In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the Umuofia Tribe, of the Igbo people’s, distinct culture is evident from the very beginning of the novel. This culture is made evident primarily through the people’s religious beliefs, unique language, and numerous traditions and rituals. The Umuofia are described as, “powerful in war and in magic, and its priests and medicine men [are] feared in all the surrounding country”, which speaks to the Igbo’s strong religious reputation and community (2.8). They practice a polytheistic religion with belief in various powers including, the Agbala Oracle, or the Oracle of the Hills and Caves, which has the ability to “discover what the future [holds]” and “consult the spirits of [the Igbo’s] departed fathers”
…show more content…
This festival marks the beginning of “the season of plenty”, or the new year, and although it marks a different occasion, its gratitude showing purpose and harvest based origin likens the American tradition of Thanksgiving Day in many ways (5.2). This festival is marked by inviting friends and family over in celebration and cooking so much that “there [is] always a large quantity of food left over”, which draws many similarities to what is considered to be a conventional American Thanksgiving, even the yam dishes are present in both holidays (5.2). In addition to numerous similarities, this Igbo festival also has some contrasting rituals that highlight their own, unique culture, as well. These different rituals include activities like, thoroughly cleaning all pots and pans, particularly the wooden mortar used for yam pounding, the offering of yams to Ani and one’s ancestral spirits in order to indulge, and throwing away all of the yams from the year prior the night before the festival so that the new year can begin with “tasty fresh yams” (5.2). This festival is just one of many Igbo practices that displays the presence of the Igbo culture
This festival marks the beginning of “the season of plenty”, or the new year, and although it marks a different occasion, its gratitude showing purpose and harvest based origin likens the American tradition of Thanksgiving Day in many ways (5.2). This festival is marked by inviting friends and family over in celebration and cooking so much that “there [is] always a large quantity of food left over”, which draws many similarities to what is considered to be a conventional American Thanksgiving, even the yam dishes are present in both holidays (5.2). In addition to numerous similarities, this Igbo festival also has some contrasting rituals that highlight their own, unique culture, as well. These different rituals include activities like, thoroughly cleaning all pots and pans, particularly the wooden mortar used for yam pounding, the offering of yams to Ani and one’s ancestral spirits in order to indulge, and throwing away all of the yams from the year prior the night before the festival so that the new year can begin with “tasty fresh yams” (5.2). This festival is just one of many Igbo practices that displays the presence of the Igbo culture