Seven African Powers

A significant character shown in this passage is Obierika. Though a minor character, Okonkwo’s close friend demonstrates importance because of his many doubts and questions of some of the tribe’s traditional system, this shows a possibility of Obierika being a spokesperson for Achebe. He is a foil to Okonkwo, because Okonkwo has the desire for the most part to embrace the traditions and view of masculinity, while Obierika "was a man who thought about things" and sometimes questioned the ways of the clan. Another opposite decision he makes compared to Okonkwo is in the killing of Ikemefuna, in which he refuses to accompany them. He is more understanding towards women, thoughtful, and has no love for unnecessary violence. "Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offense he had committed inadvertently? But although he thought for a long time he found no answer." He worries because Okonkwo is a close friend of his, and he has a fit skepticism of the traditional ways and is more adaptable to change then Okonkwo, thus, they almost balance each other out, but Okonkwo repeatedly shows resistance towards Obierika’s reasoning. When questioning Okonkwo’s exile he is reminded of a tragedy of his own. "He remembered his wife’s children, whom he had thrown

When most western people think about Native American or African religions there is a certain stigma that comes with the topic. This is in part because there is a lot of misinformation in the world about Native American and African religions. When most westerners think of African religions they think of voodoo and black magic. Likewise, the view of Native American religions is still looked at through the lens of the pilgrims who wrote about Native Americans as being savages and less than human. These stereotypes were all formed from a lack of accurate information. African and Native American religions are very similar. It is difficult to find a lot of accurate information on African and Native American indigenous religions because of the lack of written history but there is a lot of oral history that has been passed down from generation to generation. From this information, it is clear that Native American and African religions have many more similarities than they do differences. Three of these similarities will be discussed in this paper. The first topic of discussion is the similarity between African and Native American people when it comes to their perception of the spirit world. Following this topic are the similarities between Native American and African views on the afterlife and finally, the diversity of beliefs within African and Native American religions.

Some that are listed in the text are Ani, Amadiora, Idemeli,Agbala, and Ogwugwu and they are believed to be the source of the communities stability and peace. The gods aren’t the only evidence of supernatural beliefs in the text, the fact that the people of Umuofia practice/believe in certain rituals and ceremonies contribute to the role of supernatural.

There is also a supernatural belief in the spirits of the forest. Some villages today have four pairs of crosses and four jaguar spirits at the village's four entrances, in order to keep evil away. It is still believed that evil winds loose in the world cause disease and sickness.

Unoka is Okonkwo’s father, he is a very lazy man and has amassed many debts. Okonkwo is very ashamed of Unoka and seems to hate him very much. Achebe states

Modern practitioners of Santeria may be attracted to the religion for a variety of reasons, notable among which are curiosity with secret rituals and the longing among many immigrants and people of color to get in touch with Caribbean and African roots. What each specific individual wants from a religion is difficult to generalize upon, but Santeria offers a way for people to achieve harmony in their lives through communication with and obedience to orishas, the divine beings that act as intermediaries between humans and the Supreme Being, Olodumare. Santeria teaches how to know and appease the specific desires of a pantheon of orishas who alert devotees to problems in their lives and protect them from harm. In

Often depicted with their images linked together in a chain circling an image of the crucified Jesus, these deities represent all that is sacred and powerful in Santeria. But within Santeria but there is a common misconception around who they are and how they function. Anyone can call upon the Seven African Powers, as they are spirit guides and everyone has access to these Orishas for their guidance.

This is a traditional Brazil religion practiced by the Africans communities living there . The dance was performed to appease their gods. It is done in traditional styles derived from the Yoruba and Bantu traditions. The songs and dances were developed by African priests who were traded as slaves. The priests had strong African beliefs and had gained great experience on the task thus they could easily influence more followers. The religion had no formal scripture and the priests used the word of mouth to pass their message to their congregations. The believers were followers of a god by the name Oludumaré who they asserted was their creator. The oludumare has his servants called the Orishas. The Orishas are in every person and every Orisha is assigned an individual to offer protection. The believers organize a number of ceremonies each year to commemorate some important events. In the ceremonies, Candomblé songs fill the air. The believers also offer offerings to their

Similar to the seas and lakes, she is profound and unknowable in entirety. As Okuti, she is the queen of witches, who carries deep, dark secrets especially for hexes and curses. With a temperament of being nurturing, loving, direct, and frank, she is Invoked to remove the obstacles, protect the female, in all things to do with motherhood, meditation, clairvoyance, calm seas and

Throughout the years, Cuba is known to be a Communist country struggling to determine its own identity. Some Cubans have fought with the decision to stay in their native country or migrate to the United States. Others have decided to settle in Cuba and let their fate be determined by the gods. Santería, an African religion mixed with Catholic traditions, is practiced by many Cubans and allows followers to establish their destiny by the orishas, or African spirits. It also gives a sense of individuality to the characters in the novel, Dreaming in Cuban which incorporates several elements of the faith into the story. Overall, the Santería religion affects the Cuban people in many parts of their lives politically, artistically, musically, and

When Okonkwo explains to Obierika how he would strive to have a son like his because he is so strong and mighty, Obierika answers with a very pacifying response. “‘You worry yourself for nothing,’ said Obierika. ‘The children are still very young.’” (Achebe 66). This passage shows that Obierika is not so concerned about power and supremacy.

One way that the ooloi are important to the living and survival of the Oankali species is that they modify the human’s genetics specifically in this case. After the war on Earth, when all of human existence is almost destroyed, the Oankali species comes and saves the survived humans and in exchange for the saving of the human race, the Oankali take information about the human’s genetics and use that to the Oankali’s advantage. They will genetically modify human’s to be more like the Oankali species. Jdahya explains this to Lilith by saying “your people will change. Your young will be more like us and ours more like you. Your hierarchical tendencies will be modified and if we learn to regenerate limbs and reshape our bodies, we’ll share those abilities with you. That’s

Obeah is power; it’s a belief, a tradition, an African tradition. Obeah is Egyptian, it’s Ashanti, Obeah is Hebrew, it’s Jamaican and it is also Bahamian. Obeah is a global force. It’s a worldwide tradition. Obeah is not a phenomenon owned by a single culture. The practice of obeah is prevalent in Jamaica, The Bahamas, Barbados, Trinidad and other Caribbean countries. Obeah is one of the many Jamaican and Bahamian traditions rooted in West African ancestry. Although obeah has no true definition, one can conclude that obeah is a combination of African spiritual practices that integrated with one another during the African diaspora. Obeah combines the spiritual practices of shamanism, ancestor worship, and working with natural spirits to the

Although Olanna had a rough upbringing, all her actions are seen as containing high morality and strong character. Olanna’s behavior reveals a lot about her character because it shows that she is more than just looks and instead has a strong focus on intellect. When faced with an issue she faces it by doing what she believes is the right thing. This can be seen by her decision to go out with Odenigbo over Muhammed and her reaction to the death of the politicians. She is depicted in the books putting great thought into what she believes is the right thing and then confidently executing her thoughts. She is portrayed as having a strong influence on the environment around her because she can easily catch attention by her beauty and intellect.

Oannes, as referred to by the Greeks, was a respected figure in ancient Mesopotamia with two heads—one of a fish and one of a man, and both a tail and human legs. Freaky, huh? In ancient Babylonian mythology, he was said to provide humans with knowledge, religious counsel and the arts. Some ancient alien theorists believe he might be historical evidence of an otherworldly presence on