one In these nine villages, and even outside of these nine villages, Okonkwo is well known.His reputation is based on his own real ability.When he was a lad of eighteen, he brought honor to his own village by defeating Amarinz the Cat.Amarinz was a great wrestler, and for seven years, from Umm Ofia to Spino, Amarinz the Cat was never beaten.Because his back never touched the ground, he was called a cat.It was such a man who was defeated by Okonkwo in a battle.The old men said with one voice that the battle was the fiercest since the founders of their little town had fought for seven days and seven nights with the monsters in the wilderness.

The drums were beating, the flutes were humming, and the audience held their breath.Amarinz was a man of many tricks, and Okonkwo was as slippery as a fish in water.The tendons on their arms, backs, and thighs emerged and their muscles protruded, and one could almost hear them tense to burst.In the end, Okonkwo defeated the cat. This was many years ago, perhaps twenty or more years, during which time Okonkwo's reputation had grown like wildfire in the jungle to a dry wind.He was tall and strong, with thick eyebrows and a broad nose giving him a serious face.He breathed heavily, and it is said that when he slept, his wife and children could hear him breathing outside their hut.When he walked, his heels barely touched the ground, as if there were springs under his feet, as if he was going to throw someone down.In fact, he often throws people down like this.He has a stutter, and whenever he loses his temper and can't get the words out in time, he uses his fists.He has no patience for men who are not good enough.He has no patience with his father.

His father's name was Unoka, and it had been ten years since his death.He has been lazy all his life, can't save money in his hands, and never knows how to plan for tomorrow.If money came into his hands, which was rare, he would immediately buy a few spoonfuls of palm wine, and go from door to door, talking and laughing.He used to say that whenever he saw a dead man's mouth he thought to himself that a man would be foolish not to eat his share while he was alive.Unoka was, of course, deeply in debt, and he owed each of his neighbors money from a few onyx shells to huge sums. He was tall, but thin, and a little stooped.Except when he was drinking or playing the flute, he always looked sad and haggard.He played the flute very well, and his happiest time was two or three months after harvest every year, when the musicians in the village took down their instruments from the hearth.Unoka often played musical instruments with them, and his face was shining with happiness and tranquility.Sometimes, other villages also invited Unoka's band and masquerade to stay with them and teach them music.With such a master, Unoka's party would sometimes stop for three or four markets, playing music, eating and drinking.Unoka loves this life of good food and wine and warm friendship, and he also loves this time of year; the rainy season is over, and the sun rises every morning, exuding dazzling beauty.And because the cold and dry wind is blowing from the north, it is not too hot.In some years, when the dry wind blows hard and there is a thick fog in the air, women and children gather around the fire to keep warm.Unoka loved it all, and he loved the first eagles that came back with the dry season, and the children who sang to them.He thought of his childhood, and how he had wandered about, looking for eagles that soared free in the blue sky; back home.

This was many years ago, when he was young.When Unoka came of age, he accomplished nothing.He is very poor, and his wife and children barely have a bowl of food to eat.Because he was an idler, people always laughed at him; because he never paid his debts, people swore never to lend him money again.But Unoka often borrowed money, so he was deeply in debt. One day, a neighbor named Okoyye came to see him.It happened that Unoka was leaning on a mud puddle in his hut, playing his flute.He immediately got up and shook hands with Okoyye, so Okoyye spread the sheepskin under his arm and sat down.Unoka walked into an inner room, then turned back, holding a small log plate containing a kola nut. , has a refreshing effect. ], a little pepper and a white lime.

I have Cora, he said, sitting down and passing the plate to the guests. Thank you.Whoever brought Cora also brought immortality.But I think it's up to you to cut it open.Okwaye replied and handed the plate back. No, it's for you, indeed, and it was a long time before Unoka accepted the honor.When he was splitting the kola fruit, Okovaye picked up the piece of lime, drew a few lines on the ground, and painted his big toe white. While cutting the kola fruit, Unoka prayed to his ancestors, asking them to grant them longevity and health, and protect them from enemies.After eating the kola fruit, they talked about many things, about the rain that drowned the cassava, about the next grand ceremony for ancestor worship, and about the imminent confrontation with Embaino Village.When it comes to war, Unoka frowns.He is really a coward, and he can't see the tragedy of bloodshed.So he changed the subject, talked about music, and his face brightened again.He seemed to hear Aigui, Udu, and Aurana in his heart. [Note: Aigui is a wooden drum; 】The touching and intricate rhythm, he also seems to hear the sound of his own flute interspersed with it, embellishing various instruments with a weeping and elegant tone.The whole effect is cheerful and lively, but when his flute fluctuates up and down, intermittently, if one listens to his flute alone, one will feel the melancholy and sadness contained in it.

Okovaye was also a musician.He played Aurana.But he didn't accomplish anything like Unoka.He has a large barn full of cassava and three wives.Now he is about to take the title of Idmiri, which is the third-class title in this place.The ceremony is expensive and he is trying to get all his money back.In fact, that's why he came to see Unoka.He cleared his throat and said: Thank you for the kola fruit.You've probably heard that I'm getting a new title soon, right? Okovaye only spoke up to this point, and the next few sentences were said in some idioms and aphorisms.Among the Igbo people, the skill of conversation is highly valued, and idioms and maxims are like palm oil, which can be used to digest the words spoken.Okoyye was very good at talking, and he talked for a long time; first he talked around the topic, and finally pointed out the topic.To put it simply, Unoka had loaned him two hundred agate shells more than two years ago, and he had come to ask him to repay the debt.After Unoka understood what his friend had come for, he immediately burst out laughing.He laughed for a long time, as loudly as Orenay, until tears came to his eyes.The guest was taken aback and sat silently.At last Unoka answered him with a smile.

Look at the wall over there, he pointed to the shiny earth wall with red clay on the opposite side and said, you see those white and gray lines, right?Okovaye saw several sets of short vertical lines, drawn with lime.There are five groups in total, and the smallest group has ten lines.Unoka knew how to make an impression, so he paused, took a sniff of snuff, sneezed loudly, and went on: Every set of lines there represents a debt I owe someone , each line represents one hundred agate shells.You see, I owed that man a thousand onyx shells, and he didn't wake me up in the morning for the debt.I'll pay you back, but not today.Our elders said that the sun first shines on those who stand before those who kneel below them.First I have to pay off my big debt.He sniffed the snuff again, as if that was paying his great debt.Okovaye had no choice but to roll up the sheepskin and leave.

When Unoka died, he had no titles, only a heavy debt.Was it any wonder that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him?Happily, a man is judged by his own worth, not by his father's.Clearly, Okonkwo was worthy of great things.He is still young, but he is already known as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages.He was a well-to-do farmer with two barns full of cassava and just married a third wife.What is especially rare is that he has won two titles and has shown incomparable bravery in two inter-clan battles.So, although Okonkwo is still very young, he is already one of the greatest figures of our time.Among his people, age is respected, but career is even more respected.As the elders said, a child can eat with the emperor as long as he washes his hands.Okonkwo washed his hands clean so he could eat with the emperor and elders.So when the people of the neighboring villages gave a child to Umm Ofia as a sacrifice to avoid war and bloodshed, he was also in charge of the doomed child.The name of the unfortunate child was Ikemefna.