinner, goes to the kitchen to see what Cook has planned.
• The Okperi station has only five Europeans, including Winterbottom. Winterbottom is the District Officer and Mr. Clarke is the Assistant District Officer. Mr. Clarke has only been in Africa for four weeks.
• Tony Clarke was dressed for dinner early. Though it was hot, and he didn't want to dress, he'd been told that it was easy to let standards slide in Africa due to the heat. He was determined not to let that happen. He was busy reading George Allen's The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger and was excited by its call to Europeans to carve out a civilization in the wilderness.
• Clarke checks his watch. He has plenty of time. He recalls the time he arrived fifteen minutes early to dinner at the Lieutenant-Governor's house before he came to Okperi. He had been made to feel the fool. The worst was going to dinner and discovering that though others had their names by a plate, he did not. He had to wait until he was noticed and one of the stewards brought him a chair.
• Winterbottom is drinking when Clarke arrives. They discuss the rain and Clarke mentions that he finds Allen smug. Winterbottom's house servant, a young boy of about thirteen, brings him a drink. They watch the flying ants and Winterbottom assures Clarke that they're harmless.
• Winterbottom asks Clarke what he meant by commenting that Allen is smug and Clarke criticizes Allen for not recognizing that there are valuable things in "native institutions."
• Winterbottom observes that Clarke is a "progressive one" but that'll change after he's been in Africa a short while. Then he says that the British cut corners with everything, and that their system of indirect rule makes no sense, especially when they have to invent chiefs in order to make it work.
• Clarke says he's open to correction, of course.
• Clarke, desperate for a new conversation, asks Winterbottom about his collection of guns. Winterbottom tells him the story of Umuaro's attempt to make war on Okperi because of a piece of land.
• The war was complicated by the fact that Okperi had welcomed the institutions of the white man, while Umuaro had not. But after Winterbottom destroyed their guns (except for those now displayed on his wall), the place changed. With some pride, Winterbottom explains that his nickname is Otiji-Egbe, the Breaker of Guns.
• Then Winterbottom tells the tale of how the war started. A man from Umuaro went to visit a friend in Okperi. After he had gotten a good deal drunk on palm wine, he reached for his friend's ikenga and cracked it in half.
• The ikenga, he explains to Clarke, is an important fetish, representing a man's ancestors. He must make a daily sacrifice to it. It is only split in two when he dies – half buried with him and half thrown away. The man whose ikenga had been split took his gun and killed the other man and that's how the war started.
• After Winterbottom stopped the war, he tried to determine who owned the land, and decided it was clearly Okperi. Every witness lied, except for one man – a "priest-king" in Umuaro. He looks different than many of the other men, almost red instead of black. (We know that he's talking about Ezeulu here.)
• Winterbottom explains that he believes that the Igbos must have bred together with a small tribe that had similar complexions as the American Indians.
• The men go get dinner.

Chapter 4

• During the five years after the Breaking of Guns, Ezeulu and Nwaka grew to hate each other so much that people believed one of them would kill the other.
• Though Nwaka was known to say what he thought, people feared for him, since he had reminded the god Ulu about what happened to another god that had failed their people in earlier years. It's tempting fate, they said.
• But Nwaka survived. He didn't even get sick. That may be why the Mask he wore was boastful at the Idemili festival that year. What he talked, he challenged Ulu again.
• In the five ensuing years, people wondered how it was that Nwaka got away with challenging Ulu with no punishment. They began to believe that Nwaka had some power.
• And in fact, Nwaka had one important backer – the priest of Idemili (the personal deity of Umunneora) a man by the name of Ezidemili.
• Ezeulu knew that Ezidemili was helping Nwaka, and he knew that the priests of these lesser deities were jealous, but he didn't think they would go so far as to challenge Ulu.
• Nwaka and Ezidemili had been friends since they were young; aligning himself with Ezidemili turned Nwaka into Ezeulu's personal enemy.
• Ezidemili explains that Idemili has been around since the beginning of time, whereas Ulu was made by the people.
• Idemili, which means Pillar of Water, holds up the rain clouds. He belongs to the sky.
• This is why Ezidemili can't sit on the ground, and why he won't be buried in the earth when he dies.
• But the priest of Ulu could be buried that way, so why doesn't Ezeulu chose to be buried in the ground? It's because the first Ezeulu was jealous and asked to be buried with the respect and honor accorded to Idemili.
• Ezeulu sits and listens to the church ringing its bell, calling people to worship. He had sent his son Oduche to learn the ways of the white man because he believed they had some power, but now he was afraid that the ways of the white man would take over.
• Oduche comes out of the inner compound dressed for church. He greets his father.
• Nwafo comes by and asks Ezeulu if he knows what the bell is saying. Nwafo relates Oduche's explanation that it is saying, "Leave your yam, leave your cocoyam, and come to church" (4.30).
• Ezeulu calls that the "song of extermination" (4.31).
• They are interrupted and Nwafo runs off to find out what's happening. He returns to report that Oduche's box is moving.
• They go look at the box, and Akueke says they can't believe what they are seeing. Ezeulu tells her to be quiet.
• It seemed like the box had something in it struggling to break free.
• Ezeulu carries the box outside to open it with a machete, which Obika brings to him. He sets the machete aside and asks Obika to bring him a spear instead. He wedges the thin end open with the spear, and is shocked to discover a royal python.
• The women chatter about the abomination, while Ezeulu asks where Oduche is. Ezeulu threatens to kill his son, and the mothers begin to wail while the royal python slithers away.
• Anosi tells Ugoye, Oduche's mother that she should find her son and tell him not to return today. Anosi heads into the village and tells everyone he meets what Oduche had done to the royal python.
• By noon, the story had reached Ezidemili, the chief priest of the god Idemili, who owned the royal python.
• In order to understand why it is such a big deal to harm or even move the royal python, we need some background.
• The narrative now enters a flashback. Ezeulu had promised the white man he would send a son to the church, but it took him three years to fulfill that promise. That was two years ago.
• Oduche hadn't wanted to go at first. But he decided to do it because his father spoke to him like a man to a man.
• Ezeulu told his son that the world was changing and it was important to know about these people who had brought the change. Oduche would be his eyes and ears in the white man's world, a fact that didn't make his mother, Ugoye, happy. She tried to get Ezeulu to change his mind, but Ezeulu was steadfast.
• Oduche soon came to love church. He learned the language easily. He was popular with his teacher and the church members.
• Then they got a new teacher, John Goodcountry, who explained how early Christians in the Niger Delta tried to purify their region from evil customs. He suggested that as Christians, they must be prepared to be martyred. And they must be ready to kill the royal python, rather than to treat it as holy.
• Josiah Madu was the first Umuaro man who killed and ate the royal python. But few people found out about it and few Christians were willing to follow his example.
• Moses Unachukwu, a carpenter and evangelist, had built the church at Umuaro – both physically and spiritually. The other teachers gave him the respect he deserved, but John Goodcountry ignores him.
• Unachukwu told a story to the church, reminding them of the curse God put on the snake's head. He told them about how there used to be a seventh village in Umuaro called Umuama. Six brothers in the village of Umuama killed the python and ate it.
• Only four of the brothers got enough food to eat. They began to fight, and the fighting spread throughout the village of Umuama until they destroyed each other. The few survivors fled to Olu, where they live today.
• The six remaining villages consulted a seer and discovered that the reason the men had turned on each other was that the python was sacred to the deity Idemili, and Idemili had punished the men for eating it.
• Mr. Goodcountry rebukes Moses for telling such a story in church. Now he asks for somebody to speak up on God's behalf.
• Oduche raises his hand. He mentions that the Bible clearly tells us to crush the serpent's head.
• Mr. Goodcountry berates Moses, saying that though he claims to be the first Christian of Umuaro, a child has spoken wiser words than he has.
• The congregation claps and Moses gets angry. He warns the teacher to do his work and leave the royal python alone, or he will not last, just like the other teachers who came and went.
• So Oduche decides to kill one of the pythons that live on the roof of his mother's hut. He'll do it with a stick so nobody will know he's the one that did it.
• This ends the flashback.
• Six days later, Oduche had lost some of his courage. He decided just to take the smaller python, but he can't bring himself to kill it. He pops it into his box, relieved that the python will suffocate on its own without him killing it.
• Edogo, Ezeulu's first son, left home early to carve a mask for a new ancestral spirit. He couldn't do it at home, but had to do it in the spirit-house, which was private and secret and uninitiated people weren't allowed. Today he could hear his neighbor, Anosi, gossiping about his (Edogo's) family.
• Anosi tells his listeners that he saw the royal python locked inside a box. The people criticize Ezeulu and claim his act is destructive, an abomination.
• By the time Edogo reaches home, Ezeulu is in a rage, angry at all the gossiping neighbors. He threatens the neighbor ladies with physical harm if they do not leave.
• When Edogo tells his father what he heard at the marketplace, Ezeulu asks him if he did anything about it. Ezeulu explains that if people are accusing Ezeulu of committing an abomination, Edogo should defend his father's honor.
• Edogo is angry and accuses his father of bringing this on himself by sending Oduche to the white man's church.
• At sunset, a visitor from Umunneora arrives. Ezeulu doesn't even offer him kolanut because there is so much hostility between him and Umunneora, the village of the god Idemili.
• Ezidemili, the chief priest of Idemili, sent the visitor. He wants to know what Ezeulu is going to do about the abomination his son committed against his deity. How will he purify his house?
• Ezeulu, even further angered, tells the visitor to "go back and tell Ezidemili to eat s***" (4.117).
• The young man tries to respond, but Ezeulu tells him that if he values his life, he'll quietly leave.

Chapter 5

• Captain Winterbottom is angry to receive a memorandum suggesting he's delaying naming the Paramount Chiefs. The memorandum is from the Senior District Officer, a man who used to be Winterbottom's junior, but who was promoted over him.
• He smokes, paces, reads the memorandum again, which suggests that government by white men is a mistake.
• Winterbottom reflects on the misguided ideology behind those words. He thinks that if the bureaucrats who create such policies actually came to Africa, they would see the need for white man rule.
• Mr. Clarke walks in to say he's off to tour the district. Winterbottom asks Clarke to find out about Wright and the new road. Winterbottom has heard about whippings, and from what he knows about Wright, he wouldn't be surprised to find out that the stories are true.
• When Clarke leaves, Winterbottom returns to the memo in a calmer state of mind. He realizes that he knows better than the Lt.-Governor what needs to be done, but he doesn't have the authority.
• Just three years ago, they had insisted on appointing a Warrant Chief for Okperi, so he chose James Ikedi. But soon James Ikedi had shown a real lust for power and was abusing his authority. Winterbottom suspended him for six months. But three months later, the Senior Resident came back from leave and reinstated him, and the abuses began again.
• At that time, there was a plan in place for a system of roads and drainages. Winterbottom had approved the plans himself and had tried to assure that there would be as little disruption of people's homes as possible.
• But the overseer demanded bribes from the people in order to prevent the road from going near their homes; the chiefs said the overseer was carrying out the order of the white man. Of course, Ikedi got a good chunk of money from this man.
• Though Winterbottom could excuse the overseer, who wasn't from Okperi, he couldn't excuse Ikedi. Why would you cheat your own people, your own blood?
• But he wasn't able to prosecute Ikedi due to a lack of evidence.
• Winterbottom waits one more day, thinking about the memo, but in the morning realizes he can do nothing to stop the policy. This time, he wouldn't consider the kind of men he had put in charge in the past – mission educated, intelligent.
• No, he would go with a man who had told him the truth in the past: the Chief Priest of Ulu, Ezeulu. He hopes that Ezeulu is still alive, since he hasn't seen him in two years.

Chapter 6

• Ezeulu knows that the act Oduche has committed is very serious, but he's so annoyed by the whispers and gossip and the "impudent message" (6.1) from Ezidemili that he can't help but take a posture of defiance and anger.
• Ezeulu claims that misfortune is good, every once in awhile, because it allows you to see who your true friends and neighbors are.
• He calls for Ugoye and asks where their son Oduche is hiding. But she says she does not know. He admits that he is at fault for this; Ezeulu should have seen this coming when he sent Oduche to church with the white men. But he won't accept that Ugoye doesn't know where her son is.
• Ugoye requests that Oduche not go to the church anymore.
• No, Ezeulu insists, on that he remains steadfast. Oduche will continue to go to church.
• Oduche returns home, scared, but Ezeulu ignores him. Nobody is glad to see him.
• Ezeulu realizes that what Oduche did to the snake was wrong. If a man kills the royal python, in order to rectify the error, he must arrange an elaborate funeral for it. But what do you do for a man who puts the python in a box? There is no custom for that!
• With the festival of the New Pumpkin Leaves coming in six days, Ezeulu, must purify the village of this and other sins.
• Ezeulu's in-law, Onwuzuligbo, visits him. (Onwuzuligbo had been one of the men who came to find out why Akueke's husband had been beaten and taken away from his home and family). Ezeulu greets him by saying his death must be near, because this is such an unusual sight.
• The men eat kolanut and draw chalk on the floor. Then Onwuzuligbo asks about "our wife Akueke." Ezeulu tells his son Nwafo to call Akueke.
• Akueke comes and greets him, then leaves again.
• Then Onwuzuligbo tells him the purpose of his visit: that his people will becoming to visit in the morning. Ezeulu says he will not run away. Onwuzuligbo says they are not coming for trouble, but for in-law business.
• Ezeulu is glad to know that they are returning to make peace and to take Akueke back home with them. He sends for his chief wife Matefi and tells her to cook for them. She claims she has no cassava but that Akueke might have some if he asks her.
• Ezeulu is angered; why should he ask Akueke? Is Akueke his wife? Then he threatens her: if you want to remain here, he says, then you will do as I ask.
• Ezeulu is anxious for Akueke to return to her people. When Akueke's husband, Ibe, says he wants to take her home with him again, Ezeulu pretends to object.
• Ezeulu reminds Ibe that Akueke has been with them a year and he has been feeding her for that entire year. How does Ibe intend to pay him for all the food that Akueke and her child has consumed in the past year?
• Onwuzuligbo says he understands. They understand that they owe him, not just for this year, but for all the years Ezeulu paid for her upkeep while she was growing. Please give us time, he asks.
• Ezeulu agrees.
• Ezeulu's younger brother Okeke Onenyi is present. He speaks up, thinking his brother is giving in too quickly. He wants to know what they intend to do with Akueke. Is he just asking for her return so she will be abused again?
• Onwuzuligbo promises that Ibe will not mistreat Akueke again.
• Ezeulu sends for Akueke to find out if she is willing to return to her husband. She said she would go if Ezeulu wanted her to go. Ezeulu tells her in-laws that she will return, but not today. And he reminds them to treat her well when she does come back.
• Grateful to Ulu, Ezeulu sends his assistants out to announce the day for the Feast of the Pumpkin Leaves.
• Ugoye is cooking dinner when she hears the crier's ogene. Her daughter, Obiageli, and Akueke's daughter, Nkechi, are telling each other stories. She tells them to be quiet so she can hear what the crier is saying. She hears the announcement of the Festival of the Pumpkin Leaves.
• Nkechi and Obiageli begin to tell the story again. As they do, they fight about whose turn it is to tell this part of the story. Nwafo steps in and says that Obiageli wants to cheat Nkechi because she is bigger.
• Obiageli calls Nwafo an anti-hill nose, and he tells her she is looking to cry. Obiageli tells him to leave them alone, then sooths Nkechi.
• Obiageli sings about the water being punished by earth, and then asks who will punish the earth? But Nkechi interrupts and Nwafo says that nobody can punish the earth. Obiageli says she was testing Nkechi and Nwafo says she can't even tell a story right.
• They continue to fight until Obiageli says they'll start a new story. Obiageli tries to sneak more food but her mother takes the ladle away from her.

Chapter 7

• The festival begins and it appears to be a happy occasion. Despite the hostility between the villages of Umuachala and Umunneora, the men meet as brothers on this day.
• Ugoye admires her reflection in the mirror. She would normally have been thrilled to show herself off at the festival, but this year, she is anxious because of Oduche's sin and the need for his cleansing.
• Matefi sets out for the marketplace and asks if Ugoye is ready. She says no, she'll be coming soon.
• Ugoye fetches a special pumpkin that she had set aside. Akueke peeks into her hut and complains that she's not ready yet.
• Akueke asks why Matefi was annoyed this morning. Akueke claims that she has come across many bad people but Matefi is the worst.
• The marketplace is buzzing with conversation and excitement. Nwaka's five wives arrive decked out in jewelry and velvet. There had never been such a display from one man's house.
• Obika is sitting with some of his friends in a circle, with two pots of palm wine between them. One of the men asks if his new bride has yet to come back to visit his house a second time after her first visit. Obika admits it's true.
• The first man says he knew the story couldn't be true – what woman wouldn't swoon over a handsome fellow like Obika?
• Another man says that maybe she doesn't like the size of Obika's penis.
• Obika says she has never seen it.
• Obiozo Ezikolo begins to beat the Ikolo (a drum) to announce the arrival of the Chief Priest. People hurry to finish drinking.
• The crowd greets Ezeulu with a loud shout. He rushes to the Ikolo and tells it to speak, he will hear what it has to say. He acts out the story of the coming of Ulu.
• The short story of this tale is inserted into the narrative at this point.
• At the time of the first Coming of Ulu, the people assembled and chose Ezeulu to carry the new deity. He claimed that he was not important enough to do the job, but they said that he will be given what he needs to do the job. So he agrees and sets off on his journey, accompanied by flutists on each side. On one side, it is raining, and on the other side, it is dry. He encounters the day named Eke. Ezeulu gives him a hen's egg and he allows Ezeulu to pass. He sees a smoking thicket and two men wrestling. It is the day named Oye. Ezeulu gives him a white rooster and Oye allows him to pass. He continues on and realizes his head is too heavy. That's when he sees the day named Afo. Afo says he is the "great river that cannot be salted" and Ezeulu replies that he is the "hunchback more terrible than a leper" (7.48-49). So Afo allows him to pass. Then Ezeulu feels the sun and the rain together and he meets the day called Nkwo. To the left of Nkwo, an old woman is dancing. The right is a horse and ram. He kills the horse and cleans his machete with the ram and removes the evil.
• The story comes to an end.
• Now Ezeulu is in the center of the marketplace. He strikes the metal staff on the ground and dances towards the Ikolo.
• Ugoye has pushed and shoved her way to the front. Ezeulu runs over to her and she prays to the Great Ulu to cleanse her house of defilement.
• The priest's messengers also run with him, snatching up pumpkin leaves at random. The Ikolo drum is so loud that the tension builds until finally the Chief Priest runs to his shrine, his messengers following. Then the drum reaches its final fevered pitch and the tension begins to abate with the drumming.
• The women of Umunneora begin to run and stamp their feet. Soon they are stamping their feet together in unison. Then the women of the next village take their turn until the women from all six villages have danced.
• The crowd disperses into little groups. Akueke finds her sister Adeze, and Ugoye joins them. Adeze asks if it's true that Ugoye has been teaching her children to eat python.
• Ugoye gets hurt and Akueke tells Ugoye not to mind Adeze – she's worse than Ezeulu with her teasing and her thoughtless comments.
• Adeze comments that nobody could expect a father's child not to be somewhat like him. Then she tells Ugoye not to be angry. Adeze has heard the whole story and she has defended her family's honor whenever she heard the story. For example, she told one woman that putting a python in a box was preferable to the kinds of things her family does, like copulating with a goat behind the house.
• The women laugh.
• Ugoye begs Adeze to ask her father not to run so fast. Last year, he couldn't get up for days. Akueke mentions that Ezeulu used to run as fast as Obika.
• Ugoye says it is people like them that lead him astray. He is not a young man anymore.
• Akueke changes the subject and says that her husband and his people returned the other day to fetch her. Adeze insults them and Akueke pretends to be angry. Adeze asks when she is going back to join him and Akueke names the day, one market past the next.

Chapter 8

• Mr. Wright is supervising the building of a road linking Okperi with its enemy village, Umuaro. But they've run out of money.
• Mr. Wright wonders if he could reduce his men's pay, but realizes that will hardly entice more laborers. So he consults Captain Winterbottom and asks permission to use unpaid labor. Winterbottom gives permission, with regrets.
• The leaders of Umuaro decide that they'll offer the labor of the two age groups who had most recently become men – two groups that didn't get along very well.
• When the older of the groups came of age, they had taken the name Devourer Like Leopard (Otakagu). This older group nicknamed the younger group Omumawa – which means that their clothes cover very small penises.
• The joke was so funny to people that Omumawa was unable to take their own name, and they resented the older group for it. They tried to stay away from the other group, so when Mr. Wright asked for two days a week of work, they arranged for one age group to go one day and the other age group to go another day.
• Though the paid laborers are disciplined and hard working, Mr. Wright frequently has to supervise this group of forced laborers. Moses Unachukwu, who speaks English, becomes very useful to Mr. Wright in organizing them, and his reputation grows throughout Umuaro.
• On the day after the Festival of the Pumpkin Leaves, Ezeulu's son Obika and his friend Ofoedu are late arriving to work.
• The story flashes back to the day before, when Obika and Ofoedu were drinking with three other men at the festival and bragging about their ability to hold their palm wine.

One man, Maduka, claims that it depends on the tree and the man who taps it, since some trees produce a palm wine that is stronger than other trees, and some men are more skillful than others.

• Ofoedu claims that it depends on the man who drinks it and he can drink from any tree no matter who tapped it.
• Maduka asks if they have heard of the palm tree in his village called Okposalebo. They have not. He says it is called Disperser of a Kindred because nobody can drink three hornfuls of its wine, and successfully find their way home. Two hornfuls can cause two brothers to fight.
• Obika scoffs at the story, so Maduka issues a challenge and the men go to Nwakafo's compound to get some of this wine. It's expensive, he says, but he'll pay for it. If they're able to find their way home, that's fine. If not, they owe him the ego-neli when they see him.
• Maduka wins the challenge. The two men fall asleep outside near his house and Maduka checks on them twice in the night. But in the morning, they're gone.
• The flashback ends.
• Obika is badly drunk and in the morning, they have trouble waking him. The commotion wakes Ezeulu who is disgusted to learn that Obika has behaved like this. His new wife is supposed to arrive soon, but what kind of husband is she getting?
• He just knows that Ofoedu is behind this.
• The two men set off for work with bad hangovers. Ofoedu claims that the palm wine must have had something else in it, and says he will not pay the ego-neli. Obika agrees.
• The laborers are singing, but they stop singing as the two late-comers approach. Mr. Wright is furious. Moses Unachukwu is talking to him, apparently trying to calm him down, but he pays no attention. Everyone wonders if today is the day he will finally use the whip he carries.
• Obika swaggers past the men, knowing he has their attention, and Mr. Wright lashes out with his whip. He drops his machete and charges but Moses Unachukwu steps between them.
• Moses translates for Mr. Wright, who tells them he won't tolerate any more laziness, and there must be no more late-comers again. Nweke Ukpaka tries to ask a question but Mr. Wright refuses to listen.
• So the men hold a meeting but can't decide to do anything, primarily because of Moses Unachukwu. Some people don't want him in the meeting, and others say he's the only man who understands whites so they must have him present. Ofoedu agrees that he should be there, but he wants him to answer a question: He wants to know what Unachukwu said about Obika's family to Mr. Wright and whether he encouraged the white man to whip Obika.
• The discussion is drowned by shouting, with Moses Unachukwu furiously shouting insults at Ofoedu.
• Then the discussion turns to whether they should just quite working for the white man, and Moses says that is a foolish thing to do. If they do that, the white men will imprison all their leaders.
• Nweke speaks and says that though they did nothing to the white man, he has come and he is here to stay. He means trouble for them, and if they resist now, with the road, it will be worse for them. ,
• But everyone wants to know why they aren't we paid for working on the road. The white man pays other Africans to do this work, so why not them?
• Moses Unachukwu agrees to ask why they aren't paid.
• Meanwhile, Ezeulu wakes up and learns from Edogo's wife, Amoge, that Obika has been whipped by the white man.
• Ezeulu is distressed, wondering what Obika did to deserve the punishment, so Edogo agrees to go find out more.
• After Edogo goes, Ezeulu thinks about what has happened. He decides that if Obika is at fault, he will do nothing But if Obika is not at fault, he will go to Okperi and will report Mr. Wright to his superior, Wintabota.
• When Edogo returns with Obika, he explains that he was whipped for being late to work. Ezeulu criticizes Obika for his drinking and Obika and Ofoedu walk away.

Chapter 9

• Edogo returns to his hut and starts working on a door he has been carving. He thinks about his first child who died, and his second child who is sick.
• Edogo considers the way his father treats his children, and remembers how he was very affectionate and fond of Edogo, and then his affection passed from Edogo to his next son Obika, then to Oduche and now to Nwafo.
• Actually, on second thought, Edogo realizes, his father had never seemed to think much of Oduche. His affection had stayed with Obika, then passed to Nwafo.
• But maybe there really was something about Nwafo. People said he was the spitting image of Ezeulu's father.
• Edogo realizes he would be relieved if the diviner's call falls on Nwafo upon Ezeulu's death. Obika certainly doesn't want to be Chief Priest, which leaves Oduche and Nwafo. Edogo suddenly wonders if his father sent Oduche to learn the religion of the white man so it would disqualify him from being the next Chief Priest. No, it wasn't up to Ezeulu, the deity chooses the next successor.
• Ezeulu and Nwafo sit together in the same spot where Ezeulu had been sitting when Obika had walked out on him. Ezeulu tells Nwafo that a father does not lie to his son. And he reminds him that now that Obika is getting married, people will no longer ask whose son he is.
• Akuebue arrives. He is one of the few men in Umuaro that Ezeulu respects.
• The two men exchange greetings. Obika's whipping is mentioned but Akuebue says there is no reason to discuss it. Ezeulu sends for kolanut, and Akuebue says he isn't a stranger that needs to be greeted with such hospitality, but Ezeulu reminds him they are like brothers, all the more reason to treat him with honor.
• They eat kolanut and take snuff (tobacco) together.
• Edogo brings them palm wine and they drink it from a cow's horn that Akuebue brings from out of his bag.
• Ezeulu asks Oduche when he is going to Okperi and he responds that he is going the day after tomorrow. Akuebue asks why he is going and he says that he is being tested on the holy book. Ezeulu isn't sure Oduche should go, but says he will decide when the time comes.
• The men continue to drink and Akuebue says that the only power against palm wine is if you refuse to drink it. This reminds Ezeulu of his conversation with Nwafo and he mentions it, saying that even the greatest liar won't lie to his son. But what do you do if you tell your child the truth and the child prefers the lie? That is why, he explains, he will not take up Obika's cause against the white man.
• Akuebue wants to know if Obika started the fight, and Edogo responds that they say he was not the one to strike the first blow. Akuebue tries again to suggest that they should find out who started it before refusing to take Obika's side, that there might be something they can do if Mr. Wright started it. But Ezeulu refuses to listen.
• Akuebue asks Edogo where Obika is, and Ezeulu repeats the question. Edogo says he has gone because Ezeulu refused to ask for his side of the story before blaming him. Ezeulu is silenced by the unexpected criticism.
• Akuebue tries to mollify Ezeulu by reminding Edogo that a father has more wisdom than his sons. He asks Edogo to relate his words to Obika when he returns.
• Edogo nods but wonders if it is true that a man will never lie to his sons.
• Akuebue then says that Ezeulu has been too hard on Obika. After this parting advice, he says goodbye and leaves.

Chapter 10

• Tony Clarke waits nervously for his boss, Captain Winterbottom, to come to dinner. He knows the social visit is necessary, but he is worried about how they will interact, especially since he is the host. He would have been more comfortable if Mr. Wright could be there with them, but he knows that would be a disaster.
• The narrative flashes back to the one night that Tony Clarke spent with Mr. Wright in his Rest House outside Umuaro. It had seemed like another planet.
• They had sat on the veranda drinking gin, and Clarke discovered that he really liked Mr. Wright. They talked like old friends, even though this was only the second time they had met.
• Mr. Wright mentions that he is supposed to be beneath Clarke. What would Winterbottom think if he saw them meeting like equals? Clarke, a bit drunk, says he doesn't care, and admires Wright's work on the road.
• They begin to gossip about the "Captain." Wright is slightly contemptuous and Clarke defends him. They talk about how he hasn't been treated fairly by the Government, passed over by promotions and things like that.
• Then Wright says that during the war, when the Captain was fighting in the Cameroon, some guy ran away with Winterbottom's wife. It affected him badly.
• Then they begin to discuss every detail of the affair, and Clarke begins to feel very sympathetic to Winterbottom. They stop referring to him as the "Captain" and begin calling him by name.
• Wright claims that Winterbottom's real problem is that he won't sleep with one of the "native" women. He says the practice is very common, even among men of Winterbottom's position. But Clarke says that Winterbottom is like a missionary, would never do such a thing.
• Wright says that's true, and Winterbottom might have been better off if he'd come to Africa as a missionary.
• Clarke wants to ask about native women. But he's too drunk, and can't get the words out of his mouth, so he changes the subject.
• The flashback ends and the narrative returns to Clark's nervousness as he waits for Winterbottom to arrive for dinner.
• Clarke feels guilty about the gossiping he had done, but he tries to remind himself that all that happened was he found out a few details about his boss's life.
• He goes to check on the chicken that his cook is roasting. Cook is irritated to see Clarke checking up on him again.
• Clarke brainstorms for topics of conversation, then stops himself. Why is he so nervous? Is it just because he knows more about Winterbottom than he did before? He realizes that this is the problem with British Colonialism. When the French want to do something, they make up their mind and do it. The British sent out a Commission of Inquiry to discover all the facts they could before making their mind. It then caused problems for them.
• The conversation with Winterbottom that night goes well until Winterbottom says that he is bothered by one detail in Clarke's report – that he is satisfied there is no truth in the story of Wright whipping his African laborers.
• Clarke is suddenly nervous and worried. He had lied in that part of the report. He had forgotten to ask about that, and then decided that if Wright had done such a thing, he would surely have heard about it.
• Winterbottom says that his steward is from Umuaro and he had reported that the whole village was in an uproar because a rather important man had been whipped by Wright.
• Clarke says he heard nothing about it.
• Winterbottom is angered by Clarke's response.
• He then tells Clarke that he has decided to make the fetish priest he knows – Ezeulu –the new Paramount Chief for Umuaro. He mentions that Ibo men love their titles and love to take an air of authority.
• Clarke almost says that desiring a title (fame, power, authority) is something that afflicts all humans, but he decides against it.
• After discussing the delicious chicken, Winterbottom continues. He has found the Chief for Umuaro and hopes they will be happy. It is not like the affair in Abame.
• Clarke asks if Abame is the place where the Ibo murdered Macdonald and Winterbottom confirms it. He says that though they have calmed down somewhat, they are still uncooperative.
• Winterbottom discusses his plans for a couple new native courts, and Clarke realizes, with admiration, that Winterbottom is fulfilling his duties regarding indirect rule with all his heart, despite his earlier opposition to it.
• Winterbottom says he wishes that the Administration would be consistent with its policies. That's what he finds so problematic.
• Clarke mentions his recent ideas about the problem with the British love for Commissions of Inquiry, but Winterbottom squashes him, stating that they are very useful. Winterbottom continues that the problem is that the Administration takes the advice of the wrong people, ignoring people who have lived in Africa for years.
• Clarke is angry with Winterbottom for not letting him finish, and angry with himself for not expressing his ideas with the same eloquence in which the idea had first occurred to him.

Chapter 11

• Ezeulu visits his friend Akuebue. They greet each other and Akuebue sends his son off for some kolanut. They draw lines on the floor of the hut with chalk. Ezeulu draws five lines – three upright, one across the top and another below. Then he daubs chalk on his big toe and around his left eye.
• They break kolanut and eat, but first they fight over who should have the honor of breaking it. Akuebue's hands are full so he asks Ezeulu to do it but Ezeulu finally prevails and Akuebue breaks it.
• They hear gunshots go off and Ezeulu wonders what is going on. Akuebue explains that Amalu is very sick. Akuebue saw it with his own eyes, the way he trembled with cold in the heat of the day, aru-mmo, a sickness of the Spirits. Ezeulu wonders who is preparing medicine for him, then, and Akuebue says it is a man named Nwodika from the village of Umuofia.
• But, Ezeulu objects, if it's the Spirits causing the sickness, there is nothing you can do about it.
• That's true, Akuebue acknowledges, but you can't sit around and do nothing for a man in pain.
• Ezeulu begins to criticize the gun-shooting, saying that can't scare spirits. If he was so sick and they brought a medicine man that knew more about hunting than herbs, he would send that medicine man away.
• They hear a gunshot again, and Ezeulu says he will stop there on his way home and tell them that if they have no medicine to give the man, they should spare the gunpowder and use it at his funeral instead.
• Akuebue cautions him to say nothing that would make the family think he wishes them evil.
• Ezeulu takes one look at the sick man and realizes he will probably be dead by the morning. He looks around and sees what the medicine man has done to try to ward off the Spirits from the hut.
• The sick man, Amalu, begins to groan. The medicine man loads his gun, walks out of the hut, and shoots. When he returns, Amalu is even worse, and talking nonsense.
• The medicine man takes the short wooden staff held by the house shrine and puts it in Amalu's fingers. He tells him to grab it and tell the Spirits no.
• Amalu's hands begin to close around the staff and the medicine man urges him, again, to say no to the Spirits.
• But instead, his fingers open and the staff clatters to the floor.
• Ezeulu leaves, wishing them well.
• Obika's bride, Okuata, arrives. Obika realizes she is beautiful and wonders how he let her go back home before. She arrives with a procession of family members and things for her new household. She is attended by twenty girls who sing a song to entice people to bring good things and place them at her feet as presents. Obika and other members of his family stick money to her forehead. She lets each gift fall into a bowl at her feet.
• Then they all feast until sunset.
• When Okuata's mother and family leave to go back to their home, Okuata feels abandoned and begins to cry. Her mother-in-law takes her into her hut, where she is supposed to stay until the sacrifice.
• Obika, Edogo, Matefi, and Okuata set out with the medicine man, Aniegboka that Ezeulu had hired to perform the Sacrifice. Aniegboka was not a great medicine man, but the ritual did not require a lot of skill. He had a damaged eye from childhood, a result of throwing a sharp stick in the air and failing to catch it when he was a boy. The chicken he plans to use for the Sacrifice squawks in his bag.
• Okuata is nervous and lonely. Obika is also nervous. Will he find that his wife is a virgin when he enters her hut later? Or has she already been with another? He doesn't know what he will do if it turns out that she is not a virgin.
• They stop in the middle of the road and Aniegboka asks Obika to dig a hole. Aniegboka brings out the sacrificial objects – four yams, four pieces of white chalk, and a wild lily.
• Edogo gives him the palm leaves at his request and he begins to separate them into four groups of six leaves each. He places Okuata beside the hole so that she faces her village, then he takes a yam and gives it to Okuata. She waves it around her head and places it in the hole. He puts the other three yams in the hold. They perform the same ritual with the chalk, then the palm leaves, and the wild lily. Then he gives her six cowries and she closes it in her palm, waves it around her head, and places it in the hole.
• He prays over her, saying that whatever evil she has heard or seen, they are now buried here.
• He places the bowl of fired clay over the objects, then fills the hole with dirt.
• He asks for water and Matefi gives it to him. Okuata washes her face, hands, arms, feet, and legs up to the knee.
• Aniegboka reminds her that she cannot pass this way until the morning, even if war breaks out in the middle of the night.
• Then he turns to Obika and says that she will bear him nine sons.
• Obika and Edogo thank him.
• Aniegboka says that the hen will go home with him and he alone will eat it.
• On the way home, he boasts about how much people think of hem.
• When they part ways, Obika asks Matefi if that is the custom, for the medicine man to take the chicken. Matefi says she has heard that some of them do, but has never seen it before. Her own chicken was buried with the rest of the items.
• Edogo says he has never heard of such a thing. He thinks Aniegboka is greedy.
• Matefi says that their job was simply to provide a chicken. They have done their part.
• Obika and Okuata greet Ezeulu before they go to bed. Obika asks Ezeulu about the diviner taking the chicken and Ezeulu assures him that though that is not the custom, he has done his job by providing the chicken as a sacrifice.
• When they leave, Ezeulu feels warmly towards his son for the first time in awhile. Was Obika growing up? He is sure of it. In the past, Obika would have forced the diviner to bury the chicken with the rest of the items.

Chapter 12

• Okuata emerges in the morning, shy but triumphant. She had been found to be a virgin. Though she knew she had been a virgin, she had always been afraid because of that one night with Obiora. He hadn't penetrated her, but he had come close. She was reminded of the story of Ogbanje Omenyi, whose new husband had sent a request to her parents for a machete so he could cut the "bush on either side of the highway she carried between her thighs" (12.2). In other words, she had been found to be quite experienced.
• That morning, everybody wants to go with their new bride to the river for water. Even Obiageli who hates the sharp stones on the way to the stream wants to go, and Ojiugo rushes back and forth in the compound with the proud air of somebody who owns something special.
• Matefi tells them to hurry back, and Nwafo, who apparently hates to bathe, claims slyly that it is only bathing that will make them late.
• His mother, Ugoye, tells him he's mad and if he doesn't wash at the stream, he'll see who is really mad. Oduche, who is also going, wears his white man's clothes, and this makes Ugoye even madder.
• Obiageli comes into Ezeulu's hut, carrying Amoge's child on her back. Ezeulu tells her they're crazy for leaving a sick child with her. Obiageli says the child's mother has gone to the stream with the others. Ezeulu tells her to take him to Matefi instead, and she nods obediently, but keeps carrying him around, singing to him.
• Ezeulu calls for Nwafo. Ugoye tells him that he went with the others to the stream.
• Ezeulu gets mad because Nwafo sweeps his hut every morning and takes care of him when visitors arrive. He commands her to get Oduche, but she explains that Oduche went with everybody else.
• Ugoye returns with two brooms and begins to tidy his hut.
• Akuebue is planning a visit to discuss the problem of Oduche. If the Chief Priest of Ulu sends his son among the white people, who destroy their customs and encourage abominations like killing the sacred python, then what should they do?
• Edogo had now joined the conspirators. The day before, he had gone secretly to Akuebue and asked him to go and talk to Ezeulu about the problem. He tells Akuebue that the reason why Ezeulu had sent Oduche among the white men was to clear the way for Nwafo to become the Chief Priest. Edogo worries that Ezeulu has led Nwafo to believe that Ulu will select him.
• Akuebue felt contempt for Edogo, wondering why he couldn't say he wanted to be Chief Priest. But he also felt sorry for him.
• On the way to the stream, Oduche and Ojiugo get into a fight. Ojiugo is jealous when the new bride is interested in the white man's religion so she reminds her that Oduche put the sacred python in a box. The crowd takes sides and soon a couple of women are also fighting.
• Ojiugo is crying when she gets home. Matefi gets mad when she sees the damage that Oduche has done. She starts wailing. Ezeulu comes to find out what the commotion is. Soon there is more fighting.
• This is why Ezeulu is in a bad mood when Akuebue arrives. He listens to his friend and grows irritated. Finally, he says he already knows all of this; he knows that Umuaro is divided over this issue, but why should it worry him? It has been five years since the war, and Ulu has reigned supreme, despite what Ezidemili says.
• Akuebue says it is jealousy but Ezeulu says he doesn't understand why he would be jealous.
• Akuebue admits that he's worried about what the clan is saying. Akuebue reminds Ezeulu that no man can go against the entire clan and win. They will say that Ezeulu is betraying them by sending Oduche to learn the ways of the white man.
• Ezeulu says that he is not the one who brought the white man here. Five years earlier, he cautioned against the war with Okperi. When two brothers fight, it is strangers who win. That was exactly what has happened here. Ezeulu says that they have shown the white man the way, so that they don't have the right to complain.
• Ezeulu reminds Akuebue of the time when his father and grandfather told the people to do things differently, and both men were cursed by Umuaro. This time it is no different.
• Akuebue counters that this time is different. Ezeulu is pleasing a stranger, and that is not what his father or grandfather did.
• Ezeulu is disturbed by this accusation. But he says that the reason he sent Oduche is because they may have reached the end of things. When you reach the end of things, you must make a sacrifice to create a new medicine. That is how they made Ulu in the first place.
• In this case Ezeulu is sacrificing his own blood to make a powerful medicine so that instead of reaching the end of things, they can begin something new.
• Akuebue realizes that Edogo was right after all. He asks what will happen if Ulu chooses Oduche to be the new Chief Pries.
• Ezeulu replies that they should leave that to the deity.
• Akuebue says that he was not alone when he spoke against the war, but he is alone in sending his son to the strangers who will desecrate the land. He shouldn't do it.
• Ezeulu sends Akuebue away with harsh words. He already knows what it's like to be alone, he says, and do either of them have the right to say that the land of Umuaro has been desecrated?
• Nwafo had heard part of the dispute but didn't understand it. Ezeulu sends him to get some palm oil and ground pepper.
• Ezeulu opens his basket with a boiled and smoked goat leg and cuts a big piece of Akuebue and a small piece for himself. Then he sends Nwafo to fetch some banana leaf so that Akuebue can wrap part of the meat up to take home.
• Two strangers arrive. Ezeulu asks them to enter. One of them identifies himself as the son of Nwodika from Umunneora. He has a message from Okperi. His companion is the Court Messenger of Wintabota, the Destroyer of Guns.
• Ezeulu inquires after Wintabota's health. The Court Messenger grows impatient with the questions.
• Obika and Edogo come when they hear that a messenger of the white man has arrived. They break kolanut and finally the Court Messenger speaks. He asks to speak to Ezeulu, but neither Ezeulu or Akuebue identify themselves. They are too surprised and they chide him for the way he has approached them. He must know who Ezeulu is before he can speak.
• Obika says that he isn't in the white man's house, but in the house of Ulu's Chief Priest.
• Ezeulu tells him to shut up and they have a small scuffle. Then he identifies himself as Ezeulu and asks him to speak. He says he is a good friend of Wintabota and he is ready to hear the message.
• So the Court Messenger speaks. He says that Kaputin Winta-bor-tom has never mentioned that he had a friend in Umuaro but they will find out the truth of that tomorrow.
• Akuebue is worried and asks him to explain himself.
• So the Court Messenger says that their friend "Wintabota" (he pronounces it contemptuously, to show off their ignorance) has commanded them to appear before him tomorrow morning.
• Edogo asks where and he replies that he must appear before him in his offices in Okperi.
• Obika calls the man crazy and Ezeulu says no, he is not crazy, he is just the messenger.
• Then the messenger says that he may have to wait in Okperi for several days, since the white man is important and there are a lot of people who must see him. The messenger then suggests that for a small bribe of good food, he can arrange for Ezeulu to see him more quickly.
• Ezeulu says that is not a problem but the Court Messenger must tell Winterbottom that if he wants to see Ezeulu, he must come there.
• The Court Messenger is astonished.
• Akuebue whispers with the Court Messenger, which irritates Ezeulu. Akuebue asks the Court Messenger to give them some time.
• Ezeulu doesn't participate in the discussion. When the Court Messenger returns, Akuebue tells him that Ezeulu had agreed to send his son Edogo to bring back the message.
• The Court Messenger says he will not take that message.
• Obika says he can leave then.
• Akuebue steps in and says he has never heard that a messenger can refuse the message he is given to carry. He instructs the messenger to tell Winterbottom what Ezeulu says.
• Ezeulu turns away and picks his teeth.

Chapter 13

• As soon as the messenger leaves, Ezeulu sends an urgent message for a meeting at sunset. Elders and men of title heard the beating of the Ikolo and they got ready to go, wondering if it was war but figuring it was more likely a grievance that the deity wanted them to take care of immediately.
• The meeting went late into the night.
• Ezeulu and Akuebue arrived first. Then Ezeulu got up and told the men the reason why he had called the meeting. As he greeted the men, he heard somebody talking – it was Nwaka. So Ezeulu calls him out and Nwaka stops talking. Ezeulu tells them the story of the Court Messenger's visit.
• Nobody gets up to talk for a long time. Instead, they talk among themselves. Finally, Nwaka gets up. He thanks Ezeulu for calling them together, mentioning that he must respect them very much. But he doesn't understand why Ezeulu is struggling with the request from the white man to visit him. Since Ezeulu was the one who became friends with the white man to begin with, he has only himself to blame.
• Others spoke, and most of them agreed with Nwaka, though they were more diplomatic.
• Ezeulu finally says that he wanted to see how they would respond to his words, and now he sees. They all know that Ezeulu is not the kind of man to be afraid of the white man. He already knew what he planned to do before he called them together, but he knew that if he did not ask their opinion, they would question why he didn't ask.
• Ezeulu's half-brother, Okeke Onenyi, a medicine-man, offered to go with him to Okperi. But Ezeulu refused, just like he refused to let Akuebue to go with him.
• When Ezeulu refused, Okeke Onenyi got up to go despite the rain.
• Ezeulu watched him go. They were not enemies, but they were not friends like brothers often are. Ezeulu doesn't think much of medicine men. They used to be great, but these days they were frauds.
• Ezeulu's father was a great medicine-man. His most famous gift was the ability to make himself invisible. Though Okeke Onyeni learned many things from his father, he never learned how to disappear.
• Okeke Onyeni had indicated that Ezeulu didn't like him because he didn't like the fact that their father's powers had been split between them. Ezeulu wanted all the powers, both the medicinal powers and the powers of being the priest of Ulu.
• People who didn't like Ezeulu agreed with him. But people like Akuebue said that Okeke Onyeni did something to Ezeulu, something that a brother shouldn't do. One rumor was that Okeke Onyeni had made his first wife barren after her third child. And Ezeulu's defenders were silenced when they pointed out that Edogo was Okeke Onyeni's best friend.
• Captain Winterbottom had been feeling sick for a few days. He took it in stride, a fact that impressed Clarke, who suggested he go see a doctor.
• Winterbottom refused and said all he needed was a trip to get away from this place. He planned to go to Enugu to finish up the necessary business for the warrant chief in Umuaro. He mentions that he has sent a messenger to Umuaro to bring Ezeulu there so they can discuss the matter.
• Winterbottom is angry when the messenger returns and says that Ezeulu refused to come. He signs an arrest warrant and dispatches two police officers to arrest Ezeulu. He informs Clarke that when they bring Ezeulu back, he should lock him up in the guardroom. Winterbottom won't see him until he returns. By then, Ezeulu should have learned his lesson.
• That very day, however, Winterbottom gets even more ill and grows delirious. He kept telling his steward to heat water in a water bottle and put it on his cold feet. By the time Clarke discovers how sick Winterbottom is and sends him to the hospital, his feet are burned.
• Dr. Mary Savage, the nurse in charge of the hospital, starts sobbing when they bring him in and acts more like a woman in love than a doctor. Everybody notices and rumors of their relationship to spread. They started referring to Winterbottom as her husband.
• Winterbottom is sick for three days and Dr. Savage remains by his bed the entire time. She doesn't even do operations, postponing them all until Friday.
• Winterbottom's steward, John Nwodika, is told to accompany the policeman. But he doesn't want to go, especially when he knows they plan to arrest Ezeulu. So he makes alternative plans and when the policemen arrive, they discover that he is ill. He tells them anybody in Umuaro can tell them where Ezeulu's house is.
• The two men arrived in Umuaro just in time for breakfast. But the people they ask pretend that they don't know any Ezeulu, or they ask, "Which Ezeulu?" They slapped one man they asked and threatened to arrest him; so he showed them where Ezeulu lived.
• The policeman marched inside, where they scared an old woman who refused to answer their questions. A little boy leads them to Ezeulu's compound instead. The old woman tattles on the boy to his mother and, soon after, hears him crying.
• The policemen arrive at Ezeulu's hut. They ask Edogo which one is Ezeulu and Edogo asks, "Which Ezeulu?"
• The corporal speaks to the other policeman, who brings handcuffs out of his pocket. So Akuebue comes forward and pleads not to be angry with Edogo. He lets them know that Ezeulu and his son had set out for Okperi early that morning. The policemen realize that they had met a man and his son because they were the first people they had met going the opposite direction. The corporal asks if they can describe him. Akuebue says his skin is white like the sun and he is tall, and his son is the same.
• The two policeman wonder if they're lying and decides to frighten them, if only to get some kola from them (a bribe). He says that he will take one of them with them –handcuffed – to Okperi. He will be set free if Ezeulu is indeed there.
• Akuebue says that if they go back and find that Ezeulu isn't there, they can arrest all of them. The corporal agrees, but says they can't go and leave with nothing. So Matefi cooks some food for them and they eat and drink palm wine. Akuebue gives them some small "kola"-two live roosters. The corporal thanks him and reminds him that if he is lying, they will return to exact revenge.
• John Nwodika points out that it is more than a coincidence that Winterbottom fell ill on the same day that he sent men to arrest Ezeulu. The servants all begin to speculate that Ezeulu may have used "juju" magic on Winterbottom.
• When Clarke comes back from the hospital, he tells Nwodika that Winterbottom is quite ill, confirming the rules that Ezeulu's magic is strong.
• Clarke goes back to the hospital that evening. The Court Messenger lets Clarke know that Ezeulu has arrived. He sounds frightened, as if he had announced that smallpox had arrived.
• Clark orders him to lock Ezeulu up in the guardroom until the morning.
• The messenger has people sweep the guardroom and put a mat there so it might look like a guestroom. Then he informs Ezeulu and Obika that the white man is sick and can't see them but the other one will see them in the morning. He shows them to the guardroom.
• Nwodika and his wife bring them food. He eats some of it in front of them to show that it isn't poisoned. He urges them to eat, though Ezeulu refuses.
• The messenger returns with a lamp.
• The Corporal, Matthew Nweke (referred to as "Couple" by the servants who can't pronounce his name), returns to find his wife sobbing and a group gathered in their room. He soon learns that Winterbottom is ill. Nwodika comes in and tells them that the illness he had was a warning from Ezeulu. Ezeulu knew about Winterbottom's illness before anyone told him about it.
• At first, Nweke isn't worried because he has strong spiritual protection from a medicine man in his village. But as he hears more, he begins to get worried. He and the other policemen decide to go see a medicine man immediately.
• The medicine man tells them they were right to come. Though Ezeulu's medicine is strong, his is stronger. Then he instructs them to take the two chickens and the money they were given as "kola" and leave them on the highway. Then he gave them medicines to drink and put in their bath water.

Chapter 14

• While he eats the food Nwodika brought, Obika watches Ezeulu.
• Ezeulu goes out to check for the new moon in the night sky panics momentarily when the sky looks unfamiliar. Then he realizes that the sky in Okperi will not look the same as the sky in Umuaro.
• That night he dreams about an assembly of Umuaro elders gathered together. But his grandfather gets up to speak to them and they refuse to listen to him. They decide to drive him away.
• When Ezeulu wakes up, Obika asks him why he was shouting in his sleep, telling somebody that he would see who would drive the other one away.
• Ezeulu realizes that he has just had a vision. He takes out some tobacco so he could think about it. He realizes he feels some relief to be away from the village, on temporary respite from his duties as Chief Priest of Ulu.
• Ezeulu turns back to consider the vision. He realizes that the quarrel he has with the white man is nothing compared to the issues he has with his own people. Umuaro had not been listening to his warnings for years. They kept going too far. He realizes it would be a good thing if the white man detains him for an entire year, so that Ulu can seek some answers from Umuaro.
• Tony Clarke refuses to see Ezeulu the next day in order to teach him his place. He refuses to see him for four days.
• On the second day, he and Wade drive to the hospital to visit Winterbottom and stop to watch an elaborate sacrifice going on by the side of the highway. In addition to the usual stuff, two fully-grown roosters are involved. They are both startled to see an English florin in the sacrifice. Clarke wonders what it's about and Wade takes the florin. He tells Clarke he can't see the King of England, whose face is imprinted on the coin, participate in some African juju.
• Clarke is worried about this act. He liked Wright and Wade, in part because they didn't take everything so seriously. But he realizes that if Winterbottom dies and he takes Winterbottom's place, it will be up to him to defend Africans from thoughtless acts like this.
• Ezeulu tries to send Obika home and tells him to send Ugoye to come and cook his meals. But Nwodika says his wife will cook for him. Ezeulu can't refuse the offer, so tells Obika to go home and send foodstuffs instead.
• Ezeulu isn't sure about Nwodika. He comes from Ezidemili's village, Umunneora; that village is full of people who poke fun of Ezeulu. But he can see that someone who may be your enemy at home is your friend when you are both in a strange place.
• In Ezeulu's compound, the wives and children are anxious. Nobody works. Obika's wife Okuata moves into her mother-in-law's hut so she doesn't feel so lonely. Edogo waits in his father's hut. Everybody who stops asks for news, which makes Edogo angry.
• Obika returns in the middle of the second day and can't resist the drama. He falls to the floor and calls for cold water. Finally Edogo asks him where Ezeulu is and Obika tells them what he knows – that Ezeulu is well, that he is waiting to see the white man, that the son of Nwodika and his wife are taking care of him.
• When Akuebue hears that the wife of a man in Umunneora is cooking food for Ezeulu, he tells Edogo to pack his bags – they're going to Okperi. Though Obika protests that Ezeulu's mind is sound, he is not convinced.
• Anosi agrees that Akuebue should go, but he suggests that Ugoye also go so that they don't offend anyone.
• Akuebue wants to know why they should care if anyone is offended. Ezeulu's life may be at stake.
• Anosi agrees. There is no reason to swallow poison just because you don't want to offend anyone.
• Nwafo especially misses Ezeulu and now he will miss his mother, too. But he's glad Edogo is going. Since Ezeulu left, Edogo had taken the opportunity to take out his anger and jealousy on Ezeulu's favorite.
• He is especially worried about the new moon. If his father is in Okperi, would it wait for Ezeulu's return? He hopes it does.
• At dusk, Nwafo sits where his father usually sits. Then he sees the new moon. He starts to reach for the ogene to beat it, but he is too afraid and he stops.
• Ezeulu is eating when Edogo, Ugoye, and Akuebue arrive. Edogo advises Ezeulu to go home and wait for the white man to get well again. But Ezeulu does not want to make this trip again.
• Akuebue admits to Nwodika that until he saw it, he couldn't believe that a man from Umunneora was looking after Ezeulu. He mentions the war between the two villages at home, and Nwodika says that travelers shouldn't make enemies.
• Akuebue thanks him and says that he is a friend of theirs, no matter what is going on at home. He brings out a razor and kolanut, and Edogo and John Nwodika have soon tied a blood-knot and eaten a kolanut with each other's blood.
• Akuebue asks how Nwodika ended up working for the white man and Nwodika says his chi planed it. He had come to the dances at Okperi and discovered the friend he always stayed with was gone. It turned out his friend was working for the white man, and encouraged Nwodika to do the same. He said that other peoples had recognized the opportunities and were now in good with the white man, whereas the people from Umuaro didn't even realize that life had changed.
• Akuebue realizes why Ezeulu likes Nwodika so much – they think the same. But Ezeulu is hearing Nwodika's thoughts for the first time.
• Nwodika explains that he had hoped that when the white man called Ezeulu, it would be a good thing for his people. He had not realized it would turn out the way it has.
• Akuebue assures him it isn't his fault but Nwodika continues to claim the blame.
• When they are alone, Akuebue continues to express his suspicion about Nwodika to Ezeulu and Ezeulu continues to express his faith in the man.
• Ezeulu asks Akuebue to finish the story he was telling him about his daughter, Udenkwo. Akuebue said that she is just proud and stubborn. Her husband had been told to bring a chicken for sacrifice. When he got home, he pointed at a cock; it turned out to be Udenkwo's. She got upset and said she didn't understand why it was always her chicken that had to be taken, instead of the other wife's chicken. The real reason she was angry, Akuebue says, is that her husband hadn't begged her.
• Ezeulu says that though everyman has his own way of ruling his household, he learned something from his father. There comes a time in every man's life when he must beg his wife for a favor. But this thing should be done in private, and a woman with sense will keep that secret for the sake of her marriage and her husband's pride. So although Ezeulu always knew that his wife's chicken belonged to him, and he could take it when he wanted, he always asked.
• Akuebue admits that Ezeulu's words are wise, but they must be told to his son-in-law. As for his daughter, he doesn't want her thinking she can run back to his compound every time she has a problem.
• On his fourth day in Okperi, Mr. Clarke called for Ezeulu.
• When the interpreter asks Ezeulu if his name is Ezeulu, Ezeulu is angered. But he keeps his calm. Instead, he asks the translator to tell the white man to go and ask his mother and father for their names. The translator explained that the white man didn't mean to insult him.
• Finally, Clarke scolds Ezeulu for being disrespectful when Winterbottom first summoned him.
• Ezeulu says he is still waiting for his message.
• But Clarke gets angry at being interrupted. Then he spoke about the benefits of colonialism. He doesn't like the speech itself, but he feels compelled to make it. The longer he talks, the angrier he gets.
• Finally, he asks Ezeulu if he will be the warrant chief of Umuaro.
• Ezeulu is silent.
• Clarke asks if he will accept the assignment. He asks in such a way that indicates he knows he is bestowing a great honor on Ezeulu and of course, he'll accept.
• But Ezeulu says he will not be anybody's chief except for Ulu.
• Clarke gets angry at Ezeulu's insolence and asks if Ezeulu is crazy. Then he orders them to send him back to prison.

Chapter 15

• Though the servants had been afraid of Ezeulu at first, they grow complacent when Winterbottom doesn't die. When they hear how he refused to be made chief, however, they respect him even more than before.
• Ezeulu still thinks well of Winterbottom. He almost decides that Winterbottom meant well but it was his messengers who fouled things up. Regardless, Winterbottom is ultimately responsible for the actions of his messengers.
• Still, he feels that he is now even with the white man. His real struggle was with his own people.
• In Umuaro, people couldn't believe that Ezeulu had refused the offer to be Warrant Chief. They thought he had been planning to get that position all his life. But Akuebue and others make sure that everybody, far and wide, knows the truth.
• Nwaka suggested that this is proof that Ezeulu was crazy.
• But more and more people in Umuaro begin to believe that Ezeulu had been used badly. People begin to travel to Okperi to visit him.
• Two weeks later, Tony Clarke is allowed to see Captain Winterbottom for five minutes. Dr. Savage actually timed the meeting.
• Winterbottom tells Clarke to leave Ezeulu in prison until he agrees to cooperate. Clarke had tired to make one more attempt to change Ezeulu's mind, and failed. So he didn't know whether to let him go – which could ruin the Administration's reputation –or keep him. Clarke didn't feel quite right about keeping Ezeulu in prison. After all, what did he write down officially as Ezeulu's offense? That he refused to be a chief?
• But now Winterbottom had given him the answer.
• After his meeting with Clarke, Winterbottom is too ill for anybody to see him for two weeks. The servants think he's gone mad or that he's paralyzed. Each rumor only adds to Ezeulu's reputation. And everybody sympathized, knowing that he was unjustly imprisoned.
• Ezeulu had now been in prison for 32 days. Then suddenly he is told he can go home.
• Ezeulu laughs and asks the messengers if the white man is tired. They smile at him and agree.
• Ezeulu asks if they know what his enemies call him. John Nwodika arrives at that moment, and Ezeulu says that Nwodika will confirm this: Ezeulu's enemies say he is a friend of the white man, that he brought the white man to Umuaro.
• Nwodika agrees that it is true.
• Ezeulu continues, claiming that they say he betrayed them to the white man. Then he wonders why he is telling this story to strangers.
• But Nwodika says that Ezeulu should stop worrying about that. Nobody at home could wrestle with the white man as he has done and come out on top.
• Clarke had decided on his own to release Ezeulu. Since had had failed to figure out a satisfactory explanation for the man's imprisonment, he decided to take matters into his own hands after he received authorization from the Resident to make daily decisions. He had received a report from the Secretary for Native Affairs on Indirect Rule in Eastern Nigeria, who recommended suspending the appointment of warrant chiefs for new areas.
• The Warrant Chief for Okperi was specifically mentioned and the letter asked Winterbottom to make decisions tactfully so that the Administration would seem decisive and firm in the eyes of "the natives."
• Winterbottom didn't seem all that interested when he heard what Clarke had decided, and what the Lieutenant Governor had said. He just said, "S*** on the Lieutenant Governor" (15.40).

Chapter 16

• Ezeulu and Nwodika travel home together. Ezeulu is dressed like a man of his position – his yellow loincloth, and a white toga over it. He carries his goatskin bag and walking-staff. On his head, he wears a red ozo cap with an eagle feather. Nwodika is dressed like a European, wearing a brown shirt over trousers.
• The rain begins to fall when they are halfway home. They continue on because it was dangerous to stop under a tree.
• Ezeulu enjoys the rain in a sick sort of way. It's one more example of his suffering. And the more he suffers, the sweeter will be his revenge.
• He tells Nwodika he's sorry that it's raining since he was kind enough to travel with Ezeulu. Nwodika says he is only worried about Ezeulu, who responds that this is nothing compared to what he has just experienced.
• Ezeulu's family pampers him when he finally arrives. The first thing he does when he feels back to himself is to send Nwafo to fetch Akuebue.
• When Akuebue arrives, there are already several people there. Everybody who hears that Ezeulu is home stops to welcome him back. He says little, realizing that he must reach the limit of his suffering before he can seek revenge. So no matter how hard they try to get him to talk and participate in the conversation, he remains silent.
• Neighbors gloat about Ezeulu's besting of the white man. Akuebue, who is speaking for Ezeulu, explains that the white man believed he was helping Ezeulu, but the people laugh at the white man's ignorance for thinking that.
• Ezeulu's neighbor Anosi says that you never trust a man from Umunneora, referring to Nwodika, but Akuebue says that Nwodika is different because he has traveled.
• Anosi continues to badmouth Umunneora, until Ifeme gets up to leave and apologizes to Ezeulu that he never visited him in Okperi. He meant to go, he says, but every day his feet had different ideas. Anosi echoes him, claiming the same thing.
• Ezeulu ignores them and pays attention to his grandson Amechi, who starts to cry because he can't open Ezeulu's clenched fist. Ezeulu calls Nwafo to take Amechi to his mother.
• Nwafo bends down so Amechi can climb on his back. The boy stops crying and starts hitting him with his fists instead. Everybody laughs. So Ezeulu tells Nwafo to go away and calls Obiageli to take him instead. And he crawls right on Obiageli's back. She stands up with difficulty and walks away, singing to the child.
• While he had been imprisoned in Okperi, it had been easy for Ezeulu to see all of Umuaro as his enemy. But it's not so easy now that he is back in his home.
• On the second day, 57 men come to visit him, and many more women. He begins to think that maybe he should be reconciled with his people.
• On the third day, Ogbuefi Ofoka visits him. Ofoka is a well-respected man in Umuaro, but rarely visits Ezeulu. Ofoka tells him that all of Umuaro breathed a sigh of relief when Ezeulu returned. And he says that he has the right to say this because he knows how angry Ezeulu was when he went away. And he tells Ezeulu that he is one of the ones who had backed Nwaka of Umunneora when he told Ezeulu to go and talk to the white man.
• Ezeulu is silent and Ofoka speaks again. He said that they knew what Nwaka was up to and they were not deceived, but they agreed with him when he said that Ezeulu should go speak with the white man because they were confused.
• Five years ago, Ezeulu told them not to defy the white man. It turned out he was right. But now Ezeulu was telling them to defy that same white man. So what should they have done?
• Even though Nwaka was their enemy, he told the truth. He told Ezeulu to go and talk to the white man because the white man knows him. And none of the men in Umuaro could have done what Ezeulu done in Okperi.
• Ezeulu realizes that Ofoka has summarized what he has been thinking since his return. If Akuebue had spoken the same words, they might not have meant as much to him. But because Ofoka was neither a friend nor an enemy, they had considerable power.
• He realizes that it is his duty to protect the people from danger, no matter how scared he is.
• Ezeulu calls Oduche. He reminds Oduche how important it is to know what the white man knows. It gives you power. He tells him not to listen to what other people say – he would not lie to his own son. While he was in Okperi, he saw a white man who could write with his left hand. Though he wasn't a wise man, he had power. Oduche must know the white man's knowledge so well that he can write with his left hand.
• Life goes back to normal. Nwafo and Obiageli beg their mother for a story. Ugoye chides them because there are dirty dishes around, so they set to work washing. Though Ezeulu had eaten the entire dinner Ugoye fixed for him, she wasn't happy. Matefi is jealous and that makes Ugoye's life difficult.
• Nwafo and Obiageli sit now at their mother's feet and she begins to tell them the story about Eneke Ntulukpa.
• A story within the story begins.
• There once was a man with two wives. The senior wife had a lot of children but the junior wife had only one son. The senior wife was jealous and evil. The man and his family went to work on the farm, which bordered the land of spirits.
• The story within the story ends. Oduche is working on his reading skills, while Ezeulu is again thinking about reconciliation. He realizes that the fight with his people won't begin until harvest time. So why should he be in a hurry to forgive and forget?
• Suddenly, he hears Ulu speaking. Ulu asks him why he thinks this is his, Ezeulu's, fight? Does he want to save his friends? Is that what he wants? The deity laughs, mocking his chief priest. Then he continues, warning Ezeulu not to stand between him and the object of his wrath or he might get it himself. Let him settle his fight with Idemili, he says; one of them will surely die in this fight.
• Ezeulu realizes that he can stop over-thinking the problem now. It's Ulu's fight. He was just a pawn in the fight between these gods.
• And the white man and his religion? Well, the Europeans had once taken sides with Ezeulu and, by exiling him, had again taken sides with Ezeulu. So perhaps the white man had been an ally from the beginning and Ulu had known that.
• If the white man had been an ally, it would provide an explanation for Ezeulu's decision to send Oduche to learn the religion of the white man. He may not have understood that at the time, but since he was only half man, half spirit, he sometimes did things because of this spirit side.

Chapter 17

• Eventually, all the buzz about Ezeulu's absence and return dies down and life in Umuaro goes back to normal.
• Obika's wife, Okuata, becomes pregnant. Ugoye and Matefi continue their jealous bickering.
• Oduche continues learning the ways of the white man, while Edogo carves and, now that Okuata is pregnant and he can no longer make love to her. Obika starts drinking palm wine again.
• Ezeulu appears to have forgotten all his anger.
• In Ezeulu's village, Umuachala, there is a minor festival called the New Yam feast.
• This year, everybody was excited because Obika's age group would present a new Mask. All the members of his age group had been careful in the days leading up to the feast, since they could be targets by jealous neighbors.
• Because they needed mystique surrounding the new Mask, they decided they would find a man outside of their village to play the new role, so that nobody could guess who played the Mask. Edogo had carved the mask and it belonged to Obika's age group.
• Obika is sharpening his machete when he sees his pregnant wife. He teases her, calling her "old woman." She says he is the one who did this to her.
• They soon hear the sounds of people preparing for the feast in the village. Young men beat the ogene and run up and down the streets, searching for the new Mask. As the afternoon waned, people left their homes and joined the villagers in the ilo, a plaza in the middle of the village, where they would celebrate the feast.
• Ezeulu and Akuebue arrive early, but there are already crowds there. It seems like everybody is there. They hear a commotion and people begin to point at a wicked medicine man named Otakekpeli who is sitting in a corner of the ilo.
• Many people believed he had been responsible for the death of other people through his medicine.
• Everybody could tell that he hadn't come just to watch the new Mask. It was the way he sat that made everybody comment. The way he sat, with his legs folded under him like a lame man, was like a boar when it knew the leopard was near. But though nobody was glad he was there, they were all too frightened to do anything about it.
• As the Mask approached, everybody ran away. They came back when they realized the Mask hadn't come after all. When the announcers of the Mask arrive, they all ran away again but the Mask was taking its sweet time to arrive.
• When Obika arrived, everybody shouted and cheered because he was the most handsome man in the village, perhaps in all of Umuaro. But as soon as Obika saw Otakekpeli, he ran towards him, then shout at him to go home. Otakekepeli smiled but didn't move.
• Ezeulu worries. Why would Obika be the one to challenge an evil medicine man?
• Obika charges at Otakekpeli and throws him over the bush. Everybody cheers. Though Otakekpeli shakes his finger at Obika, Obika has already turned away.
• Okuata is relieved that it turned out okay.
• The Mask arrives, singing badly. One of the attendants throws his machete in the air and doesn't catch it. The crowd boos while the Mask greets the elders.
• Edogo watches from the crowd to see his artistry. He hadn't been entirely pleased with the results of the Mask, but the owners were thrilled.
• Now, watching the Mask in action, he realizes that it's just fine. He wanders through the crowd, hoping to overhear someone and link his name with the greatest carver in Umuaro, Agaba of Umuago, but he is disappointed, even though people compliment the mask.
• When the rams are slaughtered, the Mask sits down in the seat of honor. Obika throws his machete in the air and lets it revolve in the air, then catches it perfectly. He severs the first ram's head. The crowd cheers. They bring the second ram. Obikwelu catches his machete mid-air perfectly, but when he tries to sever the ram's head, he fails. The crowd boos. He tries again and succeeds but the crowd's laughter drowns out the few cheers.

Chapter 18

• Ezeulu finally realizes that he will get his revenge when Umuaro is most vulnerable – the Feast of the New Yam.
• The feast occurs at the end of the old year and the beginning of the new – harvest time. A man cannot harvest any of his new yams before the feast. At the feast, every man in the village took a large yam to Ulu's shrine and placed it there. They were able to count and find out how many men were in each village each year. If they had increased in number, they were grateful. If there was a decrease, they sought answers from diviners.
• It was also the only day in the year that the minor deities in each of the six villages received tribute from people they had helped the preceding year.
• It was the only festival where gods and men celebrated together.
• Ezeulu's assistants try to visit him and find that he has gone to Akuebue's house. They waited until he returned. Then they told him the reason for their visit.
• One of them, Nwosisi, speaks up and says that it has been four days since the new moon has come and Ezeulu has yet to call the feast.
• Another assistant pipes up and says that there have actually been twelve new moons since the last New Yam feast.
• Ezeulu says they have done a good job to come and ask questions. But he turns to the man who said it has been twelve moons, Obiesili, and asks when he was the one who figured out the time of the new moon for Umuaro.
• Chukwulobe says they thought that Ezeulu has lost count.
• At that, Ezeulu gets angry.
• He says they are the ones who have lost count. He has never needed to be reminded of his duties as priest.
• But Ezeulu doesn't remain mad when they leave. In fact, he seems pretty happy.
• Soon, he hears Nwafo and Obiageli talking outside his hut. He listens carefully. When Nwafo comes inside his hut, he questions him, demanding to know what he had told Obiageli.
• Nwafo, a bit afraid, admits that he was telling her how to scare away a python. They were saying, "Run, python! There's a Christian here!" (18.31). Even Ezeulu has to laugh. He wants to know if it ran away and Nwafo admits that it did.
• Ezeulu's refusal to call the New Yam feast is the latest news in Umuaro. People are shocked. This had never happened before. If Ezeulu doesn't call the feast, they can't harvest, and if they can't harvest, they will starve.
• Ten of Umuaro's most respected men ("of high title" 18.37) come to see him. Nwaka is among the group, which shows how desperate they were to seek Ezeulu's forgiveness.
• The men approach the topic gingerly, saying that they had heard there was a disagreement over the New Yam festival. Fear is spreading in Umuaro.
• Ezeulu welcomes them and says that there is no disagreement. His assistants had come to him and said it was time to announce the festival, but he told them he didn't need to be reminded when to announce it.
• These men know the custom, he says. He can't call the feast until he has only one yam left, but he has three yams.
• Onenyi Nnanyelugo speaks for all of them. He says that this is indeed the custom, and they can't change it. The white man caused this problem by keeping Ezeulu away for so long. But can they sit still and watch their wives and children go hungry?
• Ulu doesn't want to destroy Umuaro. So, he begs Ezeulu, please find a way around this.
• Ezeulu is steadfast. He can't do other than what is the custom. If he eats the yams before the time, he is "eating death" (18.62).
• Anichebe Udeozo says that they are living in new times. This has never happened before because there was never a white man before. He pleads on behalf of Umuaro, asking Ezeulu eat the yams. Antichebe adds that if Ezeulu doesn't eat the yams, it will be the fault of the entire village.
• Ezeulu says that is impossible. The village can't take the punishment. As chief priest, the punishment will be his alone. And he also has family who will suffer.
• They ask whether Ulu has said he is annoyed.
• Ezeulu admits that Ulu said two new moons came and went, but there was nobody to break kolanut with him; Umuaro was silent.
• The men say they have heard him and now they are prepared to do what is necessary to receive his forgiveness.
• Ezeulu says he'll go back and ask Ulu, but the price may be steep.
• Ofoka asks him whose side he's on.
• But the other men quiet him and say they will wait until they hear from Ezeulu. Nnanyelugo directs the conversation towards the topic of change; they all discuss traditions that have died or altered.
• Ezeulu goes to Ulu's shrine in the morning. He hears the church bells ring as he performs the rituals needed. It sounds very near.
• Ezeulu announces that he has heard nothing from Ulu and Umuaro must wait for two more months. The people begin to panic.
• People had fought in Umuaro before. But none had been quite so severe as this one. Everybody took sides and everybody saw Ezeulu as Public Enemy #1. His family was blamed, too. Matefi, for example, finds that some women at the market hike the prices of items for sale to unreasonable heights.
• Matefi calls Obika and asks him to talk to Ezeulu. Obika asks what she expects him to say. Matefi is sad and says she knew he wouldn't listen to her. Obika says he can't listen to her when she takes sides against the family.
• Ofoka says he always believed Ezeulu was a sane man but now he thinks revenge is more important to Ezeulu than anything else.
• Akuebue admits he's had similar thoughts, but ultimately, he thinks Ezeulu would only give the true message of Ulu.
• Ofoka says he wasn't saying Ezeulu would lie. But he points out that Ezeulu refuses to let the village take the consequences for eating the yams. It is obvious he's trying to punish Umuaro.
• Akuebue defends Ezeulu, saying his grievance can't be that strong.
• Ofoka says that a priest like Ezeulu will ruin his own deity.
• Akuebue counters that perhaps a deity like Ulu will ruin his own priest.
• But John Goodcountry, the catechist at St. Mark's CMS Church, sees this as an absolutely wonderful thing. His class had doubled in size.
• From his arrival, Goodcountry had been hard-nosed about certain customs. He had gone nose-to-nose with Moses Unachukwu in the affair over the python.
• Unachukwu had sent the bishop a threatening letter about the need for the Christians in Umuaro to leave the python alone. The bishop had written Goodcountry to tell him to back off. This confirmed people's belief that they needed people like Moses Unachukwu, who was educated in the ways of the white man. So more people sent their children to school. Goodcountry assumed that the growth was due to his proselytizing.
• The New Yam harvest crisis provided Goodcountry another opportunity. He decided that the church could have a harvest service that would create funds that would be used to build a new church. So he tells his members that if they sacrifice yams to God, then they could harvest their crops and ignore Ulu.
• One member asks if the heathens can bring their one yam. Goodcountry says they can bring as many yams as they want. The member says that the custom is to bring Ulu only one yam. Moses Unachukwu steps in and says that if Ulu, a false god, only takes one yam, then the true God surely deserves more than one.
• So people learn that if they want to harvest their food, they can bring their offering to the Christian God and they will be protected from Ulu's wrath.
• Though in any other time period, the people might have laughed, they do not laugh now.

Chapter 19

• Amalu died a few months ago. In a time of famine, this is bad because there is nothing for the funeral feast. So Amalu had called his son Aneto and told him to wait until there were yams but not to wait for more than four months.
• Aneto announced the time of the funeral, but now that there is no New Yam Festival, he doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to give his father a poor man's burial. But neither does he want to postpone it. He goes to the oracle and asks if he should postpone the funeral. Through the oracle, Amalu says no.
• Now Aneto doesn't know what to do. He calls his relatives together and they discuss the problem. They blame Ezeulu. Like the rest of Umuaro, they don't realize that Ezeulu's family is also truly suffering.
• Ezeulu feels lonely and burdened. He had always been used to Umuaro being behind him and now it isn't. He had never known the people to let their support for him die.
• Because nobody comes to see how much of a burden he carries, they think he's gloating. What he's most worried about is the fact that this isn't a punishment, it's a situation that will remain forever.
• Akuebue is the only friend Ezeulu has left. He speaks his troubles to Ezeulu today. He says the problem is that when two brothers fight, it is a stranger who benefits.
• Ezeulu calls Oduche to him when Akuebue leaves. He asks if it's true that the Christians are offering the people a way out of the predicament that Ulu has put them in.
• Oduche says it's true. Ezeulu asks why he hasn't brought him this news before? Oduche does not answer. Finally, Ezeulu reminds Oduche that he sent him to church to be his eyes and ears. He didn't know that he would send somebody who would betray him.
• Finally, Ezeulu eats the twelfth yam. The next morning, he sends word to his assistants to announce that the New Yam feast will take place in 28 days. All day, the drums beat for Amalu's funeral.
• Ezeulu dreams that night – not ordinary dreams, but the kind of dreams that mean something.
• In the dream, it is morning. He is surprised and slightly annoyed that the mourners are passing behind his compound, creating a new path. He decides to confront them.
• Ezeulu goes to call his family to join him but discovers that Matefi's hut is empty. Then he sees Ugoye's hut is also empty.
• In fact, nobody is there. His entire compound is empty. He hears the mourners singing about a python. Then he hears a single voice singing a mournful song about desolation, about changing customs. The singer breaks into laughter and Ezeulu wakes up suddenly, frightened.
• Ezeulu is glad it's a dream but he is reminded that the voice of the python singing had suddenly sounded like his mother's voice, who had gone crazy. He had spent his childhood fearful of the new moon, when his mother's craziness seized her.
• Ogbazulobodo, the night spirit, passes at that moment, followed by the next day on its heels. Ezeulu wonders why it hadn't saluted him.
• He tries to sleep but instead his sleep is interrupted by Amalu's family firing the cannon in his honor. Finally, he gets up and gets the fire in his hut going again.
• Obika is the best carrier of Ogbazulobodo, the night spirit. So Aneto, Amalu's son, asks him to carry it for them. Obika tries to get out of it, but eventually accepts. To himself, Obika thinks that if he said no, everybody will talk and say it is more evidence that Ezeulu's family is determined to destroy Amalu's proper burial.
• Okuata chides him when he tells her he's going out. She reminds him that he has a fever.
• But Obika persists and leaves.
• Obika chats with others while they wait until the right moment. The ekwe beats the drum and finally beats the second and final warning. With Ozumba's help, Obika dresses in the skirt, then took the iron staff. He accepts the ike-agwu-ani necklace from Ozumba, who chants, "The speed of the deer is seen on the hill." (19.54) Then Obika is Ogbazulobodo and he spins around, putting the staff in the ground and pulling it out. Then he begins to run in the direction of the next day, Nkwo.
• The story breaks into a monologue, though it's not clear who is speaking. The words are nonsensical.
• The story returns to the narrative. Obika is blind and only stops when he senses light. The nonsensical monologue returns.
• Obika begins to feel extremely ill, like he is burning up. He feels split in two – the person who is running and then the sick person.
• The nonsensical narrative returns.
• The men are talking, waiting to sing the ayaka chorus when Ogbazulobodo returns. Ogbazulobodo falls to the floor. Ozumba calls Obika's name but Obika doesn't answer. A second time. They pour water on him, but he is still.
• Ezeulu is in his hut. Morning hasn't yet arrived. He could hear people coming and he prepares himself for an attack.
• He calls out, "Who is it?"
• Ozumba tells him it is he. They have come because there is an abomination.
• Ezeulu stokes the fire and invites them in. That's when he sees Obika's body. He takes his machete and asks who did this. Ozumba tries to explain but Ezeulu falls to the floor, weeping over his son and the abandonment of his god.
• By the time morning arrives, they have already arranged to announce Obika's death. Ezeulu tries to help the compound prepare for the arrival of people but his family won't let him.
• Umuaro is shocked by Obika's death. Ezeulu acts as though he has died himself. People expected Ezidemili to be triumphant, but he is not. He does, however, say that this will teach Ezeulu to dare his god another time.
• But Ezeulu is done. Why had his god treated him like this? What had he done? Hadn't he obeyed Ulu?
• He cracks up over it and lives his last days as the "demented high priest" (19.86).
• Winterbottom gets better and marries the doctor. He never hears of Ezeulu again.
• For Umuaro, the problem is obvious. Ulu had taken sides with them against Ezeulu, his priest. No man ever wins against the entire clan.
• If true, it was a bad time for Ulu to decide to do that. By destroying Ezeulu, he has destroyed himself. A few days later, the Christian harvest is full of people. Men sent their sons to the church with yams. And after that, all those yams are harvested with the name of the sons.