2. Basic Events
● Okonkwo finally starting to forget what
happened to Ikemefuna and is able to sleep
● Okonkwo woken early by Ekwefi because
Ezinma is dying
● Learn that Ekwefi’s 9 other children died in
infancy
● Okagbue and Okonkwo dig up Ezinma’s iyi-uwa
and destroyed it to keep her healthy
● Okonkwo cooks medicine from Ezinma
● Enzima falls asleep
4. Cultural Norms
● Stories are passed down to generations
● After 3rd child, a woman is gifted a goat
● Each ogbanje has an iyi-uwa
○ the iyi-uwa must be found and destroyed in order
for the child to survive
5. Terms and Definitions
● Nne - what children called their mothers
● Onwumbiko - “death I implore you”
● Ozoemena - “May it not happen again”
● Onwuma - “Death may please himself”
● orbanje - a wicked child who, when they
died, entered the womb to be born again
● chi - personal god
● iyi-uwa-special kind of stone which forms
the link between an ogbanje and spirit
world
6. Connections to Today
● People go to a doctor to prescribe them
medicine in order to cure illness
● When a child is born, friends and family
give gifts to the family (baby showers)
7. Characters
● Okagbue Uyanwa- medicine man; the man
Okonkwo goes to for medicine for Ezinma
● Onwumbiko - child of Ekwefi; died at 15
months
● Ozoemena - child of Ekwefi; died at 11
months
● Onwuma - child of Ekwefi
8. Questions
● Do you think all 10 of Ekwefi’s children
were also Okonkwo’s?
● Do you think it was more difficult for
Okonkwo to kill Ikemefuna knowing the pain
Ekwefi went through after the death of her
first nine children?
10. Basic Events
● “After the midday meal” a trial took place
between Mgbafo and Uzowulu.
-Titled men and elders sat on stools
-9 masked spirits in a clan represented a
village of Umuofia
-Evil Forest was oldest of the nine sons
12. Cultural Norms
● Dressing up as spirits and having trials at
the egwugwu house
● During the trial women are on outside of
the crowd/not allowed in the hut
● First nine fathers of the clan, passed down
generations
● Spirits always address humans as “bodies”
● Bribe price is given back if wife run away
13. Terms and Definitions
● Egwugwu-impersonates the ancestral spirits
● Kwenu-shout of approval/greeting
● Ilo-village green where assemblies take
place
15. Characters
● Mgbafo-Wife of Uzowulu, going to trial with
her brothers
● Uzowulu-Husband of Mgbafo, going to trial
with relatives, beats his wife
● Evil Forest-Eldest of the nine sons,
represents village of Umueru (the children
of Eru)
● Odukwe-Mgbafo’s oldest brother
16. Questions
● Do you believe that Uzowulu will go do
what the Evil Forest suggests?
● Do you think that Uzowulu will keep beating
his wife?
