The culture of the Umuofia society before
the colonial
infiltration, may
be hard to understand but we are forced by
Achebe to realize
it has traditions and customs that make it
work. Although, looking at it from our
Judaeo-Christian point of
view we may be
appalled by some of their practices. We
also have
to realize that
they have strengths.
Things Fall apart is the idea of balance
and
interdependence,
earth and sky, individual and community, man and
woman or
different perspectives on the same situation.
The
central image of
this balance is contained in the Ibo concept of
"chi,"
which occurs throughout the novel. A
persons "chi" is
their destiny,
his inner self, "you wouldn't challenge your "chi"
to a wrestling
match," as did Okonkwo when he assisted in the
killing of
Ikemefuna, whom he loved and who called him father.
Okonkwo sins not
only against the earth goddess, protector of
family relations,
but also against his inner most feelings or his
"chi." Any bad luck that occurs, people of this
culture would
say that you have
a bad "chi."
Okonkwo's destiny is marked by bad luck,
one reason may be
that he is so
driven by the fear of resembling his father that he
struggles to
repress part of his personality with predictably
afflicted
results.
This was a society where a man was judged
by his own
achievement and
not that of his fathers. Yams were the
primary
crop of
Umuofia. A sign of manliness was if you
could farm yams
to feed your
family. Okonkwo is respected because of
his hard
work.
The complex patterns of Umuofia's economic
and social
customs
materialize throughout this novel as we see Okonkwo
compelled to rid
himself of any similarities that his father had.
Unoka had no
titles, was lazy and when he died was greatly in
debt.
Some may wonder how a society like the
Ibo's functioned, how
they enforce its
laws with no kings, no organized police force,
and no standing
army. Indeed this is something our
"modern"
culture could
study. These things were accomplished
through the
functions of the
masked spirits.
The Egwugwu, represents the village's
highest spiritual and
judicial
authority. The masked spirits are believed to represent
their
ancestors. This supports the myth
"The land of the living
was not far
removed from the domain of the ancestors."
There was
a coming and
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