not fight back? Had they no guns and matchets? We would be cowards to compare ourselves with the men of Abame. Their fathers had never dared to stand before our ancestors. We must fight these men and drive them from the land.'
'It is already too late,' said Obierika sadly. 'Our own men and our sons have joined the ranks of the stranger. They have joined his religion and they help to uphold his government. If we should try to drive out the white men in Umuofia we should find it easy. There are only two of them. But what of our own people who are following their way and have been given power? They would go to Umur u and bring the soldiers, and we would be like Abame.' He paused for a long time and then said: 'I told you on my last visit to Mbanta how they hanged Aneto.'
'What has happened to that piece of land in dispute?' asked Okonkwo. 'The white man's court has decided that it should belong to Nnama's family, who had given much money to the white man's messengers and interpreter.'
3. Court messenger (pidgin English).
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'Does the white ma n understand our custom about land?'
'How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.'
'How did they get hold of Aneto to hang him?' asked Okonkwo.
'When he killed Oduche in the fight over the land, he fled to Aninta to escape the wrath of the earth. This was about eight days after the fight, because Oduche had not died immediately from his wounds. It was on the seventh day that he died. But everybody knew that he was going to die and Aneto got his belongings together in readiness to flee. But the Christians had told the white man about the accident, and he sent his kotma to catch Aneto. H e was imprisoned with all the leaders of his family. In the end Oduche died and Aneto was taken to Umur u and hanged. Th e other people were released, but even now they have not found the mouth with which to tell of their suffering.'
The two men sat in silence for a long while afterwards.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
There were many men and women in Umuofia who did not feel as strongly as Okonkwo about the new dispensation. The white man had indeed brought a lunatic religion, but he had also built a trading store and for the first time palm-oil and kernel'' became things of great price, and much money flowed into Umuofia.
An d even in the matter of religion there was a growing feeling that there might be something in it after all, something vaguely akin to method in the overwhelming madness.
This growing feeling was due to Mr Brown, the white missionary, who was very firm in restraining his flock from provoking the wrath of the clan. On e member in particular was very difficult to restrain. His name was Enoch and his father was the priest of the snake cult. The story went around that Enoch had killed and eaten the sacred python, and that his father had cursed him.
Mr Brown preached against such excess of zeal. Everything was possible, he told his energetic flock, but everything was not expedient. An d so Mr Brown came to be respected even by the clan, because he trod softly on its faith. He made friends with some of the great men of the clan and on one of his frequent visits to the neighbouring villages he had been presented with a carved elephant tusk, which was a sign of dignity and rank. One of the great men in that village was called Akunna5 and he had given one of his sons to be taught the white man's knowledge in Mr Brown's school.
Whenever Mr Brown went to that village he spent long hours with Akunna in his obi talking through an interpreter about religion. Neither of them succeeded in converting the other but they learnt more about their different beliefs.
4. The red fleshy husk of the palm nut is crushed which they could extract a very fine oil by using manually to produce cooking oil, leaving a fibrous machines. residue along with hard kernels. The Europeans 5. Father's wealth. bought both the red oil and the kernels, from
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TH INGS FALL APART, PART 3 / 2697
'You say that there is one supreme God who made heaven and earth,' said Akunna on one of Mr Brown's visits. 'We also believe in Hi m and call Hi m Chukwu. He made all the world and the other gods.'
'There are no other gods,' said Mr Brown. 'Chukw u is the only Go d and all others are false. You carve a piece of wood?like that one' (he pointed at the rafters from which Akunna's carved Ikenga6 hung), 'and you call it a god. But it is still a piece of wood.'
'Yes,' said Akunna. 'It is indeed a piece of wood. The tree from which it came was made by Chukwu, as indeed all minor gods were. But He made them for His messengers so that we could approach Hi m through them. It is like yourself. You are the head of your church.'
'No,' protested Mr Brown. 'The head of my church is God Himself.'
'I know,' said Akunna, 'but there must be a head in this world among men. Somebody like yourself must be the head here.' 'The head of my church in that sense is in England.' 'That is exactly what I am saying. The head of your church is in your coun
try. He has sent you here as his messenger. An d you have also appointed your own messengers and servants. Or let me take another example, the District Commissioner. He is sent by your king.'
'They have a queen,' said the interpreter on his own account.
'Your queen sends her messenger, the District Commissioner. He finds that he cannot do the work alone and so he appoints kotma to help him. It is the same with God, or Chukwu. He appoints the smaller gods to help Hi m because His work is too great for one person.'
