Chapter 5 five

The celebration of new cassava is fast approaching, and Umm Ofiya is in a festive mood.This is the day of giving thanks to the Mother Earth, Anisha, the source of all fertility.Ani is more important in people's life than any other god.She is the supreme arbiter of morality and behaviour.And more importantly, she also has close contacts with the ancestors of the clan who have been buried in the soil. Celebrations of new cassava are held every year before the harvest begins to honor the Earth Mother and the spirits of the clan's ancestors.New cassava must first be offered to these deities before people can start eating it.Men, women and children alike look forward to the New Cassava Celebration as it marks the start of the New Year in the season of abundance.On the eve of this festival, those who still have cassava for the coming year try to get rid of it.At the beginning of the new year, you must eat delicious new cassava, and you can’t eat the shriveled and glutinous cassava from the previous year. All cooking pots, ladles and wooden basins must be cleaned, especially the cassava for pounding cassava. .At the celebration, tapioca mush and cabbage soup are the main meals.There is a lot of these foods, no matter how desperately the family eats, and no matter how many relatives and friends they invite from neighboring villages, at night, there will always be a lot of food left.People love to tell the story of a rich man who piled his batter so high in front of his guests that the person sitting on the opposite side couldn't see what was happening on the opposite side, and a guest didn't realize until late at night that the person sitting opposite him was late. The guest is his father-in-law.So the two people shook hands and congratulated on the remaining food.

The New Cassava Celebration was such a joyful day in Umm Ofiya.According to the custom, anyone who has a hard arm, as the Igbo people say [Note: Refers to rich people. ] should invite large numbers of guests to their homes from all directions.Okonkwo also invited the relatives of his wives as usual; since he now had three wives, his combined guests were quite a crowd. But Okonkwo was not as enthusiastic about the banquet as many people were.He is a good eater and a good drinker, and he can drink a gourd or two of palm wine from a big gourd.However, from waiting for the banquet to start and to the end of the banquet, he always felt uncomfortable when he had to sit for several days in a row.He was much happier working in the fields.

Only three days until the New Cassava Festival.Okonkwo's wives painted the walls and huts brightly with red clay, and painted many white, yellow and dark green patterns on them.Then they began to paint themselves with red wood powder, and painted some beautiful black patterns on the belly and back.The children were all dressed up, too, and especially their hair was shaved in a very beautiful way.The three women chatted animatedly about which relatives had been invited, and the children beamed with joy, thinking that the guests from mother's hometown would be very affectionate to them.Ikemefna was equally excited.He seemed to feel that the celebration of the new cassava here would be more solemn than that in his own village. In his impression, the village of his hometown had become more and more distant and blurred.

At this time, a storm broke out.Okonkwo, who had been suppressing his anger and wandering aimlessly around the yard, suddenly found a reason. Who killed this banana tree?he asks. The courtyard immediately fell silent. Who killed this banana tree?Are you all deaf and dumb? In fact, the tree is alive and well.Okonkwo's second wife just plucked a few leaves to wrap food.She said so.Without further ado, Okonkwo beat her hard enough that she and her only daughter wept.The other two wives did not dare to come forward to stop them, so they had to hide aside, begging stammeringly: Enough, Okonkwo.

When Okonkwo had had enough of venting in this way, he decided to go hunting outside.He has an old rusty gun, made by a wise blacksmith who came to Umm Ofia long ago.However, although Okonkwo was a great man and his prowess was recognized, he was not a good hunter.He never killed a mouse with this gun.So when he told Ikemefna to get the gun, the wife who had just been beaten muttered something about a gun that wouldn't fire.Unfortunately, this sentence was overheard by Okonkwo.He ran into the house like a madman, grabbed the loaded gun and ran out, aiming it at the woman who had just climbed up the low wall of the barn.As soon as the trigger was moved, there was a loud noise, followed by women and children crying together.He dropped his gun and jumped into the barn.The woman lay there shaking, but fortunately unhurt.Okonkwo heaved a long sigh and walked away with his gun.

Despite this incident, the new cassava celebrations are still going on at Okonkwo's house with great excitement.Early in the morning he offered new cassava and palm wine to his ancestors, asking them to bless him, his children and their mothers in the new year. As the day wore on, his relatives arrived from the three neighboring villages, each group bringing a jug of palm wine.They ate and drank until late into the night, before Okonkwo's relatives set off home. On the second day of the new year, Okonkwo's village and neighboring villages hold a grand wrestling match.It's hard to say whether people prefer the feast and camaraderie of day one or the wrestling match of day two.But there is a woman who has a definite answer to this in her heart.This woman was the second wife Ekwefi who was almost killed by Okonkwo.In all seasons of the year, no festival can match the joy a wrestling match can give her.Years ago, when she was the village beauty, Okonkwo had won her heart by defeating the cat in the greatest match in living memory.He was poor then and couldn't afford the bride, so she didn't marry him.A few years later, she ran away from her husband's house and lived with Okonkwo.This was many years ago.Now, Ekawifi is forty-five years old, and she has suffered a lot in her life.But her interest in wrestling is still as strong as it was thirty years ago.

On the second day of the New Cassava Celebration, before noon, Ekwifi and her only daughter, Ekima, sat by the fire, waiting for the pot of water to boil.In the mortar was a chicken that Ekwifi had just slaughtered.As soon as the water boiled, she deftly lifted the kettle from the fire and poured the boiling water over the chicken.She put the empty jug on a round cushion in the corner of the room and looked at her palms blackened by the smoke.Ekinma often wondered how her mother could lift a pot from the fire with her bare hands. Ekwifi, she said, is it true that when people grow up, the fire doesn't burn them?Ekinma was different from the other children in that she was always called by her mother's name.

Yes, Ekawifi didn't bother to argue with her.Her daughter is only ten years old, but her wisdom exceeds her years. But Nwoye's mother threw a pot of hot soup on the floor one day and broke it. Ekwafi turned the hen over in the mortar and began plucking the feathers. Ekwefi, said Ekinma, also came to help her mother pluck the chickens, and my eyelids were itching. That means you are going to cry.said her mother. No, said Ekinma, it was the eyelid, the upper eyelid. That means you're about to see something. What are you about to see?she asked. how could I know?Ekwafi wanted her daughter to answer for herself.

Ah, said Ekinma at last, I know what it is. It's a wrestling match. The hen's feathers were finally plucked.Ekawifi tried to peel off the chicken's beak, but the beak was too hard.She turned around on the low stool and put the chicken beaks on the fire for a while.Pull it again, and the beak will fall off. Ekavifi.A voice came from another hut.This is Nwoye's mother, Okonkwo's first wife. Are you calling me?Ekawifi answered loudly.People always answer the shouts outside in this way, and they never answer yes, because they are afraid that maybe it is an evil spirit calling.

Tell Ekinma to bring me a light, will you?Her own children went to the creek with Ikemefna. Ekwifi put a few pieces of burning coal in a fragment of a broken pot and handed it to Ekinma to carry across the cleared yard to Nwoye's mother. Thank you Enma.Nwoye's mother said.She is peeling new cassava, with greens and beans in a basket beside her. I'll make a fire for you.Ekinma said. Thank you, Ezigbo.she says.She used to call her Ezigbo, which means good boy. Ekinma went outside and took a few sticks from a large bundle of firewood.She broke the firewood with her foot, blew with her mouth, and started the fire.

You're going to blow your eyes out, said Nwoye's mother, looking up from the cassava she was peeling, fan it.She got up and took down a fan that had been fastened to the rafters.As soon as she stood up, the mischievous goat, who had been eating the cassava skin obediently, plunged her teeth into the cassava, took two big bites, turned and fled from the house into the sheep shed. Chew up.Nwoye's mother cursed and sat down again to peel the cassava.Ekinma's fire billowed a thick mist of smoke.She continued to fan, and finally the flames appeared.Nwoye's mother thanked her, and Ekinma went back to her mother's house. At this moment, the sound of drums in the distance reached them.The voice came from the direction of the village square.Every village has a square as old as the village itself, where all the great ceremonies and dances take place.The drums blowing in the wind were played lightly and sweetly, accurately hitting the beat of wrestling and dancing. Okonkwo cleared his throat and moved his feet to the beat of the drum.Ever since he was young, every time he heard the beat of the drum, he was full of lust, and he still is now.With the desire to conquer, his whole body trembled.This desire is very much like the desire for a woman. We're going to be late for this wrestling.Ekinma told her mother. They won't start until the sun goes down. But they were already beating the drums. Yes, the drums start at noon, but the wrestling doesn't start until the sun goes down.Go see if your dad has got out the cassava for dinner. He has already taken it out.Nwoye's mother is cooking. So, go get our cassava.We have to cook fast or we won't be in time for the wrestling. Ekinma ran in the direction of the barn and returned with two tapiocas from under the parapet. Ekwifi quickly peeled the cassava.The nasty mother goat sniffed around while eating cassava husks.Ekwafi cut the cassava into small pieces, added a little chicken stock, and started making porridge. Then they heard someone crying outside the yard.Apparently it was Nwoye's sister, Obi Ajiri. Isn't that Obi Ari crying?Ekwifi called to Nwoye's mother across the courtyard. Yes, Nwoye's mother replied, she must have broken the pitcher. The cries were close now, and soon the children came into the yard one by one, all with jugs of different sizes on their heads according to their age.Ikemefna was the first to enter, with the largest jug on his head, followed by Nwoye and his two younger brothers.Obi Ajiri was last, with tears streaming down his face, holding in his hand the doily that was supposed to be used to hold the pitcher over his head. What's the matter?her mother asked.Obi Ari sobbed and said.Her mother told her not to feel bad, and promised to buy her another jug. Nwoye's two younger brothers were about to tell their mother the truth, but Ikemefna gave them a glare that silenced them.It turned out that Obi Ajiri had just played a game with the pitcher: she put the pitcher on her head, folded her hands on her chest, and twisted her waist like a big girl.When the jug fell and broke, she laughed.She didn't pretend to cry until they were near the Ilocae tree outside the yard. The drums were still beating incessantly and invariably.The sound of drums has merged with the life of the village.The drums sound like the beating heart of the village.The drum beats in the air, in the sun, and even in the woods, stirring the whole village. Ekwifi scooped a portion of porridge for her husband into a bowl and covered it, and asked Ekinma to carry it to his main room. Okonkwo is sitting on a sheepskin eating a meal from his first wife.The meal had been brought from her mother's hut by Obi Arjiri, and now she was sitting on the floor, waiting for Okonkwo to finish.Ekinma put her mother's meal in front of Okonkwo and sat down next to Obi Ajri. Is this how women sit?Okonkwo called out to her.Ekinma hurriedly straightened her legs together. Dad, are you going to the wrestling?Ekinma waited for a while, taking the opportunity to ask. Go, he replied, will you go? Go, she paused again and said: Can I get you a chair? No, that's a boys thing.Okonkwo was particularly fond of Ekinma.She was very much like her mother, who was a beauty in the village back then.But this fondness is only revealed on rare occasions. Obi Ajiri broke the pitcher today.Ekinma said. Yes, she told me.Okonkwo said, chewing his mouthful of vegetables. Dad, Obi Ajiri said, you shouldn't talk while eating, you'll get the pepper in your nose. That's right.Did you hear that, Ekinma?You are older than Obi Ari, but she is more sensible than you. Okonkwo unwrapped the meal brought by his second wife and began to eat.Obi Ari went back to her mother's house with the first set of bowls.Then Enkiki came in with the third meal.Enkiki was the daughter of Okonkwo's third wife. In the distance, the drums are still ringing.