How Did The Igbo Religion Influence The Government?

When the Christian religion is introduced, preaching universal acceptance, many members of the clan who are dissatisfied with the Ibo religion are drawn toward it. Some of the title-less men described as 'women' in the tribe are immediately drawn to it. Nwoye, who dislikes the practice

When Okonkwo was introduced to the cultural change by the British colonial missionaries, he was angry because he felt that the colonial missionaries were trying to decrease the existence of one's manliness. “The white man is clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion”. Now they’ve put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” (Things Fall Apart, Chapter 20, Page 152) With the arrival of the white missionaries, the Igbo religion came to a disagreement upon the religion that's being changed in the igbo culture. Missionaries changed umuofia's religious traditions and turned them against their gods. Okonkwo then starts acting out in random acts of violence, such as killing. To Okonkwo this was, manliness to do that sorrow act. To Okonkwo this was important because he did not want to be like his weak father, therefore, Okonkwo continues to behave this

The Ibo have a highly religious culture; the base of most of their daily life revolves around religion, whether it is how they raise

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, presents the result of colonization of the Ibo people by the European missionaries. The Ibo culture is threatened to change by the European influence. Villagers are divided between resisting a new lifestyle or embracing it for better opportunities in society. The struggle to keep Ibo traditions alive is reflected in Okonkwo and Obierika’s relationship to one another. Okonkwo represents the resistance of change by keeping traditional values in high regard while, Obierika signifies the openness to opportunity by questioning the current Ibo values. The arrival of European missionaries persuades the exchange of traditional Ibo methods, customs, and community for Christianity, resulting in the community to fall apart.

More and more villagers were falling under this new idea of a single God, not only villagers from Umuofia but from surrounding villages. The locals were no longer against the new religion. Okonkwo was one of the few who still was. The local villagers were sort of thankful for what the white men had brought to Umuofia. “The white man had indeed brought a lunatic religion, but he has also built a trading store and for the first time palm-oil and kernel became things of great price, and much money flowed into Umuofia.” (Achebe 178) The white men had slowly convinced the local people that what they were doing was productive after all. The arrival of the white men in Umuofia allowed for larger flow of commerce. This is yet another effect of imperialism over the African villages, though it isn’t negative. The next effect however, is indeed negative and

Soon after the missionaries began to teach the tribal people about the Christian faith, their tribal customs began to be questioned. This caused a sense of unrest in the village. The missionaries were trying to bring with them new ways of life, and mostly better ways of life. Mr.Achebe tries to show us that the missionaries showed people who were hurt by

When the missionaries came to their land, people hated them, but when they started getting people to go their way, the Ibo started to fall apart.

The villagers praise different spirits which are in control of different things on earth, like a woman’s fertility or the condition of the land, but ultimately, they all answer to one supreme ruler, Chukwu. In Catholicism, worshipers pray to the different saints who are messengers of God. When Christianity was first introduced to the villagers, most were reluctant to participate in such blasphemous acts against the spirits. In the beginning, there were few who defected from the traditional ways. The villagers allowed the white settlers to stay and spread their message, writing them off as foolish and ineffective. They never believed that the movement would grow as large as it did. With the growth of the white man’s religion throughout the village, came the picking apart of their faith. Their very being was being devoured by the parasite that was the white man and his poisonous message. Although Things Fall Apart is a fictional piece, it is a prime example of how every religion’s time must come to an end, and essentially fall apart, losing its claim to fame. A more closely

In his novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe introduces his readers to the Nigerian village Umuofia and its culture through the protagonist, Okonkwo, a well respected Umuofian leader. Umuofian culture is centered around pleasing and respecting spiritual life. Everything within this culture and religion has a specific order; however, the Umuofian culture ultimately reaches its demise when Evangelists arrive to convert the Umuofians to Christianity. As seen through the events that transpire in this novel, from Nwoye leaving his family to letting the osu have a place in society, religion has the potential to both build and break a society. Specifically, religion has the power to break apart families, introduce new ideas into society, and bring hope into one’s life.

   The burden and calling to reach out and help others, enfold many people in society throughout the world. Rich or poor, young or old, black, red or white, the motive is helping those with a need. As Chinua Achebe points out in his book, Things Fall Apart, though there is the aspiration to lend a hand, it can sometimes become deadly, and even fatal to the lives of people. Although the missionaries try help convert the Ibo village of Umuofia to Christianity, their presence in Africa is harmful to the lives and culture of the Ibo.

The Christian faith brought acceptance to those who needed it but others felt as though they were being overtaken. The first reverend to interact with Umuofia was a peaceful and accepting man. His approach with the tribe was through mutual understanding. When he became ill a new, less accepting reverend took his place. “Mr. Brown’s successor was the Reverend James Smith, and he was a different kind of man. He condemned openly Mr. Brown’s policy of compromise and accommodation. He saw things as black and white. And black was evil” (Achebe 184). Reverend Smith had a predetermined outlook of the black natives that ruined the natives relationship with

A major aspect of one’s society is religion. Without it, the way people hold themselves accountable would be nonexistent. In addition, many moral standards that exist today are values taken directly from religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Currently, there exists a feud between people who believe in a god, and of those who do not. Eventually those who believe in a higher power will fight against each other. In “Things Fall Apart”, Chinua Achebe brings to light the differences and similarities of Christianity and Animism in order to demonstrate the effects of religion upon one’s society, which is exemplified by Okonkwo and his people. This is noticed in the lives of the Ibo, the missionaries, and

In the time that the novel took place, Nigeria had a religion in each of the villages. In Things Fall Apart, there was a Oracle of the Hills and Caves called Agbala. People from all around would go to Agbala to discover what their future was, and to consult with the spirits of their departed fathers. The priestess Chielo talked to the Oracle and asked it for guidance. Chielo told the villages the will of Agbala ,and she would take part in religious ceremonies. Agbala was the chief god of Umuofia but in other parts of Nigeria, the villages would have a different chief god.

The fact that these missionaries have started to really make an impact was unprecedented by the Ibo people; their continuous misunderstandings of one another contribute to make this situation frustrating to both the Ibo clansmen and the Christians that view their religion as superior. Okonkwo returns back to his home village of Umuofia after his exile to Mbanta, and he arrives to see missionaries have overtaken the village, created a government, and many Umuofians have joined the church. As Okonkwo and his friend Obierika are talking, Obierika says of the missionaries and their impact, “He says that our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us?...He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (176). The white men and missionaries have been successful in coming in and gaining power. They believe the customs to be “bad”, showing their disregard of Ibo culture, and how their motives for infiltrating Ibo life is based off of selfish ideas- only to gain more followers to their religion. Furthermore, by actually being successful in drawing Umuofians into their religion, they have turned

Umuofia is a primitive and polytheist clan in Nigeria. People in the tribe uphold their own system of tradition, taboo and justice. Several gods that influence all aspect of the members’ life are worshiped, and profane conducts are punished severely. People are not concerned about their personal interests, as they help each other altruistically. As a matter of fact, all the people in the tribe live harmoniously. However, as Achebe depicts in the second part of Things Fall Apart, everything in the clan falls apart due to the appearance of British missionaries. When Christianity is first spread in the tribes, the converts are mostly people who are not valued in the tribe, yet more and more