CHAPTER THREE
Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had. He did not
inherit a barn from his father. There was no barn to inherit. The story was told in
Umuofia, of how his father, Unoka, had gone to consult the Oracle of the Hills and the
Caves to find out why he always had a miserable harvest.
The Oracle was called Agbala, and people came from far and near to consult it.
They came when misfortune dogged their steps or when they had a dispute with their
neighbours. They came to discover what the future held for them or to consult the spirits
of their departed fathers.
The way into the shrine was a round hole at the side of a hill, just a little bigger
than the round opening into a henhouse. Worshippers and those who came to seek
knowledge from the god crawled on their belly through the hole and found themselves
in a dark, endless space in the presence of Agbala. No one had ever beheld Agbala,
except his priestess. But no one who had ever crawled into his awful shrine had come
out without the fear of his power. His priestess stood by the sacred fire which she built
in the heart of the cave and proclaimed the will of the god. The fire did not burn with a
flame. The glowing logs only served to light up vaguely the dark figure of the priestess.
Sometimes a man came to consult the spirit of his dead father or relative. It was
said that when such a spirit appeared, the man saw it vaguely in the darkness, but never
heard its voice. Some people even said that they had heard the spirits flying and
flapping their wings against the roof of the cave.
Many years ago when Okonkwo was still a boy his father, Unoka, had gone to
consult Agbala. The priestess in those days was a woman called Chika. She was full of
the power of her god, and she was greatly feared. Unoka stood before her and began his
story.