EXTRACT-8-TFA

An iron gong sounded, setting up a wave of expectation in the crowd. Everyone looked in the direction of the egwugwu house. Gome, gome, gome, gome went the gong, and a powerful flute blew a high-pitched blast. Then came the voices of the egwugwu, guttural and awesome. The wave struck the women and children and there was a backward stampede. But it was momentary. They were already far enough where they stood and there was room for running away if 5 any of them should go towards them.

The drum sounded again and the flute blew. The house was now a pandemonium of quavering voices: Am oyim de de de de! filled the air as the spirits of the ancestors, just emerged from the earth, greeted themselves in their esoteric language. The egwugwu house into which they emerged faced the forest, away from the crowd, who saw only its back with the 10 many-coloured patterns and drawings done by specially chosen women at regular intervals. These women never saw the inside of the hut. No woman ever did. They scrubbed and painted the outside walls under the supervision of men. If they imagined what was inside, they kept their imagination to themselves. No woman ever asked questions about the most powerful and the most secret cult in the clan. 15

Am oyim de de de de! flew around the dark, closed hut like tongues of fire. The ancestral spirits of the clan were abroad.

The metal gong beat continuously now and the flute, shrill and powerful, floated on the chaos.

And then the egwugwu appeared. The women and children sent up a great shout 20 and took to their heels. It was instinctive. A woman fled as soon as an egwugwu came in sight. And when, as on that day, nine of the greatest masked spirits in the clan came out together it was a terrifying spectacle. Even Mgbafo took to her heels and had to be restrained by her brothers.

Each of the nine egwugwu represented a village of the clan. Their leader was called Evil Forest. Smoke poured out of his head. 25

The nine villages of Umuofia had grown out of the nine sons of the first father of the clan. Evil Forest represented the village of Umueru, or the children of Eru, who was the eldest of the nine sons.

"Umuofia kwenu!" shouted the leading egwugwu, pushing the air with his raffia arms. The elders of the clan replied, "Yaa!" 30

"Umuofia kwenu!"

"Yaa!"

"Umuofia kwenu!"

"Yaa!"

Evil Forest then thrust the pointed end of his rattling staff into the earth. And it 35 began to shake and rattle, like something agitating with a metallic life. He took the first of the empty stools and the eight other egwugwu began to sit in order of seniority after him.

EXPLAINATION

Umuofia has a great clan gathering. Nine men in the cult of the egwugwu impersonate the nine founders of the villages of Umuofia. During the ceremony, the men are considered to be the spirits of the clan. The transformation is spiritual and complete, in the same way that Catholics believe that the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Christ.

The ceremony is for the administration of justice. Families with disputes come forward to have their cases tried publicly. The first case involves a woman who has left her husband. He wants her to return, along with her two children. The woman's family claims that her husband was abusive. Evil Forest, the egwugwu who listens to the case, decides that the husband must bear gifts to his in-laws and beg his wife's forgiveness. She will return, but he should not beat her again.COMMENTARYThe ceremony of the egwugwu is clearly one dominated by men. Only men are in the cult of the egwugwu, and so only men are involved in the administration of justice. But for the first case of the ceremony, Achebe chooses a case involving a woman's well-being. Here and elsewhere, he tries to show that a woman's place in Igbo society, though vulnerable, is not unappreciated. Mgbafo, the abused bride, is protected by her brothers. Her case is viewed favorably by the judge. Although Achebe shows us that the Igbo society is deeply patriarchal, he also strives to show that Igbo woman, in at least a limited capacity, are respected and protected. There is an interest in justice and fairness. And to keep perspective on the issue, the reader should remember that women in 19th century England and America did not enjoy any more freedom than their counterparts in Nigeria.

The village holds a ceremonial gathering to administer justice. The clan’s ancestral spirits, which are known as egwugwu, emerge from a secret house into which no woman is allowed to step. The egwugwu take the form of masked men, and everyone suspects that Okonkwo is among them. The women and children are filled with fear even though they sense that the egwugwu are merely men impersonating spirits.

The first dispute that comes before the egwugwu involves an estranged husband and wife. The husband, Uzowulu, states that the three brothers of his wife, Mgbafo, beat him and took her and the children from his hut but would not return her bride-price. The woman’s brothers state that he is a beastly man who beat their sister mercilessly, even causing her to miscarry once. They argue that Uzowulu must beg Mgbafo to return to him. If she agrees, the brothers declare, Uzowulu must understand that they will cut his genitals off if he ever beats her again. The egwugwu decide in favor of Mgbafo. One village elder complains that such a trifling matter should not be brought before them.

A very dramatic public ceremony is described in detail that involves meting out justice. On the village commons, folks gather, with elders sitting on stools and the rest of the village men behind them. Nine stools are placed for the egwugwu to sit. Egwugwu represent the spirits of their ancestors and are respected members of the community who can dispense justice in trials. Women stand on the edges of the circle, looking in the direction of the egwugwu house. A gong is loudly blasted and the guttural voice of the egwugwu is heard. When he makes his appearance, it is very dramatic as he wears a fearful looking mask and pretends to scare the women. Along with him, nine other masked men emerge. Okonkwo’s wives notice that one of the egwugwu walks with a springy step such as Okonkwo does. They also notice he is absent from where the elders sit.

The leader of the egwugwu called Evil Forest speaks some words, and they sit in order of seniority. The hearing then begins. It involves a man named Uzowulu whose wife was taken away by him by her family. He wishes that either she return or they pay him his bride-price. The women’s brother argues that she has been rescued because she is beaten every day and that she will return on the promise that he never hit her again.

After discussion among the egwugwu, Evil Forest returns with a verdict. He tells Uzowulu to bring wine to his wife’s family and beg his wife to return to him. He also expresses disgust at Uzowulu’s cowardice in beating women and askes him to accept his brother-in-law’s offer. Afterwards, one elders discusses the trivial nature of this case and another says that Uzowulu would accept any decision other than theegugwu. Next a land dispute is discussed.

NotesDespite their formidable and somewhat theatrical presence, the egwugwu and their system of justice are similar to Western society’s notion of a fair public trial. The men who conduct the hearings are the senior members of the society, and have political as well as economic power, but they mask themselves to hide their identity, so that a fair judgment can be given. Here each party is given a chance to state their case and then theegwugwu leave to debate a verdict as well as a punishment or remuneration.

Arbiters of justice have often been traditionally represented as fearful and all-powerful beings. In Greek society, the Furies, wild spirits who inhabited the Earth, sought revenge for those who had been violated. They meted out the same punishment regardless of mitigating circumstances and were depicted as grotesque and blood-thirsty women, representative of the crimes they were seeking retribution for. Eventually, Athena bestowed them with a greater title, that of being arbiters of justice, and their fury was domesticated into what is now seen as the beginnings of justice by trial rather by retribution in the Western world. Similarly the egwugwu although fierce-looking and frightening meted out justice fairly. This combination of drama and jurisprudence can be seen in Western courtrooms today. The dismissive attitude one of the elders shows for a trial of this kind reveals the lack of power and respect that women had in this society. Not only does the women’s brother speak for her, but she has no say in the verdict handed to her husband. Whether or not she wants to return is overlooked by the larger economic reason for her return. Her husband’s hand is slapped for being so violent but other than that he is not punished for his crime, simply fined.