Study Questions
1. Why does Uchendu say that Obierika’s generation stays at home and even a man’s motherland is strange to him?

2. What are the names of some of the clans Uchendu knows in the area?

3. What did the fearless men of Abame do when they met the white man?

4. Why did the Oracle say the white men were like locusts?

5. Why did the white man seem to speak through his nose?

6. Why did the white men wait for the market day to slaughter Abame?

7. Give an example proving that a great evil descended upon Abame just as the Oracle warned.

8. What is the significance of the story of Mother Kite, the bird?

9. Why does Obierika get a late start on his journey?

10. Why does Obierika bring Okonkwo the money?

Answers
1. The younger generation does not travel to distant clans. They are so afraid of their neighbors, they do not even visit their mothers’ homes.

2. Some of the clans Uchendu knows in the area are Aninta, Umuazu, Ikeocha, Elumelu, and Abame.

3. The fearless men of Abame touched and killed the white man.

4. The Oracle said the white men were like locusts because the first one was a scout who was sent to explore the terrain. Other white men would follow him.

5. The white man seemed to speak through his nose because his language and intonation were unfamiliar to the Igbo people.

6. The white men waited for the big market day to slaughter the people of Abame because almost every person in the clan was in the market.

7. The sacred fish in the mysterious lake of Abame fled, and the lake turned the color of blood.

8. Mother Kite sent her daughter for food. The mother duck did not cry when she seized her duckling, but the mother chicken did cry when she seized her chick. Mother Kite sent the duckling back but kept the chick.

9. Obierika means to set out before the cock crowed, but Nweke, one of the men accompanying him, is late. Obierika says you should never make an early morning appointment with a man who has just married a new wife.

10. Obierika brings Okonkwo the money because he thinks Okonkwo might need it. Obierika does not know what might happen tomorrow. The clan may be invaded by green men who will shoot them.