Igbo Religion

Starting with the first effect of imperialism, the introduction of Christianity in Umuofia, Okonkwo’s fatherland. Four years into Okonkwo’s exile, his good friend Obierika payed him a visit, informing Okonkwo of the arrival of missionaries in Umuofia. The Christian followers had to come to Umuofia to build a church and to convert locals into their anomalous religion. Most importantly, “what moved Obierika to visit Okonkwo was the sudden appearance of the latter’s son, Nwoye, among the missionaries in Umuofia.” (Achebe 143) The introduction of Christianity was one of the many effects set upon the African villages. Locals were becoming

In the book Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, we are able to read about the social changes the white missionaries had on an African tribe. Mr. Achebe describes the way of life before the missionaries arrived and then records some of the changes, which occurred due to the changed belief system introduced by these missionaries.

In a society, religion is supposed to unite people that share a common belief and create peace, but in Umuofia and the other villages in Nigeria, it tears everyone and everything apart. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the Igbo religion was dominant in Umuofia prior to the Christian missionaries arrival. Everyone followed its teachings, despite how they made them feel. The villagers did what the religious figure (the Oracle) told them to, even if that meant killing someone that they loved. As a result of this, some relationships between people were changed. Despite some of the harsh teachings from the Igbo religion, society was united with a universal belief system. However, the day that the first Christian missionary arrived, this would forever be changed. Not only did the new religion transform relationships between people as well as change people individually (just like the Igbo religion did in some cases), but it also brought destruction to Umuofia and its neighboring villages. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe argues that religion has the power to destruct and change relationships, convince people to convert, and to break apart a society.

Introducing a new religion has the potential to bring a society to its demise because it has the ability to break apart families. This is evident when Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son, converts to Christianity, going against his father’s will. In Umuofia, abominations are taken very seriously. Okonkwo wants to be seen as the perfect role model of Umuofia; when he discovers that Nwoye becomes a convert, which is an abomination in his society, he gets frustrated because he is afraid of losing people’s respect.; he desires to command respect because he does not want to lose his authority within society. As a result, he warns his children by saying “ ‘You have all seen the great abomination of your brother. Now he is no longer my

Ultimately religion is the number one change through out the novel. When the white man first arrives he has little luck gaining converts, but the more he preaches his religion and the differences in Christianity to the Igbo people the more people convert. Most of these people have felt pain from this religion; such as the women who only birthed twins that were thrown into the dark forest would be able to safely deliver twins. “There is only one true God and he has the earth, the sky, you and me and all of us” (126). Religion is also relates to the destruction of the culture because the people are lead to believe their gods are only myths and fairytales and not the true god. Conversion to Christianity is also the reason for many distractions

Nwoye was born to a very devote Igbo man. When the Christian missionaries arrived in Umofia, Nwoye was very keen to listen to what they had to say. Nwoye was very happy with the missionaries message, the new religion, Christianity, seemed to answer all of Nwoye’s questions of life. The most special part of the missionary’s message to Nwoye though, was the poetry of the religion. “But there was a young lad who had been captivated. His name was Nwoye, Okonkwo’s first son. It was not the mad logic of the trinity that captivated him. He did not understand it. It was the poetry of the new religion, something felt in the marrow.” Nwoye, also mirroring Achebe, changes him name from the Igbo name “Nwoye” to his Christian name

The Igbo are one of Nigeria’s largest ethnic groups. They are mainly found in the area of southeastern Nigeria and have a population of around 20 to 50 million people. It was created when. The Igbo’s religion “Odinani” is a vehicle, used by all of the people who practice it, to help better understand their world called “Uwa” (princeton.edu). Chukwu is the Almighty God of the Igbo religion. The Igbo people think that all things come from Chukwu. They think he controls everything on earth and the wind. He is the supreme deity and most powerful deity, as he encompasses everything in space. He is also the source of all of the other deities since he assigns them all their different tasks. These other spirits and forces exist in other parts of Igbo peoples’ beliefs and folklore (princeton.edu). Added to all of the other Igbo religious spirits and forces, the Igbo also have certain religious ceremonies and traditions, have certain sacred places, and they faced problems just like any other religion

In the Encyclopedia of World Culture it says, “In the late nineteenth century, mission Christianity and colonialism interest worked together for the colonization of Igboland,” (Amadiume). When the missionaries arrive it has a long lasting effect on their culture. This is when their culture first began to change, when they started to convert and stray away from their traditional beliefs. In the novel Things Fall Apart, the book reads, “And so nobody gave serious thought to the stories about the white man’s government or the consequences of killing the Christians. If they became more troublesome than they already were they would simply be driven out of the clan,” (Achebe 94).

Akunna, a powerful villager in Umuofia, explains Ibo beliefs to the missionaries by saying, “We make sacrifices to the little gods, but when they fail and there is no one else to turn to we go to Chukwu. It is right to do so. We approach a great man through his servants” (Achebe 180). The thought process and order behind Ibo religion twists the stereotypes and shows that they do not just sporadically worship false gods, which the European missionaries assume when they first come. But, we also learn that Ibo religion is not without its faults.

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

Religion is something really big for everyone daily. Especially in the book Things Fall Apart. People in this book believed in all sorts of gods for everything like an earth god or rain god. They worry about them, and they are trying to live a good life so the gods do not punish them or disturb them. Also when the white missionary men came to their villages to teach them about Christianity. Christianity, and the Igbo are two types of religions, they are very different from one another and, so it would be hard to try to do something like that. The two groups have a hard time understanding each other by their beliefs. Also the Igbo people claim that their ancestors are like gods, and that they worship them, that they are very important, and they pray for them for guidance, or help. Especially when the missionaries came in, and try to teach another religion. It made him fierce he did not want his people changing their beliefs, and how they were raised. Whenever the missionaries bring up the main god who made heaven and earth, the Igbo people have a supreme god like that and they

At first, the Ibo were against listening to a word the missionaries said, “These men [the Christians] must be mad, they say to themselves.” (140) Although, most men were against the new culture, one boy was captivated by the new religion. Nwoye, Okonkwo’s first son, was drawn in by the thought that the Christians brought answers to his unanswered questions. The missionaries kept sharing the gospel, with the hope that they could get more followers, like Nwoye.

When the Christian missionaries came, they shook the foundation of the Igbo culture. The Igbo religion is rooted in their culture, it becomes part of who the Igbo people are (Okeke, et al). Through Chinua Achebe’s book, “he even seems to show that a culture or religion which cannot change itself with time would obviously fall apart” (Mahanta). Some people were able to adapt their culture with the new ideas, but others, such as Achebe’s character Okonkwo, was unable to accept the changes. “Furthermore, within the traditional life, the individual is immersed in a religious participation, which starts before birth and continues after death, for the life of an Igbo man is like a religious drama, which vitally links the living with the ancestors and those yet to be born in a mystic continuum” (Okeke, et al). The Igbo people were so closely intertwined with their religion that it was difficult for them to deal with the wave of a different

Religion is the most sacred thing to a human. It’s the belief and worship of a superhuman controlling power. The soul of a human being is drawn to a religion that speaks to the mind. The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, includes worshipers of the ancient religion of the Igbo. All the civilians in the tribe believe in one supreme god as well as some minor gods. The Igbo people also worship spirits and ancestors, for which some are responsible for the fortune or misfortune of their everyday lives. The Igbo attitude toward their deities and spirits is not one of fear but of friendship. In the novel, Chinua Achebe shows the Igbo beliefs in gods, rituals of spirits and ancestors, and connecting families and communities by worshiping.

The tribe members are fearful of the Christians, especially at the beginning. A few of the missionaries are white, which the tribe is not used to. When the tribe first saw the white man, they “ran away, but he stood beckoning to them” (Achebe, 115). Through the actions of the members of Umuofia, such as them running away, their alarming feelings about the missionaries and white men are revealed. The fear the tribe and Okonkwo feels exhibits how the missionaries caused destruction just by having a presence near them. However, the missionaries’ presence is not the only cause of destruction in the story. The Christians also execute many physical acts that upset Okonkwo and deter the Ibo culture. In Abame, a village close to Okonkwo’s homestead, the white men and “a very large number of other men” (116) surrounded the community. The men then “began to shoot” (116) the