Igbo Culture In Things Fall Apart

Igbo are the people that lives in Southern Nigeria, they are known to be the second largest tribe in the south. Their culture is very different from a western perspective, but it still should be respected because their culture is as rich as others. They have their own beliefs, social system, and values that is been there for many years. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the Igbo culture was emphasized, it describes many events and practices of their own before the Western people started to invade and change their culture. Some of the things that were being emphasized in The Things Fall Apart are: difference of Western beliefs to Igbo beliefs, proverbs, gender roles, social classes, and events that will create the whole importance …show more content…
It is their language that inspires, teach, or even shows expressions. In the Igbo Culture they value proverbs because it is the language they use to open people’s mind and see it in a different perspective. For example, Chinua Achebe explained the purpose of a proverb, “Having spoken plainly so far, Okoye said the next half a dozen sentences in proverbs. Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten. Okoye was a great talker and he spoke for a long time, skirting round the subject and then hitting it finally,” Chinua Achebe used Okoye to describe and explain why proverbs is important to the Igbo Culture, he wanted people to know that their culture is not a savage like how the Western people view it to be, by showing and writing about their culture including these proverbs it will help many people to understand and know more about the Igbo Culture. To illustrate, a proverb from Things Fall Apart says “’The Earth cannot punish me for obeying her messenger,’” Okonkwo said. “’A child’s fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm,’” this is another proverb that shows two different feelings that Okonkwo is feeling (Achebe, 57). Okonkwo explained that it is not a sin to follow the messenger’s command, but within him it is telling him that he is also guilty of what he have done. It once again proved that the …show more content…
They have what we call Patriarchal Society where men are the one that can earn titles and be the head of the village also their household. For example, their village cannot have only one leader, they have men that earn up to four titles to be one of the respected leaders that assure safety in their village. In addition, they also have Egwuwu that is more like their jury. They give punishment of perform trials in the market place, they are masked ancestral. On the other hand women and children can plant crops, they help the men to grow crops for their families. The difference between men and women when it comes to farming is that women cannot plant and harvest yams as it symbolizes manliness, but they can plant other crops like cabbage, radish, and more. Also men can have more than one wife because the more wife a men have the more powerful he will be in the village unlike women, if they are already married they cannot be with other guys as it is considered a sin in their village. To illustrate, in things fall apart by Chinua Achebe, it was stated that Okonkwo have 3 wives and 8 children (Pacis, 25-26). The differences of role in genders brought richness to their culture because this what makes their work in farms and in their village more organize and better, it may not be the same compare to others but that what makes their culture unique. Certain cultures celebrates their own feast or events, Igbos