“And when, as on that day, nine of the greatest masked spirits in the clan came out together it was a terrifying spectacle.
Okonkwo's wives, and perhaps other women as well, might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springy walk of Okonkwo. And they might also have noticed that Okonkwo was not among the titled men and elders who sat behind the row of egwugwu. But if they thought these things they kept them to themselves. The egwugwu with the springy walk was one of the dead fathers of the clan.”

—  Chinua Achebe , book Things Fall Apart

Source: Things Fall Apart (1958), Chapter 10 (p. 85)

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Chinua Achebe photo
Chinua Achebe 63
Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic 1930–2013

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