How Does Achebe Depict Ibo Culture in ‘Things Fall Apart’ free essay sample

How does Achebe depict Ibo culture in ‘Things Fall Apart’? Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, is a story of a traditional village in Nigeria from inside Umuofia around the late 1800s. This novel depicts late African history and shows how the British administrative structure, in the form of the European Anglican Church, imposed its religion and trappings on the cultures of Africa, which they believed was uncivilized. This missionary zeal subjugated large native populations. Consequently, the native traditions gradually disappeared and in time the whole local social structure within which the indigenous people had lived successfully for centuries was destroyed. Achebe spends the first half of the novel depicting the Ibo culture, by itself, in both a sophisticated and primitive light describing and discussing its grandeur, showing its strengths and weaknesses, etiquettes and incivilities, and even the beginning of cultural breakdown before the introduction of the missionaries. The collapse of the old culture is evident soon after the missionaries arrived, and here Achebe utilises two of the primary missionary figures, Mr. We will write a custom essay sample on How Does Achebe Depict Ibo Culture in ‘Things Fall Apart’? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Brown and Mr. Smith, to once again depicts both sides of the Ibo culture between them, with Mr. Brown depicting the sophisticated and Mr. Smith depicting the primitive aspects. The main focus in this novel is on one man, Okonkwo, the protagonist who symbolises the many Nigerians, or Africans who were struggling against the white missionaries, who brought their religion and policies and imposed them on Okonkwo’s and the other surrounding tribes. Achebe also shows how great the effect is when something as seemingly un-invasive, such as a church, is set up in a Nigerian or African Culture. Among other issues, Achebe illustrates clearly the way the white Europeans see things from their cultures perspective. An example of this is shown when the District Commissioner describes the Ibo as people from â€Å" Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger. † Achebe starts off the novel portraying the Ibo culture as organised, with complex laws and customs, established over time which held the communities together. Even though the Ibo are described as ‘primitive and savage’ by Mr. Smith, one of the missionary church leaders, the tribesmen evidently show their etiquette through their mannerisms. Proverbs, a form of Ibo mannerisms, are used quite frequently throughout this novel as ‘the art of conversation is regarded very highly [by the Ibo], and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten. ’ (Achebe. P. 5:1986) The Ibo people are also not as violent and savage as many of the missionaries believed. This is shown when a villager from the Mbaino village kills a woman from the Ibo village, the Ibo village elders and those with titles, instead of initiating war against the neighbouring Mbaino, reach a peaceful agreement on the reparations from the Mbaino tribe. ‘†¦ [A]t the end it was decided to follow the normal course of action. An ultimatum was immediately dispatched to Mbaino asking them to choose between wars on the one hand, and on the other the offer of a young man and a virgin as compensation. † (P. ) Achebe also expands on the reflection of the Ibo peoples of being civil, depicting the civilised aspects of the Ibo religion. Another example similar to the peaceful reparation, previously mentioned, is the week of peace before the beginning of the harvest season, required of the Ibo villages. This was a sacred time for the Ibo people. Before anyone was allowed to plant their crops, it was required that they live in peace with their neighbours for one week to honour Ani, the great goddess of the earth. It was said that if this peace is broken then they will not receive a blessing from Ani and their crops will not grow. Achebe demonstrates how important this week was to the Ibo people through Okonkwo’s breaking of this law, by beating his wife Ojiugo, with the priest of the earth goddess, Ezeani, stating that â€Å"The evil [Ojiugo has] done can ruin the whole clan. † (P. 22) It was also a shocking moment for Ibo people when they heard of Okonkwo’s nso-ani, (breaking of the peace) during this week, because â€Å"it was the first time for many years that a man had broken the sacred peace. (P. 22) Reference to these examples by Achebe displays his attitude towards the Ibo culture which, up until this point, has been relatively positive, depicting the Ibo culture as a civilised and sophisticated one. There are passages in this novel, however, that implies a more critical attitude on Achebe’s part. Despite the sophisticated aspects of the Ibo tribe, they sti ll perform parts of their system of belief which are considered uncivilised and primitive. However, these measures can be considered a way of dealing with difficult or unpleasant circumstances. One example Achebe uses to depict the injustices in Ibo culture, is where it was believed that a child who died and return to its mother to be reborn again, several times, was the work of an evil spirit or an ogbanje child. If this occurs then a ‘medicine-man’ would â€Å" bring out a sharp razor from the goatskin bag slung from his left shoulder and mutilate the child. † (P. 56) It was assumed that in doing this that the ogbanje child â€Å"†¦would think twice before coming again. † (P. 57) Twins, like an ogbanje child, were also greatly feared and were â€Å"thrown away† (P. 9) at birth. Both of these examples show how the Ibo tribe rely on their primitive systems of belief to deal with incomprehensible circumstances. Nearer the end of the novel, Achebe finalises and concludes the two differing depictions of the Ibo culture through the use of two of the Anglican churches missionary leaders, Mr. Brown and Reverend James Smith. These two leaders , between themselves, depict the two different aspects of Ibo culture after the missionaries arrived. Firstly the examples involving Mr. Brown, the first church leader, shows the various benefits and advancements that the introduction of the missionaries brought to the Ibo people and their culture. Although he doesn’t achieve his original goal of converting as many of the tribesmen as possible, Mr. Brown does succeed in starting educational and health systems to the benefit of the Ibo people. Occasionally in the novel he starts arguing with some of the villages, but through this he learns much about the sophisticated structure and beliefs of the Ibo culture. Mr. Brown sees Achebe’s original depiction of the Ibo as a developed society and soon becomes more concerned for the people of Umuofia’s needs (Okonkwo’s village) than for his own goals. A good example of this was when he warns the villages of the threats they face from the white man by preaching to the villagers that â€Å"if Umuofia failed to send her children to the school, strangers would come from other places to rule them†. (P. 130) Achebe’s second depiction of the Ibo culture is portrayed by Mr. Smith, who in contrast to Mr. Brown, acknowledges and depicts the primitive aspect of Ibo culture. Mr. Smith’s aim also contrasts with Mr. Brown’s, believing in converting only those who are worthy of god. He was also more openly opposed to the perceived primitive spiritual beliefs and methods of the Ibo people as they seemed barbaric to him. Both Mr. Smith and the District Commissioner only noticed the extreme uncivilised acts, such as the mutilation of an ogbanje child, which â€Å" filled them with wrath † (P. 132) Therefore the depiction that the Ibo were primitive and savage was again replayed through these characters. Mr. Smith additionally displays the negative effect the missionaries had on the Ibo people. An example of this can be seen in Mr. Smiths lack of appreciation for Ibo cultures pre-existing structure and beliefs and led him to cause trouble within the village, by hiding Enoch who had killed an â€Å"ancestral spirit† (P. 134) drawing the anger of the other tribesmen. In Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, a dual depiction of the Ibo culture is displayed. Firstly Achebe describes the Ibo culture, prior to the missionaries, as sophisticated by noting examples where civilities were conducted and observed by members of the tribe. Achebe additionally used the Ibo religion and culture as supporting examples of this depiction and portrays them throughout the novel. The Ibo culture is also depicted as primitive and unjust by Achebe. This is noted in the primitive aspects of the Ibo people’s system of belief which appears uncivilised and unjust. These examples of the Ibo culture are then combined with and redisplayed by the other primary method that Achebe uses to depict the dual aspects of Ibo culture, the two missionaries figures. Firstly Mr. Brown is utilised in a way that acknowledges the sophisticated structure and beliefs of the Ibo culture and improvement brought to the Ibo people through the missionaries involvement in the village. Alternatively Mr. Smith is only utilised in a way that only notices the extreme uncivilised acts committed by the Ibo people, and escalating rift between them and the missionaries. Bibliography Achebe, C. 1986. All Things Fall Apart. Heinemann Educational Publishers. Oxford.