Chapter 13 Thirteen

Brother's brother's brother.brother's brother.This is Ai Gui speaking to the clan.The language of this hollow wooden instrument is understood by all.Damn!Damn!Damn!From time to time, there is also the sound of rumbling guns. The rooster had not yet crowed, and Umm Ofia was still in sleep and silence, but Agui began to speak, and the cannon broke the silence.The men woke up on bamboo couches and listened anxiously.Someone died.The cannon seemed to tear the sky apart.Brother's brother's brother's brother, the voice of delivering messages floated in the night sky.In the distance, there were faint cries of women, and the earth was shrouded in a sad atmosphere.Now and then a wail from a broad chest drowned out the cries of the women, and a man came to the house of the dead.He yelled once or twice in male mourning, and then went to sit with the other men, listening to the women's constant cries and Agui's cryptic language.From time to time the cannon rumbled.Women's cries could not be heard outside this village, but Aigui spread the news to nine villages and beyond.He first uttered the name of the clan: Umm Ofiya Obdodik (Land of the Warriors).He said it over and over again, the land of the warriors, the land of the warriors! When He said this, everyone who lay on the bamboo couch that night felt more and more anxious.Then He got more specific, He named the village: Yellow Millstone Egedo!This is Okonkwo's village.The name of the village was repeated over and over, and the people of all nine villages waited with bated breath.Finally, Ai Gui said a person's name, and people sighed, alas, Esai Udu is dead.Okonkwo remembered what the old man had said to him the last time he visited him: The boy called you his father, so don't take part in killing him.I couldn't help shivering down my back.

Esseudu was such a great man that the whole clan came to his funeral.The old drums for the dead were beaten, guns and cannons were fired, and the men ran about frantically, felling trees, killing animals, jumping on walls and dancing on roofs.This is the funeral of a samurai, and from morning to night, the samurai will come and go in groups with their companions of the same generation.They all wore aprons made of smoked raffia leaves, painted with white powder and black charcoal.From time to time an ancestral spirit, covered in raffia leaves, emerges from the ground and speaks in a trembling mysterious voice.Some ancestors had very violent spirits; this morning, a spirit ran out with a sharp waist knife. Fortunately, two men tied a strong rope around his waist and held him back. It caused serious harm; at that time, people were frightened and fainted, rampaging and avoiding everywhere.Sometimes he turned and ran after the two men, making them run away in fright, but came back a moment later to pick up the long rope that was dragging on the ground.He sang in a frightening voice: Demons got into his eyes.

But the most terrifying ancestor spirit has yet to appear.He was always alone, and he looked like a coffin.Wherever he went, there would be a sickening smell in the air, and flies would follow in swarms.Even the most powerful wizards would run away when they saw him approaching.Many years ago, the spirit of another ancestor dared to stand in front of him and did not hide, so he was nailed to stand there for two days.The ghost had only one hand, and in it was a basket full of water. There are also some ancestral spirits that do no harm at all.One of the souls was very old. Leaning on a cane, he tremblingly walked to the place where the corpse was placed, looked at it for a while, then walked away and went back to the ground.

The land of the living is not far from the land of the ancestors.We used to keep in touch with each other, especially on festivals, or when the old man passed away, because the old man was the closest to the ancestors.A man's life, from birth to death, goes through a series of transitional rites that bring him closer and closer to his ancestors. Esaiudu was the oldest person in his village. Before he died, there were only three people older than him in the whole clan, and there were only four or five companions of his generation.When any one of these old men appeared in the crowd, staggering with a funeral dance, the young men stepped aside and the uproar died down.

It was a grand funeral, befitting a noble warrior.As dusk draws near, the sounds of clamor, gunfire, drum beating, machete waving and collisions become louder. Eceudu achieved three titles in his lifetime.This is a rare achievement. There are only four kinds of titles in this clan, and only one or two people in a generation often get the fourth, which is the highest title.Those who get this fourth title become local leaders.As Esseudu was a man of title, he should be buried in the dark, with only a brilliant torch lit to light the sacred ceremony. But before this last quiet ceremony, there will be a lot of uproar.Drums were booming and people were jumping up and down like crazy.Guns were fired from all sides, and the soldiers raised their swords in salute, the blades clashed, clanged, and sparks shot.The air smelled of dust and ammunition.Just then, the one-handed ghost appeared with a basket full of water.People made way for him here and there, and the uproar died down.Even the smell of ammunition was overshadowed by the sickening smell in the air.He danced, walked a few steps to the mourning drum, and then went to say goodbye to the dead body.

Esseudu!He shouted gutturally, if you were poor in the previous life, I beg you to be rich in the next life, but you are rich.If you are a coward, I beg you to have courage.But you are a fearless warrior.If you die short, I beg you to live long.But you are long-lived.So I beg you to come back like the previous life.If your death is a natural one, then go quietly.But if someone kills you, don't let him have a moment's peace.After he finished speaking, he jumped a few more steps and walked away. The drumming and dancing resumed, to a fever pitch.The night is approaching, and the funeral will soon be held.Gunshots rang out and cannons rang out, paying final respects to the dead.Suddenly, out of the dizzying frenzy, there was a scream and cries of terror.People seemed to be enchanted by a spell, and the audience was silent.In the center of the crowd, a child lay in a pool of blood.It was the sixteen-year-old son of the deceased who had been dancing the traditional farewell dance with his brother and half-brother.Okonkwo's gun went off and a piece of iron pierced the boy's chest.

The ensuing chaos was unprecedented in Umm Ofiah.Violent deaths are common, but nothing like this has ever happened. Okonkwo had only one way out, and that was to escape from the clan.Killing a member of the clan is a crime against the mother of the earth, and the person who commits this crime must flee from the hometown.There are two types of crimes, male and female.Okonkwo committed a woman's crime because this time the crime was due to negligence.After seven years, he was allowed to return to the clan. That night, he packed the most valuable things in the house into packages that could be carried on his head.His wives cried very sadly, and the children were puzzled and cried along with the adults.Obierika and five or six other friends came to his aid and comforted him.Each of them made eight or nine trips back and forth, moving all the cassava from Okonkwo to store in Obierika's warehouse.Before the cock crowed, Okonkwo took his family and fled to his mother's hometown.It was a small village called Spanta, just across the border from Embaino.

At dawn, a group of men dressed as warriors came out of Esseudu's residence to attack Okonkwo's compound.They set fire to his house, pulled down his red walls, killed his livestock, and destroyed his warehouses.This is the just judge of the Earth Mother, they are only the messengers of the Earth Mother.There was no deep hatred for Okonkwo in their hearts.His closest friend Obierika was among them.They had only come to clean the cemetery that Okonkwo had soiled with the blood of his people. Obierika is a man who thinks about everything.When the will of God had been done, he sat down in his hut and lamented the misfortune of his friend.Why should a person be punished so severely for committing a crime unintentionally?He thought for a long time, but couldn't find the answer.His thoughts became even more confused.He thought of his wife's twins.He threw them away.What crime did they commit?The Earth Mother declared that they had offended the Earth, so they must be wiped out.If the Clan goes unpunished for an offense against the Great Earth Mother, the wrath of the gods falls on the whole land, not just on the offender himself.The elders said that if one finger gets oily, it will stain the other fingers.