The young church in Mbanta had a few crises early in its life. At first the clan1 had assumed that it would not survive. But it had gone on living and gradually becoming stronger. The clan was worried, but not overmuch. If a gang of efulefu decided2 to live in the Evil Forest it was their own affair. When one came to think of it, the Evil Forest was a fit home for such undesirable3 people. It was true they were rescuing twins from the bush, but they never brought them into the village. As far as the villagers were concerned, the twins still remained where they had been thrown away. Surely the earth goddess would not visit the sins of the missionaries4 on the innocent villagers?
But on one occasion the missionaries had tried to over step the bounds. Three converts had gone into the village and boasted openly that all the gods were dead and impotent and that they were prepared to defy them by burning all their shrines5.
"Go and burn your mothers' genitals," said one of the priests. The men were seized and beaten until they streamed with blood. After that nothing happened for a long time between the church and the clan.
But stories were already gaining ground that the white man had not only brought a religion but also a government. It was said that they had built a place of judgment7 in Umuofia to protect the followers8 of their religion. It was even said that they had hanged one man who killed a missionary10.
Although such stories were now often told they looked like fairy-tales in Mbanta and did not as yet affect the relationship between the new church and the clan. There was no question of killing11 a missionary here, for Mr. Kiaga, despite his madness, was quite harmless. As for his converts, no one could kill them without having to flee from the clan, for in spite of their worthlessness they still belonged to the clan. And so nobody gave serious thought to the stories about the white man's government or the consequences of killing the Christians12. If they became more troublesome than they already were they would simply be driven out of the clan.
And the little church was at that moment too deeply absorbed in its own troubles to annoy the clan. It all began over the question of admitting outcasts.
These outcasts, or osu, seeing that the new religion welcomed twins and such abominations, thought that it was possible that they would also be received. And so one Sunday two of them went into the church. There was an immediate13 stir, but so great was the work the new religion had done among the converts that they did not immediately leave the church when the outcasts came in. Those who found themselves nearest to them merely moved to another seat. It was a miracle. But it only lasted till the end of the service. The whole church raised a protest and was about to drive these people out, when Mr. Kiaga stopped them and began to explain.
"Before God," he said, "there is no slave or free. We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers."
"You do not understand," said one of the converts. "What will the heathen say of us when they hear that we receive osu into our midst? They will laugh."
"Let them laugh," said Mr. Kiaga. "God will laugh at them on the judgment day. Why do the nations rage and the peoples imagine a vain thing? He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision."
"You do not understand," the convert maintained. "You are our teacher, and you can teach us the things of the new faith. But this is a matter which we know." And he told him what an osu was.
He was a person dedicated14 to a god, a thing set apart—a taboo15 for ever, and his children after him. He could neither marry nor be married by the free-born. He was in fact an outcast, living in a special area of the village, close to the Great Shrine6. Wherever he went he carried with him the mark of his forbidden caste—long, tangled16 and dirty hair. A razor was taboo to him. An osu could not attend an assembly of the free-born, and they, in turn, could not shelter under his roof. He could not take any of the four titles of the clan, and when he died he was buried by his kind in the Evil Forest. How could such a man be a follower9 of Christ?
"He needs Christ more than you and I," said Mr. Kiaga.
"Then I shall go back to the clan," said the convert. And he went. Mr. Kiaga stood firm, and it was his firmness that saved the young church. The wavering converts drew inspiration and confidence from his unshakable faith. He ordered the outcasts to shave off their long, tangled hair. At first they were afraid they might die.
"Unless you shave off the mark of your heathen belief I will not admit you into the church," said Mr. Kiaga. "You fear that you will die. Why should that be? How are you different from other men who shave their hair? The same God created you and them. But they have cast you out like lepers. It is against the will of God, who has promised everlasting17 life to all who believe in His holy name. The heathen say you will die if you do this or that, and you are afraid. They also said I would die if I built my church on this ground. Am I dead? They said I would die if i took care of twins. I am still alive. The heathen speak nothing but falsehood. Only the word of our God is true."
The two outcasts shaved off their hair, and soon they were the strongest adherents18 of the new faith. And what was more, nearly all the osu in Mbanta followed their example. It was in fact one of them who in his zeal19 brought the church into serious conflict with the clan a year later by killing the sacred python, the emanation of the god of water.
The royal python was the most revered20 animal in Mbanta and all the surrounding clans21. It was addressed as "Our Father," and was allowed to go wherever it chose, even into people's beds. It ate rats in the house and sometimes swallowed hens' eggs. If a clansman killed a royal python accidentally, he made sacrifices of atonement and performed an expensive burial ceremony such as was done for a great man. No punishment was prescribed for a man who killed the python knowingly. Nobody thought that such a thing could ever happen.
Perhaps it never did happen. That was the way the clan at first looked at it. No one had actually seen the man do it. The story had arisen among the Christians themselves.
But, all the same, the rulers and elders of Mbanta assembled to decide on their action. Many of them spoke22 at great length and in fury. The spirit of wars was upon them. Okonkwo, who had begun to play a part in the affairs of his motherland, said that until the abominable23 gang was chased out of the village with whips there would be no peace.
But there were many others who saw the situation differently, and it was their counsel that prevailed in the end.
"It is not our custom to fight for our gods," said one of them. "Let us not presume to do so now. If a man kills the sacred python in the secrecy24 of his hut, the matter lies between him and the god. We did not see it. If we put ourselves between the god and his victim we may receive blows intended for the offender25. When a man blasphemes, what do we do? Do we go and stop his mouth? No. We put our fingers into our ears to stop us hearing. That is a wise action."
"Let us not reason like cowards," said Okonkwo. "If a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor, what do I do? Do i shut my eyes? No! I take a stick and break his head That is what a man does. These people are daily pouring filth26 over us, and Okeke says we should pretend not to see." Okonkwo made a sound full of disgust. This was a womanly clan, he thought. Such a thing could never happen in his fatherland, Umuofia.
"Okonkwo has spoken the truth," said another man. "We should do something. But let us ostracize27 these men. We would then not be held accountable for their abominations."
Everybody in the assembly spoke, and in the end it was decided to ostracize the Christians. Okonkwo ground his teeth in disgust.
That night a bell-man went through the length and breadth of Mbanta proclaiming that the adherents of the new faith were thenceforth excluded from the life and privileges of the clan.
The Christians had grown in number and were now a small community of men, women and children, self-assured and confident. Mr. Brown, the white missionary, paid regular visits to them. "When I think that it is only eighteen months since the Seed was first sown among you," he said, "I marvel28 at what the Lord hath wrought29."
It was Wednesday in Holy Week and Mr. Kiaga had asked the women to bring red earth and white chalk and water to scrub the church for Easter, and the women had formed themselves into three groups for this purpose. They set out early that morning, some of them with their water-pots to the stream, another group with hoes and baskets to the village earth pit, and the others to the chalk quarry30.
Mr. Kiaga was praying in the church when he heard the women talking excitedly. He rounded off his prayer and went to see what it was all about. The women had come to the church with empty waterpots. They said that some young men had chased them away from the stream with whips. Soon after, the women who had gone for red earth returned with empty baskets. Some of them had been heavily whipped. The chalk women also returned to tell a similar story.
"What does it all mean?" asked Mr. Kiaga, who was greatly perplexed31.
"The village has outlawed32 us," said one of the women. "The bell-man announced it last night. But it is not our custom to debar anyone from the stream or the quarry."
Another woman said, "They want to ruin us. They will not allow us into the markets. They have said so."
Mr. Kiaga was going to send into the village for his men-converts when he saw them coming on their own. Of course they had all heard the bell-man, but they had never in all their lives heard of women being debarred from the stream.
"Come along," they said to the women. "We will go with you to meet those cowards." Some of them had big sticks and some even machetes.
But Mr. Kiaga restrained them. He wanted first to know why they had been outlawed.
"They say that Okoli killed the sacred python," said one man.
"It is false," said another. "Okoli told me himself that it was false."
Okoli was not there to answer. He had fallen ill on the previous night. Before the day was over he was dead. His death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles. The clan saw no reason then for molesting33 the Christians.
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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undesirable
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| adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子 | |
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missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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shrines
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| 圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 ) | |
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shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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follower
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| n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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taboo
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| n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止 | |
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tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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adherents
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| n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙 | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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revered
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| v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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clans
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| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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ostracize
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| v.放逐，排斥 | |
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marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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outlawed
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| 宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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molesting
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| v.骚扰( molest的现在分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵 | |
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