Chapter 8 eight

After Ikemefna's death, Okonkwo didn't eat for two days and drank palm wine from morning till night.His eyes were red and fierce, just like a mouse when someone grabbed its tail and threw it to the ground.He called his son Nwoye to sit with him in the main room.But the boy was afraid of him, and when he saw him dozing off, he slipped outside. He couldn't sleep at night.He tried his best not to think about Ikemefna, but the less he tried to think about it, the more he thought about him.Once he simply got up from the bed and went to circle in the yard.But he was so weak that his legs could hardly move.He felt as if he were a drunken giant walking on mosquito feet.From time to time he felt a chill in his head, and shivered all over his body.

On the third day, he asked his second wife, Ekwifi, to bake him some bananas.She added oil beans and fish as he usually likes. You haven't eaten for two days, said his daughter Ekinma when she brought him food, so you must finish it.She sat down and straightened her legs.Okonkwo ate absently. If only she had been a boy.He looked at his ten-year-old daughter and thought in his heart.Passed a piece of fish to her. Go get me some cold water.He said.Ekinma ran out, chewing the fish, and soon returned with a bowl of cold water from the crock in her mother's hut. Okonkwo took her bowl and gulped down the water in one gulp.He ate a few more slices of banana, then pushed the plate aside.

get my pocket.He said.Ekinma brought his sheepskin sack from the other side of the hut.Okonkwo reached into his pocket for his snuffbox.It was a deep pocket, almost roomy for his entire arm.There were many other things in it besides the snuff-box, a beast's horn and a wine gourd; these things rattled together as he searched for it.He took out the snuff bottle, tapped it lightly on his left knee a few times, and then took out a pinch of snuff and placed it on the palm of his left hand.At this time, he found that he hadn't taken out the cigarette spoon yet.He reached into his pocket again and took out a small flat ivory spoon, which he used to push the brown snuff up his nostrils.

Ezinma, saucer in one hand and empty water bowl in the other, went back to her mother's hut, if only she had been a boy.Okonkwo said to himself.His mind thought of Ikemefna again, and he couldn't help shivering.If there was something to do, he might be able to forget about it.But now is the rest time between reaping and sowing.The only work people do during this time is to cover the fence with new palm fronds.And Okonkwo has already done this.He did it the day the locusts came, he was on this side of the wall and Ikemefna and Nwoye were on the other side. Okonkwo asked himself, when in nine villages did you become a trembling old woman, famous for your bravery and skill in battle?A person has killed five people on the battlefield, why does he become so depressed after adding a child?Okonkwo, you have really become a woman.

He stood up, slung the sheepskin bag over his shoulder, and went to his friend Obierika. Obierika is sitting in the shade of an orange tree with a palm-leaf roof.He exchanged greetings with Okonkwo and led him to his hut. I'm planning to come and see you as soon as the roof is done.As he spoke, he rubbed the sand off his thighs. Are things going well?Okonkwo asked. Well, Obierika replied, my daughter's suitor is coming today and I hope to negotiate the bride's worth.I want you to be there too. At this moment, Obierika's son Maduka came in from outside.He said hello to Okonkwo and turned back to the yard.

Come shake my hand, Okonkwo said to the boy, your wrestling made me very happy that day.The boy smiled, shook hands with Okonkwo, and went out to the yard. He will do great things in the future, Okonkwo said, if I have a son like him, I will be happy.I'm worried about Nwoye.A bowl of tapioca can knock him out in a wrestling match.His two younger brothers looked better than him.But I can tell you, Obierika, my kids are never like me.If the old banana tree dies, where are the seedlings that will gradually grow into big trees?I'd be happier if Ekinma was a boy.She has a spirit. You're asking for trouble, Obierika said, the kids are young.

Nwoye was old enough to impregnate the maid.At his age, I'm already able to be independent.No, friend, he's not too young.If a chick is a rooster in the future, you can tell the day it hatches.I've tried my best to make Nwoye a man, but he's too much like his mother. He is so much like his grandfather.Obierika thought to herself, but didn't say it.Okonkwo had the same idea.But he had learned long ago how to cast off this demon.Whenever he was troubled by the thought of his father's weaknesses and failures, he drove away his depression by thinking of his own strengths and achievements.Now he does the same.His mind turned to his latest act of bravery.

I don't understand why you won't join us in killing the boy.he asked Obierika. Because I don't want to go, Obierika replies dismissively, I have more important things to do. God has said that he should die, and you say this, as if you have doubts about God's authority and decision. No, why should I doubt it?But God didn’t ask me to carry out this decision! But someone has to do it.If we are all afraid of bloodshed, then this thing cannot be done.What do you think God will do then? You know very well, Okonkwo, that I am not afraid of blood; if anyone tells you that I am, he is lying.Let me say a word to you, my friend.If I were you, I'd stay home.What you did will not please Mother Earth.Mother Earth will destroy the entire family because of this behavior.

The Earth Mother cannot punish me for obeying her messengers.Okonkwo says a piece of hot cassava that the child's mother puts in his palm will not burn his fingers. That's true, Obierika agrees, but if God says my son should be put to death, then I'm not going to argue or be the executor. If Ofedu hadn't come in at this time, they would have continued to argue.From the blink of his eyes, Ofedu had important news.But it would be impolite to force him to speak out immediately.Obierika offered him a piece of the kola fruit he had broken with Okonkwo.Ofedu ate slowly and talked about the locusts.He ate the kola fruit and said:

It's really weird what's going on these days. what's going on?Okonkwo asked. You know Ogbu Effie.Enduru?Ofedu asked. Ogbu Effie of Erie Village.Nduru, Okonkwo and Obierika said in unison. He died this morning.Ofedu said. That's not surprising.He is the oldest old man in Yili Village.Obierika said. You are right, agrees Ofedu, but you should ask why the drums were not sounded to inform the Umm Ofia that he was dead? Why?Obierika and Okonkwo asked together. Here's the weird thing.You know his first wife, the one who walked with a cane? Yes, her name is Ozo Emina. That's her, said Ofedu, and you know that Ozoemina is also very old, and when Ndulu was sick she couldn't serve him, and the younger wives took care of him.After Enduru died this morning, one of his wives went to Ozo Emina's hut to deliver a message to her.Ozoemina got up from her mat, took her stick, and went to her husband's hut.When she reached the door of his hut, she knelt on her knees, threw her hands on the ground, and called Ogbu Effie three times in succession to her husband who was lying on the mat.Ndulu turned and went back to her own hut.Later Nduru's youngest wife went to call her to the baptism and found her lying on a mat, also dead.

That was really strange, Okonkwo said, and they would have to postpone his funeral until after his wife had been buried. That's why there was no drumming to inform the Umm Ofiars. People often say that Nduru and Ozoemina are two of one mind, said Obierika, and I remember when I was a kid there was a song about them.No matter what he did, he never told her. I don't know that, Okonkwo said, I thought he was a strong man when he was young. He is.Ofedu said. Okonkwo shook his head suspiciously. At that time he was leading the Umm Ofiah to war.Obierika said. Okonkwo gradually began to regain his old mood.He just asks for something to occupy his heart.Had Ikemefna been killed during planting or harvest, things would not have been as they were now; his mind would have been on labor.Okonkwo was not a thinking man.He loves action.When there is no work, the next best thing to do is to talk. Not long after Ofedu left, Okonkwo picked up the sheepskin bag and planned to leave too. I must go home and harvest the sap of the palm trees for my afternoon drink, he said, who harvested the sap of those tall palm trees for you?asked Obierika. Umezolingi.Okonkwo replied. "Sometimes I really regret taking this title of orzo," said Obierica, "It breaks my heart to see those young people who say they're harvesting but are actually destroying the palm trees." That was true, Okonkwo agreed, but the laws of the place had to be obeyed. I don't understand how this law came about, Obierica said, in many other clans, a man with a title is not forbidden to climb palm trees, but here we say, he can't climb palm trees, Palm trees can only be harvested standing on the ground.It's like Nadi Malagana, who doesn't lend his knife to cut dog meat, because dogs are forbidden to him, but he doesn't mind lending his teeth to chew dog meat. I thought it was a good thing that our clan took the title of Ozo very seriously, said Okonkwo. Among the clans you mentioned, Ozo is considered so cheap that even beggars can get it. I was just joking, and Obierika said that in Abam and Aninta, the title was worth less than two onyx shells.Every man wears a title string around his ankle, and even when he steals, he doesn't take it off. They really insulted the title of Ozo.Okonkwo said and stood up to go. My relatives are coming soon.Obierika said. I'll be right back, Okonkwo said, looking at the sun Location. When Okonkwo returned, there were seven people in Obierika's hut.The suitor was a young man of about twenty-five, accompanied by his father and uncle.On Obierika's side were his two older brothers and Maduka, his sixteen-year-old son. Aku Eki's mother sent us some kola fruit.Obierika to his son.Maduka disappeared into the yard like lightning.Their conversation centered on him, and it was agreed that he was very agile. Sometimes I think he's too quick, said Obierica, somewhat appeasingly, that he never walks properly, always runs.If you ask him to do something, he slips away before he hears half of it. That's what you do yourself, said his elder brother, and our folks say that a cow eats grass and a calf stares at its mouth.Maduka has been staring at your mouth. As he spoke, the child returned, followed by his half-sister Akueki, carrying a wooden tray containing three kola nuts and some pepper.She handed the tray to her father's eldest brother, and shyly shook hands with her suitor and his relatives.She was about sixteen, the ripe age for marriage.Her suitors and relatives scrutinized her youthful figure with a judging eye, as if to confirm her beauty and maturity. Her hair was combed in a pattern and piled on top of her head like a cockscomb.Her skin was lightly smeared with a red dye, and uri was applied all over her body. 】Draw a variety of patterns.She wore a necklace, looped three times, and hung on her full breasts.He wears red and yellow bracelets on his arms, and four or five rows of waist beads around his waist. After shaking hands, or rather holding out hands, she went back to her mother's room to help with the cooking. As she approached the fire to get the pestle leaning against the wall, her mother warned: Take off your waist beads first.I tell you every day that waist beads and fire are not friends.But you never listen.You have ears for decoration, not for obedience.One day your beads will catch fire around your waist, and then you'll know. Aku Eki walked to the other side of the house and took off his waist beads.This needs to be done slowly and carefully, unwinding one strand at a time, or it will unravel and thousands of tiny beads will have to be strung again.She rubbed the beads down one by one with the palm of her hand, slid over her hips and legs, and fell to the ground at her feet. The men in the main room are already drinking the toddy brought by the suitor.The wine was full-bodied and strong, and even though the spout was covered with pressed palm nuts, the white foam still spilled out of the jug. This wine is made by a man who can reap.Okonkwo said. The young suitor, named Ibby, laughed and said to his father: Did you hear that?Then he said to the others: He never admitted that I was a good harvester. He killed my three best palm trees.said his father, Ukageb. That was five years ago, and I hadn't learned to reap what was before.Ibby said as she began pouring wine.He filled the first horn and presented it to his father.Then serve wine to others.Okonkwo took out a large animal horn from the sheepskin bag, blew it to remove any dust that might be in it, and handed it to Ibi to pour the wine. When men drink, they talk about everything except why The party thing.It was not until the jug was empty that the suitor's father cleared his throat and explained the purpose of their visit. So Obierika presented him with a small bundle of short broom handles.Ukageb counted. Is it thirty?he asks. Obierika nodded in agreement. We are close at last, said Ukageb, and turning to his brother and son he said: Let's go out and talk softly.The three of them stood up and went outside.When they returned, Ukageb returned the bundle of broomsticks to Obierika.He counted, and now it was not thirty, but fifteen.He gave them to his elder brother Marzie, who counted them too, and said: We are not prepared to drop below thirty.But as the dog in the story said: If you make me suffer, and I make you suffer, it's just a game.Marriage is supposed to be a game, not a war; so let's take our losses.So he added ten broomsticks to the fifteen broom handles and handed them over to Ukageb. That's it, Aku Eki's bride's worth was finally determined to be twenty bags of agate shells.It was already dusk when the two sides reached this agreement. Go tell Aku Eki's mother that we've discussed it.Obierika to his son Maduka.In an instant, the woman came in with a big bowl of mud.Obierika's second wife followed with a bucket of soup, and Maduka brought in a jug of palm wine. As they ate and drank toddy, they talked about the customs of their neighbours. Obierika said: Just this morning, Okonkwo and I were talking about Abam and Aninta, where titled men climbed trees and pounded their wives. All their customs are a mess.They don't use a broom handle to determine a bride's worth like we do.They haggled and argued, as if they were buying a goat or a cow at the market. It's really bad, says Obierika's older brother, but what's good in one place is bad in another.In Um Enso, they don't negotiate at all, not even a broom handle.The suitor just brings in bags of agate shells until the woman tells him to stop.This is a bad custom and often causes quarrels. The world is vast, said Okonkwo, and I have even heard of some clans where a man's children belong to his wife and her clan. It can't be, Marzie said, you might as well say women sleep on men when they make babies. It's like the legend about the white man, they say, they're as white as this white lime.Obierika said and picked up a piece of white lime.This is what everyone's home prepares for the guests to draw lines on the ground before eating kola nuts. People also say that these white people have no toes. Have you never seen a white man?Marzie asked. Have you seen it?Obierika asks There was a white guy who used to pass by here, Mazzie said, and his name was Ahmadi. Everyone who knew Ahmadi laughed.He was a leper, and the nicer word for a leper is white skin.