Introduction
Africa is known for its diverse cultures and the traditions that make it unique among the world’s continents. Before colonialism, the African continent maintained strong traditions and cultures that influenced the way of life in different communities that occupied the vast lands of Africa. African culture was generally considered barbaric due to the strong values maintained across the continent. Such aspects led to the development of stereotypes across the Western world that generalized all African cultures. The notion was spread by African novelists, who created literature from various parts of Africa. Their work provided knowledge of the various traditions people maintained across the continent, allowing the rest of the world to learn about how different African cultures were. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is one of the novels from Africa that plays a pivotal role in understanding Africa and colonialism’s influence on people’s lives. Although there are various themes in the novel regarding the lives of Africans during the age of colonialism, culture prevails as the main theme.
Igbo Culture and Traditions
Chinua Achebe intended to educate the readers about the value of his African culture. The author maintains the touch of the Igbo culture of Nigeria, where the entire novel is set. According to researchers, Achebe wrote the story in response to European novels depicting Africans as barbarians needing European enlightenment (Karanwal 2). Achebe was able to present to the readers the history of the Igbo tribe of Nigeria, to show its strengths, weaknesses, and the influence of the Western world on their people. Through the description of the Igbo festivals depicted in the novel, the worship of the gods in the shrines, and the ritual ceremonies, Achebe portrayed the relevance of culture in their daily lives. In the novel, Achebe described how Igbo traditions and culture enabled the maintenance of law and order and respect between community members and the gods who protected the land. This aspect entailed applying judgments made by the oracle and undertaking prayers and giving offerings to appease them when offended if anyone disobeyed a tradition, as Okonkwo did after violating the peacekeeping week tradition.
The novel shows that African traditions were critical of the Igbo as they enabled them to live in harmony and provide guidance on how to solve the issues that developed. Unlike how they were portrayed in European literature, the novel paints a clear picture of African communities in order, and everything is fine with them (Karanwal 3). The first nine chapters of the novel portray the pre-colonial era of Nigeria, specifically the Igbo community, and how their life was before the infringement of the Europeans, who are presumed to disrupt their traditions. Achebe achieves his purpose through the life of Okonkwo, the main protagonist in the novel. Through his life, the readers can learn about his community’s traditions and how the people felt about their way of life. Such customs are evident, as he plays an important role in the story’s various events, both as a member of society and as an elder. His interactions with other members of society and his encounters with traditional rules are highly educational and informative.
Traditions were another aspect of African communities that were considered important to their way of life. According to the novel, traditions played a critical role in how the Igbo lived and interacted (Ngendahayo 6). The Igbo people were extremely conservative, with traditions guiding every aspect of their daily lives. Among the common traditions was the partaking of kola nuts, which was present whenever elders met to talk. Sharing kola nuts was considered a symbol of peace and was used to extend friendships. An elder’s rejection of kola nuts was considered a sign of conflict between the parties involved (Ngendahayo 6). Such products were used in traditional ceremonies, together with palm wine, to symbolize peace and friendship between the different parties. The traditions of the land enabled individuals to marry more wives, making men more respected among the clan members since feeding a family was among the aspects used to measure success (Karanwal 7). In this case, men such as Okonkwo, who could feed large families, were highly respected.
Economic Activities During the Precolonial Era
One lesson that can be learned from the pre-colonial era in Nigeria is that the Igbo people were farmers and hunters. Agriculture was crucial in Igbo society as the people depended on farm products to survive. The harvest individuals made was considered their source of wealth, as being able to feed a family was a strong attribute linked to most men (Achebe 18). According to the novel, yams were the staple food, and individuals were considered rich based on the size of their farms and their accomplishments compared to other clansmen (Kanwal 3). Okonkwo was regarded as a successful and wealthy man in his community due to his abilities as a great warrior, farmer, and family man. Such attributes are comparable to those of his father, Unoka, who was not even able to get any title in the community since he was lazy and ill-fated, as the oracle presumed (Ngendahayo 8). Unoka was not regarded as a prominent member of society; even his son would not seek his advice due to the debts he had left behind. In addition, the members of the community hunted for wild rats.
Spirituality
The Igbo culture depended highly on the gods, which were considered to guide the various issues that affected the community. The decisions of the gods were considered final, and no one was in any position to question them (Karanwal 6). In addition, the gods could pass judgment on people who committed various wrongs, which were strictly followed. For example, people who died of stomach inflammations were taken to the evil forest rather than buried. According to the text, burying people with these ailments was considered taboo as it would annoy the goddess of the earth (Achebe 12). Other traditions embraced included the creation of ancestral shrines in homesteads, where family members would seek ancestral guidance and perform rituals to appease them. Such shrines were considered to play a critical role among the members of the Igbo community, as they would serve as their source of guidance and protection (Kanwal 7). The practice prevails in the novel, as Okonkwo had a family shrine where he made sacrifices to them and gave offerings on different occasions.
Authority and Punishments
Another important aspect of Igbo culture is that traditions were considered final, and their application was not questioned. Such traditions made people remain loyal, irrespective of the practice’s implications for other people. Despite the traditions being democratic, they are patriarchal as they give men much authority compared to women. For example, men had the authority to discipline their wives whenever they made mistakes. Wife beating is common among members of the Igbo community and is sanctioned by customs (Kanwal 4). These aspects are evident as Okonkwo beats up his second wife to discipline her for going to plait her hair before making food for the children and family. Such laws were considered to apply among the various villages of the land, despite the people maintaining different cultural practices. Another example of how traditional rules were strictly applied without questioning is when Okonkwo was sent as a representative of his village after members of their community were killed in the neighboring village (Ngendahayo 8). Okonkwo is given a virgin boy and a virgin girl in the process as compensation for the loss of the woman killed in the neighboring community.
Unethical Practices
Some traditional practices in the novel show that varied cultural aspects are inhuman and against human rights to some extent. The issue of gods, oracles, and magic plays a critical role in developing evil. The assumption that certain actions or events are heinous makes the culture dangerous and unethical. For example, giving birth to twins and leaving them in the evil forest is inhuman as it leads to the death of innocent people (Achebe 48). Failing to bury people due to ailments, such as inflation of body organs, and taking them to the evil forest to avoid offending the earth goddess is inhuman. The killing of innocent people, as instructed by the oracle, is another evil tradition maintained by the Igbo people. Such barbarism was considered to raise issues among the community members who felt it was good, as the novel depicts. Okonkwo was uncomfortable after the oracle ordered Ikemefuna to be killed as he could not disobey the order, although he had developed a strong attachment to him as his son. In addition, he did not have the authority to question the gods when the oracle took away his son.
Education and Learning
Despite their lack of formal education, the Igbo people were intelligent and wise as they used words that were full of patterns and proverbs. According to Achebe, “among the Igbo, the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten” (Achebe 4). In this case, Achebe incorporated proverbs in the elders’ conversations to develop an authentic feeling of the Igbo culture. Such language plays a critical role in promoting western culture showing its brilliance and sharing wisdom, which helps people make informed decisions. The elaboration of such proverbs enabled the readers to understand the various contexts in which they were used and how they elaborated on the issues affecting the characters at the moment (Tamuli 61). The use of Igbo terminologies in the novel linked to the culture of the people promoting the cultural aspects maintained by the Igbo people.
In addition, Achebe emphasized inter-community relationships to show how the different African communities operated differently. This aspect was used to counter western claims that generalized African cultures and communities. In the novel, the interaction of people from different Igbo communities showed that despite having a common language and related traditions, they had varied knowledge and skills that made them unique and different (Tamuli 62). Such aspects are evident through the introduction of Ikemefuna in the story, which provided a great opportunity for Achebe to show how differently the communities shared knowledge and skills. According to the novel, Ikemefuna knew many stories the children had never heard before and impressive skills that were unique to their community (Tamuli 63). Ikemefuna would make flutes from bamboo sticks and set traps for little bush rodents where such skills and knowledge were unique to his people. The diversity of cultural practice and knowledge is critical in the novel. It enables Achebe to provide vital information to the readers, who despised African culture and used only negative words to define it.
Conclusion
Finally, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart presentation of the pre-colonial era provides critical information on how African culture was unique and important in the lives of the continent’s people. Achebe utilizes his people’s culture, the Igbo, as a sample to show his readers how the traditions made life interesting for them and the way they maintained law and order. He depicts their various beliefs, their relationship with gods, and the ceremonies they value in the novel. In addition, gender roles are elaborated, as are the roles that men and women played in the community and how leadership was attained. Achebe included Igbo terminologies in the novel to make the readers relate to the Nigerian culture and to show how knowledge was acquired and shared through stories and proverbs. Achebe used the novel to show how interesting African culture was and how it made life interesting by diffusing the negative perceptions and stereotypes maintained in the Western world. Therefore, the portrayal of the Igbo culture in the novel was critical for readers to understand why Africans were proud of their traditions.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. William Heinemann Ltd, 1958.
Kanwal, Bindu. “Colonial and Post Colonial Perspectives of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.” Journal of National Development, vol. 31, no. 2, 2018, pp. 1–10, Web.
Ngendahayo, Jean Damascene. “The Protagonist’s Masculine Perceptions in Things Fall Apart as the Sign of Igbo Society Breakup.” Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, vol. 75, no. 2021, 2021, pp. 5–10, Web.
Tamuli, Simona. “Things Fall Apart: Manifestation of Oral Tradition of Igbo Community in a Post Colonial Novel.” Journal of Global Communication, vol. 14, no. 1, 2021, pp. 60– 63, Web.