Ibo Culture Symbolism

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A few symbols of the Ibo culture include a raffia tree and a python. The raffia tree is a type of palm tree that produces the alcoholic drink of choice, palm-wine. During celebration, it is custom for the person that brings the wine to drink first and then the others would drink in age succession as stated: “[Okonkwo] took a pot of palm-wine...to Nwakibie….The first cup went to Okonkwo...Then the group drank, beginning with the eldest man” (Achebe 19). In addition to the raffia tree, the python is also an important aspect of Ibo culture. The python is a symbol of one of the many gods in the Ibo culture, “...the sacred python, the emanation of the god of water. The royal python was the most revered animal in Mbanta and all the surrounding clans”

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