The Igbo: A Ruined Society

Unexpected arrival of the missionaries, which will alter all the lives and traditions of the Igbo

The concepts of order, hierarchy, and religion are the most important components of the Igbo society. These concepts are so profoundly entrenched in society that their alteration could result in chaos. The introduction of a new religion as a result of Westernization serves as a catalyst for destructive cultural change, which ultimately results in contrasting cultural traditions that compromise existing core values. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe describes the impact Christianity has on the Igbo society, that causes the modification of its native traditions.

A long time ago, before humans, the earth was covered entirely with water. Then, the God, Chukwu, created the first human family which included Eze Nri, his wife, and his children. Eze Nri and his family stood upon a small anthill feeling extremely hungry and without a place to live. Chukwu, who felt bad for them, gave them a yam and they found it to be very good. The next morning, the family was hungry again and begged for more yams from Chukwu. The God then gave them some yam seeds but there was no place to plant them. Chukwu told Eze Nri to call for the Akwa blacksmiths to blow away the water. Eze Nri was then told to sacrifice his eldest son and daughter to plant the seeds in their graves. Some time later, the yams were ready to be harvested and Eze Nri gave them to all the Igbo people (Ohadike). Today, the Igbo people are the third largest ethnic group in Nigeria and they make up 18 percent of the population which is over 32 million (The World Factbook - Nigeria) and about the size of Afghanistan (The

Okonkwo, and the Igbo culture. Okonkwo is a respected and influential leader within Umuofia in eastern Nigeria(chapter 1). Both of these pieces are one of the greatest of all time. Even though that Hotel Rwanda and Things fall apart are similar they can differ in many other ways.

The Igbo people are a tribe that basis much of their beliefs around folklore. This folklore is a key part of their daily lives and their religion. These stories passed from generation to generation teach valuable lessons to the children of the tribe and prepare them for adult life. The following examples are some of the most important beliefs and the stories that accompany them.

In 1914, Sir Frederick Lugard amalgamated the Northern and Southern protectorates of the British colony into one nation, present day Nigeria. This act was carried out without “due consultation of the colonies or national conference on nationhood convened for the people to work out their own destiny” . This was as a result of the scramble and partition of Africa by European powers. Each clinging to its colonies and deciding its fate absent any representative of the people it ruled over. This fact ever more evident by Flora Shaw naming the state Nigeria, name she had coined from her own studies and observation, irrelevant of the history

CULTURE COMPARISON IN NIGERIA WITHIN THREE IGBO SPEAKING LANDS AND (YORUBA) LAND. Nigeria is a west African country with over 180 million people. It consist of 3 known ethnic groups, igbo’s, Hausa’s , and the Yoruba’s. The igbo’s (Biafrans) are known as Christians, the hausa’s are known as muslims and the yoruba’s are mixed Christians and muslims. However in this three ethnic groups there’s so much cultural, language and morality differences.

Introduction: There are certain things that make a society civilized or uncivilized. One thing that makes an society civilized is that it has some sort of authority. An uncivilized society is where people have no authority, no order at all, and everyone in that society is going crazy. Thesis: The Igbo society is civilized because they have a structured government and they have culture.

Does religion bring things together or does it break them apart? The religion of the Igbo people and their praise for the Earth goddess, Ala, has always been a prominent part of their life, but over time it has changed. Through reading Things Fall Apart and doing online research it can be seen that parts of the traditional Igbo religion have been lost in modern day, but some of the practices still exist. From the past and even until now, there has always been a place to worship traditional Igbo gods. In the book Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo has his own personal place to worship the gods that he believes in.

The Igbo people of Nigeria were in dismay when the British imperialism took over their tribe. Like many instances of a larger group overthrowing people there is bound to be backlash from those people. The British completely overturned their traditional way of life to the point that many of the people were leaving such as the sons of Umuofia who have “gone their several ways”. At the start the British provided a new language, allowed Nneka to keep her twins due to the new religion, and introduced trade into their non-existent economy, but as they began to use the tribe Okwonkwo turned on them. They ended up having a negative impact on the tribe rather than a positive one. Forcing them into their own government and violating their religion was

Every society has their own set of laws and their own set of consequences that go with those laws if they are broken. An example of these laws and punishments can be seen in the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe with the Igbo tribe. The Igbo tribe has several laws such as, human positive laws and divine laws, and the consequences for those laws.

In the village of Umuofia, the Igbo people worship a religion of many deities. Their polytheistic religion consists of gods related to nature such as rain, sun, etc. The most important deity is the goddess of the Earth; Igbo people frain from committing sins against the goddess of the Earth in fear of complete genocide. The European missionaries introduce Umuofia to a monotheistic religion, Christianity. The Igbo people fear what they can’t understand, such as medicine. Igbo people feared the “white man”, however, missionaries successfully convert some Igbo people into Christian, causing them to be shamed by the hierarchy of men in the village. The conversion caused changes in Igbo culture and influenced the Igbo people to behave in a way that was unheard of before the European missionaries arrived. Enoch, a recently converted Christian, committed one of the worst crimes in

The Igbo community is developed because they have fair ideology practice. For example, when Okonkwo shot his gun on accident and hit Ezeudu's son who’s father the clan was burying it says “The only course of action was to flee from

In Africa, many indigenes were annihilated by White people. They were treated as if they were animals: they were beaten, hung and slayed. Not just the African were the only race that was being eliminated, so as the Jews in Germany. This issue was not exclusive to the indigenes in Africa but it was a global issue that other race in a different had also experienced the same thing. This is what C, wright Mills was talking about in the article "The Promise". He introduced the term "sociological imagination" to explain the phenomena that people have been experiencing in their lives. The annihilation of indigenes in Africa was not a personal struggle because it also happened to another race in another nation.

The novelist states that it is the Igbo's political identity which is shaped according to a sufficient semi-democratic system. This ruling system comprises the ichie/oha "elders council" the masquerade cult, the ozo institution, the gods, oracles, and divination such as amadioha (the god of thunder), ogwugwu, ogbanje, ibinu ukpabi, agwu, onuochasi, agbara mmiri (water spirit), ohammiri/ogbuide (water godess among oguta igbo), mbari art (among owerri igbo), ahiajoku/ifejioku (yam godess), chiokike,( god the creator) etc. The system presents regulations and rules that people have to abide by, and whoever tries to break these rules will be punished by them.