Chapter Nine
The chapter opens with Okonkwo finally sleeping through three nights. He is awakened early by a frantic knock from Ekwefi, who tells him that their only child, Ezinma, is dying. Okonkwo rushes to Ekwefi’s hut where Ezinma lies shivering beside a large fire. He diagnoses the illness as “iba” and leaves to collect the necessary leaves, grasses, and bark for the remedy.
The narrative then shifts to Ekwefi’s past. She has borne ten children, nine of whom died in infancy, each given names that plead with death—Onwumbiko, Ozoemena, and Onwuma—reflecting her deep despair. After the death of another child, a diviner identifies the infant as an ogbanje, a malicious spirit that repeatedly returns to the mother’s womb. The diviner advises Ekwefi to avoid sleeping in her hut during future pregnancies, a precaution she follows.
Later, after the birth and death of a son named Onwumbiko, Ekwefi summons the renowned medicine man Okagbue Uyanwa to deal with the ogbanje. Okagbue questions Okonkwo about market days of birth and death, the sleeping arrangements of the couple, and ultimately mutilates the child’s corpse before burying it in the Evil Forest to thwart the spirit’s return. The community interprets these rituals as significant.
Ekwefi’s bitterness deepens as other wives celebrate births while she mourns. Eventually, Ekwefi gives birth to Ezinma, who is recognized as an ogbanje because of her erratic bouts of health and illness. A year prior, Okagbue had unearthed Ezinma’s iyi‑uwa—a smooth pebble wrapped in a dirty rag—believing it to be the ogbanje’s talisman. When questioned, the nine‑year‑old Ezinma reluctantly points to the burial spot near an orange tree. Okagbue, without hesitation, digs a pit, retrieves the pebble, and confirms it belongs to Ezinma. The women rejoice, seeing the ogbanje’s power broken, and Ezinma remains healthy for over a year.
However, Ezinma suddenly begins to shiver at night again. Ekwefi tends her, fearing the illness is still iba. Okonkwo returns from the bush carrying bundles of medicinal plants, prepares a potent brew, and instructs Ekwefi on precise measurements and boiling time. He forces her to watch the pot, warning that boiling over will ruin its potency. After the medicine is ready, Okonkwo places a low stool and thick mat for Ezinma, positions the steaming pot before her, and covers them with the mat. Ezinma struggles with the steam, cries, and eventually collapses, drenched in sweat. Ekwefi mops her with a cloth, and Ezinma finally falls asleep, her fever abated. The chapter ends with the family hoping the treatment will save her.