CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study.

Oral Tradition is a two-word phrase. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

defines “Oral” as relating to the month; spoken rather than written and “tradition”

as a belief, custom or way of doing something that has existed for a long time

among a particular group of people; a set of these beliefs or customs:

religious/cultural, etc. Therefore, Oral tradition is a set of rules, custom and culture

of a particular people that have been in existence for a very long time passed down

from generation to generation by oral means. Oral tradition includes performed art

as oral literature which in most cases uses spoken words as a medium of

communication. They include songs, oral narratives, riddles and tongue twisters,

proverbs, taboos, etc

In Africa, educational information was mainly passed through oral traditions

and family structure was extended; a child belonged to the community. This meant

that the responsibility for proper upbringing and education of a child did not lie

only on the parent but on the community at large therefore, when a child grows and

succeeds, he is expected to carter for his community and better lives as much as he

can. This means that everything was taught through oral traditions, even life skills

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such as nutrition, hygiene, iron processing for tools and weapons and the

knowledge of herbs to cure various ailments. Those who specialize on herbs for

curing diseases are known as traditional Doctors or Herbalists. Taboos were taught

through songs and myths so as to instill cultural values. It is perhaps because of

this that introducing written literature to children in Africa has posed a challenge.

Hence, the notion that “Africans do not read”.

Oral tradition varies in every ethnic group and among people. An example is

the people of Igbo ethnic group with majority of it’s speakers in Nigeria and whose

oral tradition form the premise of this study.

1.1.1 The Igbo Oral Tradition.

The Igbo Oral Tradition otherwise known as “Omenala ndi Igbo” are the

customs, practices and general culture of the Igbo people of Southeastern Nigeria.

It comprises of ancient practices, as well as the new concepts added into the Igbo

culture either by cultural evolution or by outside influence. These customs and

traditions include the Igbo people’s visual art, music and dance forms as well as

their attire, cuisine and language dialects. Therefore, Igbo oral tradition is basically

all the practices of the Igbo people developed in ancient times and passed down

from generation to generation through socialization. The Igbo land is the home of

the Igbo people and it covers most of the southeast, Nigeria. Despite being

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surrounded by other tribes and divided by the River Niger, they have succeeded in

upholding their traditions while passing them on to their children. The Igbo oral

tradition in no particular order are in diverse forms and a few of them are

 songs

 Proverbs

 Taboos

 Legends

 Chants

 Etc

It would be very typical to have a grandmother sit by the fire place with the

smaller children of the surrounding homesteads each evening and engage them

with stories and moral songs until late in the night. On the other hand, the older

boys would join their grandfathers in a nomadic lifestyle to graze cattle and herd

sheep. The young men would go hunting, tapping palm wine or even cultivation

while those with special skills such as medicine and iron making, would go

through training as apprentices. During all these activities, the parties involved

would engage in conversations using the aspects of Igbo oral tradition. In essence,

Igbo oral tradition was the main medium of passing information, learning morals

and binding people together.

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1.1.2 Biography of Chinua Achebe.

Chinua Achebe whose full name is Albert Chinualumogu Achebe was a

Nigerian novelist, poet and critic regarded as the most dominant figure in modern

African Literature. He was born on the 16 th of November, 1930 in Ogidi, Nigeria

and died on the 21st of March, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts, US. He is acclaimed

for his unsentimental depictions of the social and psychological disorientation

accompanying the imposition of Western customs and values upon traditional

African society. His concern was with emergent Africa at its moments of crisis: his

novels range in subject matter from the first contact of an African village with the

white man to the educated African's attempt to create a firm moral order out of the

changing values in a large society.

Achebe grew up in the Igbo town of Ogidi, Nigeria and was married to

Christiana Chinwe Okoli in 1961 with whom he had four children: Nwando,

Chinelo, Chidi and Ikechukwu Achebe. After studying English and Literature at

University College (now University of Ibadan), he taught for a while before joining

the staff of the Nigerian Broadcasting corporation in Lagos where he served as

director of external broadcasting in 1961-1966. In 1967, Achebe co-founded a

publishing company at Enugu with the poet, Christopher Okigbo who died shortly

thereafter in the Nigerian Civil War to Biafran Independence, which Achebe

openly supported. In 1969, Achebe toured the united states with fellow writers
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Gabriel Okara and Cyprian Ekwensi, lecturing at Universities. Upon his return to

Nigeria, he was appointed research fellow at the University of Nigeria and became

professor of English, a position he held from 1976 until 1981. He was professor

emeritus from 1985 and from 1970, he was director of two Nigerian publishers:

Heinemann Educational Books Ltd. And Nwankwo-Ifejika Ltd. After an accident

in Nigeria which left him partially paralyzed, he moved to the United States where

he taught at Bard college in Annandale – on – Houston, New York. In 2009,

Achebe left Bard to join the faculty of Brown University in Providence Rhode

Island.

In 1958, Achebe wrote his first novel: Things Fall Apart which concerns the

traditional Igbo life at the time of the Advent of missionaries and colonial

government in his homeland. It occupies a pivotal place in African Literature and

remains the most widely studied, translated and read. He published No Longer at

ease two years later. He published Arrow of God in 1964, set in the 1920s in a

village under British Administration. His later novels: A Man of the People (1966)

and Anthills of the Savannah (1987) are a result of the criticism of his first three

novels. They deal with corruption and other aspects of post colonial African life.

Achebe also published several collections of short stories and children’s books

including How the Leopard Got its Claws (1973) with John Iroaganachi. Beware

Soul Brother (1971) and Christmas in Biafra (1973) are collections of poems.

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Another Africa (1998) combines an essay and poems with photographs by Robert

Lyons. Achebe’s books of essays include Morning Yet on Creation Day (1975),

Hopes and Impediments (1988), Home and Exile (2000), The Education of a

British protected Child (2009) and the Autobiographical There was a Country: a

Personal History of Biafra (2012).

Achebe won several awards and they are International Booker Prize (2007),

Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (2002), The Dorathy and Lilian Gish prize

(2020) and St Louis Literary Award (1999).

1.2 Statement of the Problem.

Due to cultural evolution, colonialism and Modernization, Africans

especially those in diaspora, have shown no or less knowledge of their people; it is

difficult to fully appreciate the Igbo Oral Tradition in such situation. Igbos identify

themselves as Igbos but do not exactly practice Igbo (Igbo traditions), it does not

show in their dealings and livelihood and most of them do not even bear Igbo

names but have clung to Western culture and civilization leaving their identity to

perish.

As a result of this, many writers on the aspects of Igbo oral tradition and the

beauty of oral traditions have emerged. Such writings have been able to out rightly

condemn the ignorance of the Igbo oral tradition, trace the history of the Igbo

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people and appreciate the Igbo traditional system. Thus, this study tends to aid the

proper representation of Igbo oral tradition and how it helps in societal and

national unity and development as it shapes individuals to be good people while

impacting morals in them.

This study intends not just to appreciate the Igbo oral tradition while

pointing out its aspects but also, to serve as a platform for the liberation of the Igbo

oral tradition from deteriorating and possible death; and how Chinua Achebe has

Portrayed the Igbo oral tradional aspects in his books and also call for the

acknowledgement and identification of its aspects by Igbos worldwide.

1.3 Aim and Objectives.

The aim of this study is to identify the aspects of Igbo oral tradition in

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall apart and Arrow of God for appreciation and

acknowledgment by readers and future researchers.

Going further, the objectives are

 To credit the success of written literature on the existence of Oral traditions.

 To identify the aspects of Igbo oral tradition and their importance.

 To indirectly create an awareness on the public about the beauty of Igbo oral

tradition.

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  To call for the unity and acknowledgment of the Igbo oral tradition by the

Igbo people.

1.4 Scope and Limitations of the Study.

The primary materials for this study are Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

(1958) and Arrow of God (1964). The secondary materials include library materials

and the internet.

1.5 Significance of the Study.

To Igbos in diaspora, this study relating the life and times of Igbo people in

far off Nigeria will struck unusually close to home. Further more, readers, future

researchers and the society at large will benefit from this study because it will

inform them and also serve as material for further research.

1.6 Research Methodology.

The method of research for this study is the analytical method of the

qualitative research methodology and the primary texts are analyzed using the

sociological theory to examine the aspects of Igbo oral tradition.

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 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Theoretical Framework

The theory upon which this work is based is the sociological theory. The

sociological theory is that which tends to consider, analyze and/or explain objects

of social reality from a sociological perspective, drawing connections between

individual concepts in order to organize and substantiate sociological knowledge.

Hence, such knowledge is composed of complex theoretical frameworks and

methodology which in order to have a proper understanding, we will need to put

into consideration; the early origins, the later developments and present day

approaches.

The term sociology was first coined in 1980 by the French essayist,

Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes in an unpublished manuscript as a result of the

recognition of the dual role of sociologists from the idea that society itself could be

the subject of scientific scrutiny. This was in the 18 th century and philosophers of

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this age developed general principles that could be used to explain social life.

Thinkers such as John Locke, Haire, Immanuel Kant and Thomas Hobbes

responded to what they saw as social ills by writing on topics that they hoped

would lead to social reform. In the 19 th century, the term sociology was reinvented

by Auguste Comte. Comte originally studied engineering but later became a

student of social philosopher Claude Henri De Rovroy Comte De Saint – Simon.

They both thought that social scientists could study society using the same

scientific methods utilized in natural sciences. Comte also believed in the

potentials of social scientists to work towards the betterment of society. He held

that once scholars identified the laws that governed society, sociologists could

address problems such as poor education and poverty. (Abercrombie et al).

Comte named the scientific study of social patterns positivism. He described

his philosophy in a series of books called The Course in Positive Philosophy (1830

– 1842) and A Cultural View of Positivism (1848). He believed that using scientific

methods to reveal the laws by which societies and individuals interact would usher

in a new “positivist” age of history. While the field and its terminology have

grown, sociologists still believe in the positive impacts of their work. Hence,

Comte is considered to be the father of sociology.

The early nineteenth century saw great changes with the industrial

Revolution, increased mobility and new kinds of employment. It was also a time of
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great social and political upheaval with the rise of empire that exposed many

people for the first time to societies and cultures other than their own. Millions of

people moved into cities and many people turned away from their traditional

religious beliefs. This shows that since ancient times, people have been fascinated

by the relationship between individuals and the societies to which they belong.

Many topics being studied in modern sociology were also studied by ancient

philosophers in their desire to describe an ideal society, including theories of social

conflict, economics, social cohesion and power. (Hannoun).

In recent times, sociological theory has evolved and there has been the

development of several approaches to study human society. These theories and

approaches are called paradigms and range from concise, yet thorough descriptions

of a single social process (the micro level of analysis of small social patterns) to

broad, inconclusive paradigms for analysis and interpretation (the macro level of

analysis of large social patterns). Some sociological theories explain aspects of the

social world and enable prediction about future events while others function as

broad perspectives which guide further sociological analyses. These sociological

theories have been built upon the work of their predecessors to establish three

major paradigms that have come to dominate sociological thinking: structural

functionalism, conflict theory and symbolic interactionism. (Calhoun).

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 The symbolic interactionist perspective also known as the symbolic

interactionism traces its origins to Max Webers’ assertion that individuals act

according to their interpretation of the meaning of their world. It was introduced to

American sociologists in the 1920s by George H. Mead. This perspective is a

micro level of sociological analysis which studies the way one – to – one

Interactions behave. It argues that our behaviors are deeply influenced by

definitions and symbolic meanings and it is our symbolic interactions with other

members of the community which creates those definitions and meanings. Our

sense of self, being influenced by social interaction is also influenced by the way

others choose to label us because the labels others give us provide us with a new

view of ourselves.

In symbolic interactionism, words are not static things but are the symbols in

which subjective interpretations are made evident. Words have a certain meaning

for the sender and during effective communication, they hopefully have the same

meaning for the receiver. Therefore, words require intention and interpretation and

conversations are an interaction of symbols between individuals who constantly

interpret the world around them. In applying symbolic interactionism to marriage,

symbols may include white bridal dress and flowers which may symbolize ' never

ending love’ for some and something else for others.

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 The second paradigm is the structural functionalism also know as the

functionalist perspective or theory which is a medium level of the sociological

analysis. It studies the way each part of the society functions together to contribute

to the functioning of the whole. This means that its emphasis is heavily on the

interconnected relationship between various systems within society. In other

words, it tends to be more concerned with how part and whole influence each other

and those parts have to cooperate and work together in order to keep society in a

state of balance. Family values, education, knowledge and culture play important

roles in communicating values to young people. Within this perspective, all the

various aspects of a society are considered functional if they help social stability,

or dysfunctional if they do not.

In structural functionalism, the aspects work together in the sense that the

government or state provides education for the children of the family, which in

turn pay taxes on which the state depends to keep itself running. That is, the family

is dependent upon the school to help children grow up to have good jobs so that

they can raise and support their own families. In the process, the children become

law abiding, tax paying citizens who in turn support the state and if all goes well,

the parts of the of the society produce order, stability and productivity. For

example, during a financial recession with its high rates of unemployment and

inflation, social programs are trimmed or cut, schools offer fewer programs,

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families tighten their budgets and a new social order, stability and productivity

occur.

Functionalists believe that society is held together by social consensus or

cohesion in which members of the society agree upon and work together to achieve

what is best for society as a whole. This social consensus takes one of two forms:

mechanical solidarity (when people in a society maintain similar values and beliefs

and engage in similar types of work) and organic solidarity (when people in a

society are interdependent but hold to varying values and beliefs and engage in

varying types of work). (Emile Durkheim).

The third paradigm is the conflict theory which is a macro analysis of the

sociological theory. It is concerned with the way inequities and inequalities

contribute to social, political and power differences and how they perpetuate

power. It looks at society as being composed of groups with their own distinct

interests.

The conflict theory which has its origin primarily in the writings of Karl

Marx on class struggles, presents society in a different light than the functionalist

and symbolic perspectives. While the two latter perspectives focus on the positive

aspects of society that contributes to its stability, the conflict perspective focuses

on the negative, conflicted and ever changing nature of society. Conflict theory

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may interpret an ‘elite’ board of regents raising tuition to pay for esoteric new

programs that raise the prestige of a local college as self-serving rather than as

beneficial for students.

The conflict theorists have gone as far as expanding Marxs’ idea that the key

conflict in society was strictly economic. Today, they find social conflict between

any group in which the potential for inequality exists: racial, gender, religious,

political, economics, and so on because of their belief that unequal groups usually

have conflicting values and agendas, causing them to compete against one another.

In simpler terms, at the stage of industrialization, two classes emerged: the

bourgeoisie (those who own means of production) and the proletariat (those who

earn wages). The bourgeoisie use their disproportionate influence to rearrange

society to their advantage and maintain power differences by using their control

over social institutions to turn them to their own advantage and thereby having

control of the poor and weak while competing for scarce resources.

2.2 Igbo Oral Tradition

Syntactically speaking, oral tradition is a two-word phrase. While oral

means “spoken rather than written,” tradition means a belief, custom or ways of

doing something that has been in existence for a very long time among a particular

group of people. It follows therefore that oral tradition could semantically mean

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spoken beliefs, customs or ways of doing things that have been in existence for a

very long time among a particular group of people (Hornby). This definition

implies that oral tradition comprises all cherished customs, belief systems and or

ways of doing things which were handed down from one generation to another for

a very long time through spoken words.

Oral tradition is the practice whereby the social, political, economic and

cultural heritage of the people is communicated by word of mouth from one

generation to another (Konkwo). It was the most predominant part of

communication in many parts of Africa; prior to colonialism. The Igbo of Nigeria

and the African society at large, used oral tradition as a veritable tool in

information sharing and dissemination, and indeed worship.

Uzoigwe defines oral tradition as that aspect of history which is not written

down. Its major characteristic is that it has no author as it is passed from one

generation to another through tradition. Eulogizing the contributions of oral

tradition in the Historiography of Africa, Uzoigwe remarked oral tradition as

African’s main contribution to world historiography.

Igbo oral traditions cover virtually every aspect of life in the society except

that they may not provide quantifiable data or adequately mirror unconscious

change. However, they have proved really invaluable in the reconstruction of the

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socio-economic and religious life of Igbo and other African communities (Uya).

Oral tradition accounts for the way things are and often the way they should be and

have assisted people in educating the young ones. It has also helped in teaching

important lessons about life in the past.

The Igbo people are an indigenous, linguistic and cultural people of southern

Nigeria. Like every other community in Africa and in the globe, the Igbos have

their shared traditions that have passed down from generation to generation by oral

means and recently, through writing introduced by the colonial powers. They lived

in unity with themselves despite the fact that they were without a king. A child

born to a brother was a community child and they told stories by moonlight while

worshipping their gods. The Igbo oral traditions amongst others are in forms of

ritual symbolism, incantations, masking/masquerading, Proverbs, Festivals, Taboos

and folklore which have recently been termed “oral literature”.

Cohen defines symbols as “objects, acts, concepts or linguistic formations

that evoke sentiments and emotions and impel men to action”. He further indicated

where they occur, namely in “stylized patterns of activities like ceremonies, ritual

gifts, exchange, prescribed forms of joking, taking an oath, eating and drinking

together” (9). Firth is of the opinion that ‘the essence of symbolism lies in the

recognition of one thing as standing for another, the relation between them

normally being that of concrete to abstract, particular to general’ (15). These

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definitions bring out the generating and receiving effects otherwise reserved for the

object to which it refers. There are important aspects of symbolism according to

Ifesieh ‘because the effects could go as far as changing the impressed objects in a

remarkable and emotional way’ (125). He went further to state that symbol has at

least dual characteristics, namely, that of concealment and revelation. Longergan in

his own view states that “a symbol may be considered as ‘an image of real or

imaginary object that evokes a feeling or is evoked by feeling” (64). It then follows

that symbols obey the laws not of logic but of image and feelings.

Ifesieh defines ritual “as a socio-religious act capable of levels of meaning,

which may be portrayed as a symbol of cosmic truth, yet, puts first the

transcendental and cosmic level, as this uniquely forms the heart of every ritual

action” (123). Ifesieh states further that “the sacred is an ontological reality and

that man is able to become aware of it if only he wills; but then if he chooses not to

recognize the sacred manifesting itself to him, he is equally free, but his conscious

and intentional will not to confirm self-transcendence with respect to the object of

his sight does not mean the non-existence of that object image” (124). However,

Kluckhohn defines ritual “as that which serves to express the individual’s status as

a social person in a structural system in which he finds himself for the time being”

(66). The following are some of the visuals in traditional Igbo society and their

symbols:

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Kolanut: Kolanut symbolizes appreciation and acceptance. Ogbalu is of the

opinion that Kolanut is presented to a visitor first before any discussion. He went

further to say that “it is the first thing to present to a deity before any other offering

or request is made” (17).

Ofo: Ofo is a symbol of justice among the Igbo. Green defined Ofo as “a cultural

symbol which is widely used among the Igbo” (5). Arinze defined Ofo “as a

symbol of authority which descends from the ancestors, and guarantee of truth”

(6). Arinze concluded that “at its first consecration, it has all the appearances of a

charm, but its most important aspect is its symbolism of ancestral authority when it

has been handed on to the first son (Okpala) for several generations. Nzomiwu

states thus “the piece of Ofo lying in the forest is not of much significance but

when it has been consecrated and duly handed over to one who has been

consecrated and duly handed over to one who has been customarily initiated or to

be head of the family, it assumes a special significance and dimension” (100).

Horton asserts that Ofo has been set aside by God (Chukwu) as a symbol of truth

and of all the oaths sworn in an Igbo Community that taken upon Ofo is the most

binding.

Ikenga: Arinze sees Ikenga as “the personification of a man’s strength of arm

which has everything to do with his good future” (16). Ikenga, continued Arinze, is

personal to a man and its symbol is split at the person’s funeral.

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In conjunction to this Metuh described Ikenga “as a deity whose role is very

similar to that chi. It symbolizes the strength of a man’s right hand, so that a man’s

right hand is sometimes called Aka Ikenga” (70). Ikenga is a carved image with

two horns, sitting on a stool, with a drawn sword in his left hand and a human skull

in the other.

Igwe/Amadioha (Sky Deities): Igwe shows in form of thunder and is against

undetected criminals. Metuh describes Igwe/Amadioha as “the agent of Chineke

against undetected criminals He expresses his power and anger in thunderbolts and

lightening” (64). In order words, thunderbolts and lightening symbolize Amadioha.

Anyanwu (Sun): Anyanwu symbolizes wealth and good fortune. In conjunction to

this Metuh (1981) states “Anyanwu is regarded in a special way as a deity bringing

wealth and good fortune” (64). Metuh went further to say that “a diviner would

recommend a sacrifice to Anyanwu to Someone who is in habit of dissipating his

wealth” (64).

Ala (Earth Deity): Metuh described Ala as “the owner of men, alive or dead”

(66). He pointed out that Ala is the most important deity in Igbo public and private

cults, for she is the giver of fertility to men, animals and crops. He argued thus:

men are born on earth, they feed on the products of the earth and when they die,

they are buried in the earth. In other words, Ala symbolizes fertility.

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 Incantation is very popular in Igbo culture and is still being practiced in

contemporary Igbo society. Incantation is also viewed as an act of magic which

involves using words of one or more languages that may not have a direct meaning

or even are meaningless in order to satisfy the needs of people (Bunza, Abubakar,

Doguwa). Therefore, incantation is a collection or combination of special words

that are uttered or sung to have magic effect. Kabir sees incantation as having “a

poetic quality and rhythm and powerful striking words are used. In reciting it,

sometimes one uses a high piercing sound and sometimes slow and soft sounds to

punctuate and emphasize whatever is being said” (181). It also involves doing

some kind of activity, apart from using the special spiritual passwords. In the

traditional Igbo society, incantation belongs to the family of extra-mundane mode

of communication; which is believed to take place between the living and the dead

and/or the supernatural and Supreme Being. This kind of communication includes:

rituals as Igo-ofo(traditional worship), Iwa oji (breaking of kolanut) and itu oza

mmii (pouring of libation). Whereas this practice reflects clearly, a significant

aspect of the world view of the Igbo, it also demonstrates the communicability of

the living and the dead (Konkwo). In order to see how incantation works in

Igboland, let us give a little insight, as it relates to incantations (prayer) made for

the breaking of Kola nuts (Iwa oji).

Ndi mbu ndi egede, oji abiala (Our ancestors, kola has come)

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Ala bia taa oji (The land, come and eat kola)

Chukwu kere elu na ala, oji abiala (The Creator of heaven and the earth, Kola

has come)

Amadioha bia taa oji (Amadioha-god of the masses, come and eat

kola)

Mmuo oma nile bianu taa oji (All good spirits come and eat kola)

Egbe bere ugo bere, nke si ibeya ebela, nku kwaa ya (live and let live)

On such occasions as religious crusades, prayer sessions, rituals and other

religious and pseudo-spiritual activities, there seems to be for the participants a sort

of feedback which takes place in the form of intra-personal processes, physical

revelations or magical, other worldly verbalization (Wilson).

In Igbo tradition, incantation is broadly classified into two, namely:

traditional and modern. Traditional incantation uses only Igbo words and

expressions, without any form of foreign intervention, while modern incantation is

influenced by religious, language and/or foreign culture. The latter uses borrowed

words from other languages.

Ikpe ekpere (prayers): Prayer has always been a central part of Igbo life. It served

as a direct link to ala mmuo (the spirit land). Below is an excerpt from pages 199-

200 of Traditional Igbo Beliefs and Practices by IK Ogbukagu. A morning prayer

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of this nature was done every day by the head of each household while offering oji

(kola nut) to the different divinities.

“A kpopu uzo, a kpopu onu

(The dawning of a new day marks the beginning of a routine struggling for the

means of human and other being’s existence).

Ubosi kpatalu nu nya likalie

(The day that fetches more benefits than others deserve to have more of those items

of benefit).

Uchu adi agba mma ekwu

(The pen knife routinely deployed for splitting of kolanuts because of the nature of

its assignment is always assured of early morning breakfast).

O bu n’igwe, O bu n’ana, chedo anyi

(God who lives in heaven and on earth, please protect our interest).

Omebia, Odokwaa

(God you destroy and regenerate lives)

O sibe, O dika a ma elisi

(God bestows gifts as though this benevolence would remain endless).

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E lisie, o dika a ma eweta ozo

(He allows or rescinds these gifts as he considers appropriate or expedient)

Taa oji a n’otu ka anyi taa ya n’ibe n’ibe

(Almighty God, take this kolanut in whole, while we take it in cotyledons)…”

Some are used for the purposes of imprisoning all mosquitoes and stop them

from biting the one who has recited it. Konkwo gave a good example as cited

below:

a. N’aha Olisa bi n’igwe, anwu nta, ihe ndi ozo na-ata ata

“In the name of God, mosquito, biting ant, biting ant that flies‟

b. Ina ata mmadu, na-ata mmadu, ma n’ututu

“Just biting, biting, biting, even in the morning‟

Imagination is one of the identified sources to which the origin of myth is

ascribed. It is reasoned that because man in his atavistic stage of human

development lacked the scientific know-how which is now available to the modern

man, he derived satisfaction in his imaginative tendencies, forming pictures which

were full of poetic images and incidents in attempt to explain everything that

puzzled him. Some of the subjects whose explanation man sought in his

imagination thoughts include among others, how the world came to being; how it

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acquired its present structure; and why certain customs, habits and beliefs prevail

today. This is where myth-making comes in-man’s imaginative thought produced

myths that explained the things which perplexed him.

Taiwo notes that in Africa, our forefathers used the device of myth-making

to explain everything which they found difficult to understand. They made myths

about, for instance, the nature of the stars, moon, seasonal variations and other

phenomena which they did not fully understand. According to him, in situations

clouded by ignorance, doubt and uncertainty, there were things to explain (13).

Therefore, Chukwuma describes myths as “an artistic manifestation of creative

stimuli”. Igbo myths do have different versions but irrespective of the local

variation that are observable, Igbo myths “have the same meaning for all members

of a society whether in terms of a conceptualization of the powers that rule the

universe, a system of institutions, a moral code of the rituals worship”

(Herskovitses 82).

The world of Igbo folklore is open to children through whom they gain a lot

through linguistic expression, common knowledge, honesty, endurance, devotion

to duty, respect, truthfulness, the common rules and the established etiquette of the

Igbo society and their entirety of good morals. Obi argues that literature can act as

a mobilizing agent to make the people better citizens that can co-habit together in

peace and tranquility thereby enhancing sustainable development. According to

25
Njamanze, Literature has become an ideological tool which while entertaining the

people is also used by the adults to member of the society to initiate the younger

ones into socialization process used in personality enhancement, moral

development and cultural transmission. In the same vein, Nwadike asserts that

through literature, the people are taught the philosophy and ideology of their

people through the wisdom of their fathers, for instance: the proverbs, anecdotes,

etc. All these carry the cardinal principles of life of the Igbo. Onuekwusi asserts

that oral literature or ‘orature’ as coined by poi Zirimu, a Ugandan linguist and

critics was enjoyed by the preliterate people in their homes, village squares, places

of ceremonies and any other forum for people’s gathering while parents were the

story tellers or entertainers in the homes. Oral Igbo literature imparts in the

younger generations the basic life principles in Igbo land. Hence an Igbo adage

says “onye ma afọ gaamụ eze?” this implies that a poor woman today can become

the mother of a rich man tomorrow while a rich man today can become a poor man

tomorrow, because riches have wings; it flies away, and perches wherever it so

wishes. All these are packaged in Igbo folklore in form of oral prose, oral drama

and oral poetry (traditional song) which has types but we are going to use this

satiric song for illustration:

Satiric song
26
Ọyị m Ribeka Gloss

Oyi m Ribeka nwekwa ndidi o! (My friend Ribeka be patient o!)

Oyi m Ribeka nwekwa ndidi o! (My friend Ribeka be patient o!)

Mgbe m na-enye gị chịngọm. (When I was giving you Chewing gum)

Ị gwaghị nne gị. (You did not tell your mum)

Mgbe m na-enye gị swiiti, (When I was giving you sweet/candy)

Ị gwaghị nne gị (You did not tell your mum)

Mgbe m na-azụrụ gị uwe. (When I was buying dresses for you)

Ị gwaghị nne gị. (You did not tell your mum)

Ma mgbe m zụtaara gị akpụkpọ ụkwụ. (Even when I bought foot wears)

ị gwaghị nne gị. (You did not tell your mum)

O ruo ugbu a ị dịtara ime. (And now you are pregnant)

Ị ga gwa nne gị. (You went and told your mum)

Ị na-agwadị nne gị ka o mee gịnị? (Are you telling your mum to do what?)

Ị na-agwadị nne gị ka o mee gịnị? (Are you telling your mum to do what?)

The prose form

27
Here is another illustration of Igbo prose in form of a story; what goes around,

Comes around amongst others;

The tortoise and the lizard

Once upon a time, the tortoise was the one chosen by the villagers to go and buy

salt from a far country for the village because there was a famine in the land. He

travelled, bought the bag of salt and on his way coming back, the lizard saw him

and cut the rope he was using to drag the bag of salt and took the salt home.

Tortoise called the judges, they came, and the lizard said he found the salt along

the road. They blamed the tortoise for not carrying it on his head. Another day the

lizard was passing the village of the tortoise and suddenly there was a rain fall

and the lizard ran into a shallow whole, and the tortoise came and cut its tail

because it was outside. The lizard called the judges they came, and the tortoise

said that it just saw a long tail not knowing it was the lizard’s own. They blamed

the lizard for not putting its tail inside the whole. So they both became victim of

their natural shortcomings. The children will learn that there is need for the

injustice; the wrong person should be made to know that he or she is wrong. They

should also learn that what goes around comes around. More also they shall be

one another’s keeper and not to take advantage of the less privileged one etc.

(Ogbalu).

Drama form
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This one can come in form of a practical demonstration of a traditional song,

sometimes it comes when the children are playing, demonstrating what they sing or

when the adults are practicing worship to their gods in a traditional way; during

odo or masquerade display or even when the youths are into a competitive display

like wrestling or war. They sing and act what they sing and it brings about moral

lessons and joy to them especially that of the children. Let us look at this children’s

drama may be during moonlight play:

Onye elela anya n’azụ (Let no one look at the back)

Mmụọnwụ anyị na-aga n’azụ (Our masquerade is walking at the back)

Onye elela anya n’azụ (Let no one look at the back)

Mmụọnwụ anyị na-aga n’azụ (Our masquerade is walking at the back)

Onye lee anya n’azụ (If anyone looks at the back)

Mmụọnwụ anyị ga-apịa ya ụtarị (Our masquerade will spank him/her)

Professor Albert Chinualumogu Achebe, one of the prominent sons of

Igboland once defined proverbs (ilu) as “the salt with which words are eaten”.

Proverbs are the wisdom of a people in a nutshell. Complex stories and situations

are concentrated in a few words and phrases which capture and retain the essential

meaning of the experiences from which they derive. Below are some popular Igbo

proverbs.
29
Proverbs Gloss

 Oge adighi eche mmadu Time and tide waits for no one

 Gidi gigi bu ugwu eze Unity is strength

 Choo ewu ojii ka chi di Make hay while the sun shines

Masquerades in Igbo land are seen as superior beings. When a masquerade is

seen in public, they have to be treated with respect because it is believed that they

embody both the spirit and human worlds. Masquerading may require a team of

people which will include vocalists who hail the masquerades, drummers and

players who play the instrument, advisers and then the masquerade itself. They

wear masks and are covered thoroughly depending on the type and where they’re

from. They appear during traditional celebrations. Some of the masquerades in

igbo land are:

Adamma: A contemporary spirit mask worn by men and particular to some

villages in eastern Nigeria. She is always dressed in colourful attires and dances so

beautifully.

Ijele: Originated from old Anambra state and it is the largest mask system ever to

enter the history of the world masking tradition.

Mkpankpanku: It is a very stern one and also fully masculine featured. They’re

brisk and aggressive.

30
Izaga: It is probably the tallest igbo masquerade and can be seen as a comjc

masquerade or an entertainment one.

There are so many festivals in Igboland but the most important family events

are Birth, marriage and burial. The new yam festival is considered the highest

following the place of yam as the king of crops.

A traditional marriage in Igbo land is called “igbankwu” and certainly worth

witnessing. It is a union between families and between villages. First, the groom

asks his potential partner for marriage. Assuming this is affirmative, the groom

visits the bride's residence for introduction and declaration of interest. The bride

confirms the groom then, the bride price is settled accompanied with wine and

kolanuts and other items.

Birth celebration varies from village to village. On the 8 th day, the child

(male) is circumcised and on the 28th day, the naming ceremony is performed, each

event accompanied by a feast for the relatives.

Death in Igbo land is regarded as the passing away of a person from the

world to the spirit world. However, only after the second burial rites, it id believed

that the person can reach the spirit world; as otherwise, the departed relative would

still wander between earth and the spirit world. The honor of the dead varies

dependent on the background, title, gender, relationship with family and

31
circumstances around the death. The relatives pay their last respect on the day of

the funeral.

The new yam festival popularly called “orureshi, iri ji, ike ji or otute”

(depending on the dialect) is an annual cultural festival by the Igbo people usually

held at the end of the rainy season in early August to October every year. The Igbo

people do not play with this festival. It is done at the community level first. In turn,

individuals in their own way and capacity celebrate with members of families and

friends thereby kicking off the eating of new yams in these families that

participated in the community ceremony, whether they have money to celebrate

with the others or not

Taboos are rules and beliefs adapted to keep the sanity of the land and not

incur the wrath of the gods. Most of these beliefs were born out of fear of the

unknown. Even though they are thousands of years old, they are still believed and

practiced by a lot of people. Some of the taboos in Igbo land are:

Ogbanje: In things fall apart, Chinua Achebe states that Ogbanje is " a 'wicked'

child who continually re-enters its mother’s womb only to die again and again,

causing its parents grief".

Plantain: It was believed that two fingers of plantain joined together was a bad

omen. When one is separating them, he/she is to put it behind his back and not use

32
his/her eyes to see the separation. If not, the person would give birth to conjoined

twins.

Eke (python): Pythons are generally sacred in Igboland and must not be killed or

eaten. Pythons are believed to be the reincarnation of ancestors, and regarded as

“our father.”

Suicide: Killing oneself or committing suicide is a taboo in Igboland, and so much

frowned upon by both man and gods that the victim of suicide must never be

buried within the community but in the Forbidden Forest.

Marrying an Osu: An Osu is an outcast within the caste system, and marrying one

is considered a taboo that must never be done.

Wine carrying: In the old days and till now, when a man is interested in marrying

a woman, he calls his kinsmen, takes a calabash of fresh palm wine and walks to

the girl's house to ask her father for her hand. It is considered a bad omen for his

calabash of wine to fall to the ground before he gets to his destination. If this

happens, he is to abort his mission.

2.3.1 Review of Things Fall Apart.

Things Fall Apart was written by a young Chinua Achebe in 1958, two years

before Nigeria’s independence, though a work of historical fiction, has been

translated into 50 languages, taught in schools, has become part of the written

33
works that must be consulted in any ethnographic survey of the Igbo people, to

Chinua Achebe himself and was the first that was written with the real voices of

Africans, hence giving an accurate representation of the real Africa.

Achebe described an experience that he participated/lived in, as a member of

the Igbo people in the book. Achebe talks about an Igbo people that were self-

contained. He guides us through the intricacies of Igbo culture, it profound sense of

justice, it sometimes murderous rules and it noble and harmful machismo.

In a way, or to some extent the story of Okonkwo the major character in the

novel, was used to tell the story of the Igbo people at a stage. Okonkwo began life

as a son of a pauper but through dint of hard-work and perseverance he succeeded,

and became one of the lords of the clan. He worked very hard, and also played

very well. Okonkwo’s unwillingness to adapt to the new change represents an

internal struggle many pre-colonized Africans faced in the wake of colonization.

Yet, as in classic comedy, Okonkwo’s downfall results from his own character as

well as other external forces as everything that Okonkwo holds dear becomes

threatened after an accidental shooting. Okonkwo must flee with his family from

his beloved village for seven years losing the life that he worked so hard to gain to

start all over.

34
 The Igbos were able to set up a socio-political system that was both in

advance of anything that the modern world has to offer in terms of democracy,

protection of women’s rights, and universal suffrage in their federation of clans.

Everybody, among the Igbo, had a say in government and these worked, and

thrived, without a standing army, police and prisons, until it was demolished by

British invaders. This was part of Achebe’s story in Things Fall Apart as the

scenes from the life of Nigeria’s Igbo society are painted with an assured, uplifting

clarity and they resonate brightly and long.

Things Fall Apart gives us an overview of this Igbo society, at peace with

itself, in spite of its challenges. It suffered drought; strange and surprising as Igbo

land is dense rain forest, but remember this is a novel, though a historical one-so

ancestral memory might have dredged up Igbo existence in a former land that

suffered droughts. Its administration of justice had what one would describe as tit

for tat. The poor received attention and kindly consideration from the rich. There

were no destitute. Women and children were protected like when Okonkwo was

seriously censured by one of the priests for beating his wife during the Week of

Peace (Achebe 38).

Great festivals such as the New Yam Festival were held. There were games.

The marriage of Akueke, the daughter of Obierika, Okonkwo’s best friend was

used by Achebe to give us a very good idea of celebration of the Igbo marriage.
35
The bride receives a dowry from her family, and is given the blessing, ‘may you be

a mother of multitudes like our mothers’. Achebe told us about the Igbo funeral, in

the course of which Okonkwo accidentally shot and killed a kinsman, and had to

flee into exile for seven years.

Then, while Okonkwo was still in exile, the invader that Achebe called the

‘white man’, the British came. Likely Achebe picked up the term ‘white man’

during his studies outside Igbo territory, because traditionally the Igbo, who have

very light-skinned and darker-skinned members, did not identify people with color.

As Achebe presented it, the white man sent in his soldiers first, and then his

missionaries. While the soldiers used brute force to break down the society, the

missionaries pacified it mainly through the mission schools that began to change

the world-view of the Igbos. Curiously, Achebe’s world view was also changed.

Achebe masterfully described this process that he was both a player and narrator

of. While the invader had God, the Igbos were given ‘gods’, or presented as having

‘gods’. The white man continued to grow in power.

Then Okonkwo returned. And as Achebe narrated it, what he met was a

changed community. The mission schools had done their job efficiently. Some

Igbos had graduated into the church from the schools. And some auxiliary priests

in the Igbo religion, who had begun to lose relevance and employment when the

Igbos began to move into the invaders religion, and who had consequently began
36
to be disrespected also moved over with the hope of regaining relevance.

Following them also were the ambitious, and adventurous, who wanted to exploit

the ‘new system’. Inevitably the Igbo became two or more people. And when the

white man discovered that the people had become divided, he began to be more

dictatorial. Gone was the foolish fellow that the people of Umuofia (Igbos) laughed

at, and whom they in sympathy allowed to settle on their land. He had become the

foreigner, who came to save them, from “bad” Igbo customs and laws, to make

new laws, and to enforce them. Chagrined by all these Okonkwo participated in a

resistance, when the Igbo agents of the invaders desecrated some of the things that

were most sacred to the clan. The white man had him and other leaders of the

Umuofia arrested, detained, and humiliated. Released after the white man had

exacted a stiff fine, and the hefty bribe added to the fine by his agents had been

paid, Okonkwo and the others left for home. On getting home, after the leaders had

been welcomed, the clan decided to meet. The poor waif (white man) that they had

received and accommodated a few years earlier sent his men to order the meeting

to stop. Okonkwo in anger drew his knife and killed the chief messenger of the

white man, in expectation that the clan would line up behind him and fight. But in

that hour he realized that things had actually fallen apart-that the clan is no longer

one. He left, and hanged himself.

37
 The book aptly captured the trajectory of how the Igbo society responded, or

mis-responded to colonialism, and consequently collapsed. It recorded certain

aspects of Igbo culture and religious life, and very importantly it gives us hints

about how a society that lost, and is in search of its identity suffers and teaches the

readers that the past with all its imperfections was not one long night of savagery

which the Europeans acting on God’s behalf delivered them but we had a culture

as complex and intricate.

2.3.2 Review of Arrow of God.

Arrow of God was published in 1964, 6 years after Things Fall Apart to

complete Achebe’s African trilogy. This phrase “Arrow of God” is drawn from an

Igbo proverb in which a person, or sometimes an event, is said to represent the will

of God. It portrays evocatively, the story of how colonialism overcame one of the

last standing villages in Igbo land in the 1920s and how it was done in the most

unlikely way which makes the story a tragedy. He describes the conflict between

old and new in its most poignant aspect: the personal struggle between father and

son.

Ezeulu is the protagonist and the chief priest of six villages with Ulu as their

deity. He sees himself as god over the people but his authority is increasingly

under threat from rivals within his tribe, from functionaries of the colonial

38
government and even from his own family members. Yet, he believes himself to be

untouchable: surely, he is an arrow in the bow of his God. Armed with his belief,

he is prepared to lead his people, even if it is towards their destruction but his

people will not be dominated so easily. Ezeulu claims that the hardships he has

brought to the village are Ulu’s will, for which God he is the chief priest whose

most potent magic is achieved through a sacred python. Though he distrusts

Christianity, he allows a colonial district officer to send one of his sons to a

mission school. To the chief’s horror, the Christianized boy zealously imprisons

the sacred python in a box.

In Chinua Achebe's Arrow of God, tragedy is the driving force of the plot

and the development of Ezeulu’s character. Contrary to the popular saying “that

which does not kill you makes you stronger,” the successive and increasingly

personal tragedies that befall Ezeulu fuel his descent from the wise and highly

respected high priest of his people to a petty and spiteful man, perfectly willing to

starve his people for a perceived slight. Ezeulu is corrupted by power, and as his

family and village heed his advice less and less, he exerts more and more power to

sway them until he nearly leads his people into catastrophe.

In the beginning, Ezeulu truly is a wise man, and his advice on the conflict

between Umuaro and Okperi is some of the little sound leadership Ezeulu displays

through the entire novel. Not only does Ezeulu display integrity in his advice not to
39
go to war over land that rightfully belongs to Okperi (Achebe 26), but Ezeulu also

correctly predicts that Akukalia is too hot headed to send as a diplomat in the land

dispute. When Akukalia and the other diplomats arrive in Okperi and the visit

ended with an Okperi idol destroyed and Akukalia dead. This first tragedy

precipitates the chain that leads to Ezeulu’s eventual downfall. For, this tragedy

begins the war between Umuaro and Okperi, and, Ezeulu’s and Nwaka’s differing

opinions on the war set their villages (Umuachala and Umunneora respectively) at

odds. This conflict is the first time that Ezeulu’s word is not obeyed by Umuaro

and the first time that Ezeulu at this point, the seeds of resentment are planted.

Ezeulu now mistrusts at least some of his village and thinks less of the rest for

following Nwaka and not his own advice

By the time Ezeulu leaves for Okperi to meet with Winterbottom, his

mistrust of his village has crystallized. When Winterterbottom falls ill and Clarke

keeps Ezeulu waiting, Ezeulu is already hoping that he is kept longer so that he can

plot revenge against the village. This thought, combined with his earlier conviction

to not look for the new moon while in Okperi (Achebe 159), demonstrates that

even before his imprisonment, Ezeulu has lost his way and has turned against his

people. Ezeulu is imprisoned by the British for the “crime” of not accepting the

title of Warrant Chief for thirty-two days. Including the four days it took before

Clarke met with Ezeulu, Ezeulu was away from Umuaro for 36 days and two new

40
moons and thus was unable to eat the sacred yams. In this way, the tragedy of

Ezeulu’s imprisonment allows Ezeulu to take revenge by providing an excuse to

delay the harvest and cause famine.

The death of Ezeulu’s son Obika is a final insult before Ezeulu fades into

obscurity. Ezeulu’s plan for revenge is successful and Umuaro starves for a time,

until the villagers slowly convert to Christianity. The local church promises

immunity from the wrath of Ulu, and the people choose to eat as Christians rather

than die following Ulu and Ezeulu. Ezeulu’s fears of the whole village turning

against him and against Ulu materialized, and the great tragic irony of it all is that

Ezeulu’s plans for revenge to punish the people for disobeying him and Ulu is the

very thing that drove them to convert. In the end, not even the book remembers

how Ezeulu died, his importance had waned so much. Ezeulu, and Ulu with him,

simply fade into obscurity. Ezeulu’s authority as a leader replaced by the British,

and the religion of Ulu replaced by Christianity.

CHAPTER THREE
3.0 TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
3.1 African Cosmology.
In an attempt to understand the meaning of ‘African Cosmology’ and its

constituent elements, it would be worthwhile to first explore the concept

‘cosmology’. Etymologically, it is from the Greek words: cosmos and Logos,

meaning ‘universe’ and ‘science’ respectively. Put together, it is the ‘science of the
41
universe’. By universe it is meant worldview. Very significant to their analysis, is

an underlining principle that speaks of cosmologies as basically religious, which

gives a sense of purpose and direction to the lives of people and enables them to

act purposefully and exercise a measure of control over their environment. It is in

this regard that Metuh maintains that cosmology answers fundamental questions

about the place and relationship of man with the universe. This cannot be done

outside the ambience of supernatural power or powers and thus religion.

What then is African cosmology? It is simply the way Africans perceive,

conceive and contemplate their universe; the lens through which they see reality,

which affects their value systems and attitudinal orientations; it is the African’s

search for the meaning of life, and an unconscious but natural tendency to arrive at

a unifying base that constitutes a frame of meaning often viewed as terminus a quo

(origin), and as terminus ad quem (end). This cosmology is the underlining thought

link that holds together the African value system, philosophy of life, social

conduct, morality, folklores, myths, rites, rituals, norms, rules, ideas, cognitive

mappings and theologies. The African Cosmology Comprises of two major

entities: the belief system and the cycle of life.

The Belief System

42
 The African universe has the physical and the spiritual dimensions (Edeh,

Abanuka, Ijiomah, Unah, and Chimakonam). At the spirit realm, God represents

the Chief Being, and seats at the apex of power. In the physical world, man

dominates, occupying the central position in the scheme of God’s creation. In the

contention of Onunwa, the African cosmos is like an isosceles triangle, God (the

supreme Being) is at the apex. The ancestors are at the base of the triangle, with

man at the center. The primacy of the human being in the African universe is due

to the central place he occupies within the universe. The triangular imagery

suggests that human beings form a “microcosm” on which converge the

innumerable forces that inhabit the other arms of the universe. Ijiomah avers that

the African universe consists of three levels: the sky, the earth and the underworld:

“the sky is where God Chukwu or Chineke and angels reside; the earth is where

man, animals, natural resources, some devils and some physical observable

realities abide; and the underworld where the ancestors and some bad spirit live”.

Ekwealor corroborated the above view when he described the African universe as

consisting of three encircled levels, namely: Elu-Igwe or sky, Alammadu or the

world of the living and Alammuo or the land of the spirits. Chimakonam in his

paper “God and Man in Igbo Traditional Religion” produced graphical drawings of

these views and demonstrated the equivalence of Onunwa, Ijiomah and Ekwealor’s

conceptions of Igbo universe. Thus, the African belief system consists of both

43
spiritual and physical anchored by faith. Ekwealor avers that “It is important to

note that although the Igbo universe is divided into these three broad structures,

there is the possibility of certain elements to move from one structure to another to

commune with other elements”. In this interaction, man communes with God, the

divinities, the ancestors and vice versa. The belief system is comprised of four

entities:

The Belief in God

The Supreme God is believed to be the author of the universe and the

beginning and the end of everything it contains. He is called different names by

different people based on his attributes; the Igbo call him Chukwu or Osebuluwa

meaning Great God or sustainer of the universe; the Yoruba call him Olodumare or

Eledumare meaning the King of heaven, etc.

The Belief in the Divinities

It must he stressed from the beginning that the belief in the divinities does

not in any way amount to polytheism as earlier anthropologists made us to believe.

The African religious faith is monotheistic rather, the belief in one God. Divinities

are rather ministers of the supreme God with either duties or portfolios assigned to

them by God. They can be primordial or deified.

The Belief in Spirits

44
 It is believed that the African world is full of spirits, spiritual beings

including the living dead. By classification, Spirits are lesser than the divinities.

They are also messengers to the divinities, bearing errands from them to humans.

They are said to be amorphous because they are capable of transmuting into

different forms - human beings, animals and inanimate objects. It is believed that

ancestral spirits can live in five generations before they become extinct.

The Belief in Magic and Medicine

Magic is the art of obtaining the result of a physical activity or attaining a

physical purpose in a manner that cannot be scientifically explained. A human

disappears without any verifiable device or he produces edibles without using a

conventional means, it involves the use of the supernatural forces and in most

cases such supernatural forces are evil in nature because invocations often used are

directed to malevolent forces or evil spirits. Black magic arts such as witchcraft,

sorcery and necromancy are in this category in magic, objects may be involved or

may not be involved but incantation or the power of words is vital as we shall see

later in chants. Medicines are herbs in forms of tree leaves, roots and animal parts

for curing and preventing diseases.

The Cycle of Life

45
 In oral tradition, the cycle of life are the stages or series of stages that a

person passes through and as a person moves from one stage to the other, there is a

ceremony attached to it, popularly known as the rites of passage. The cycle of life

is believed to start from when a person is still unborn and is in his mother’s womb:

when he decides what he wants to be to when he dies and faces eternity. Every

stage in the cycle of life has a part in how an individual turns out to be. The cycle

of life comprises of predestination, birth, marriage, death and hereafter.

Predestination

By predestination, we mean the first stage of a man’s life; his destiny

deciding stage before he is born. It is believed that what becomes of a man on earth

is partly by him and partly by God. The portion of man’s destiny awaits him on

earth and thus is dependent on the circumstances of his birth and his encounter

with good and bad spirits. The spiritual part of man as believed is represented by

his guardian spirit, who guides him, protects him and ceases to be with him when

he dies. This guardian spirit is referred to as chi in Igbo, ori in Yoruba, owoicho in

Idoma and other names in other tribes and cultures.

Birth

Birth happens after a pregnancy of nine months. Pregnancies in African

tradition have some taboos and vary from culture to culture. Such taboos are those

that prevent pregnant women from eating some meals, from going to some places

46
like funerals in order to avoid being attacked by malevolent spirits who place bad

jinx on the fetus. The birth of child is the begriming of his life and the

circumstances of his birth influence his predestination positively or negatively. The

factors or circumstances involved are, the hour of birth, which brings about twin

spirits if a woman labors from one da into the other; the day of the week, this is

because of day of the week has its implications, for instance, a child born on Friday

is likely to be wise and gifted; the lunar month in which the child is born and the

names given to the child. These four factors come together to determine a child’s

destiny. The personality of man is also influenced by elements of water, earth and

air.

Marriage

Among the rites of passage, marriage is the only one that an individual

actually witnesses and has a chance to decide. A person’s choice of marriage can

either further make his/her life or mar it. This is why youth are often advised to

seek spiritual guidance while choosing marriage partners because partners with

similar birth circumstances do not always blend. Rather, different circumstances

with different vibrations blend greatly and some elements do not blend at all. That

is, fire and fire, fire and water, etc.

Death and Hereafter

47
 Death is a situation in which a person has ceased breathing and has lost his

pulse as a result of which he is pronounced clinically dead. Science and religion

have made assertions on the life span of man. In biological sciences, the human

body is said to expire at the age of hundred and twenty-three. In the first book of

the Holy Bible, ancient man is said to be able to live up to the incredible age of a

nine hundred and thirty years as was the case of Adam indeed Methuselah lived for

nine hundred and sixty years. (Genesis 5:1-32) Traditional African religion is not

precise but it stresses old age as the ripe age. This brings us to the two types of

death, natural and unnatural deaths. A natural death is death at old age which

occurs after a fulfilled life and which is often celebrated lavishly by traditional

Africans. Unnatural death is any death that occurs at any relatively young age. Two

factors are said to be responsible for this. The first factor is self-abuse or the

immoderate eating of food items, excessive intake of alcohol or other drinks,

addiction to drugs or obsession with sex. This factor is man’s own influence. The

other factor is that of the perennial presence of malevolent forces that constantly

prey on humans. Deaths arising from this are handiwork of witches, wizards,

sorcerers and other wicked forces. In traditional African, the dead are given a

befitting burial as preparation for hereafter depending on his status and culture. It

is believed that a person’s mode of life determines his life after and that judgment

awaits the dead.

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3.1.1 African Cosmology in Things fall Apart and Arrow of God.

In Arrow of God and Things Fall Apart, Achebe illustrates the beliefs of the

Igbo people. The traditional African Igbo society is that which is without a king

because everybody is believed to take part in the governance of the people. Hence,

Smith describes Africa as a continent that lacked Laws. The Igbo lived in harmony

until the advent of the Europeans. They believed in a supreme God whom they

called Chukwu but had other mini gods whom they believed are intermediaries

between them and God and had different role assigned to them but collectively,

they are believed to have kept the Igbo together. Examples of these gods

mentioned in Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God are, Eru, Udo, Ogwugwu,

Idemili, Agbala, Amadiora, Ani and Ulu among others. They also believed to be

personal guardian Angels as deified or primordial. Hence, the reason Okonkwo is

described as one who said yes strongly and his chi agreed (Achebe 19). But if one

says no, his chi says no too.

Achebe portrayed the Igbo belief that some children are born evil as what is

called “ogbanje” ogbanje’s are- Children who are born and die severally putting

their families in agonies. Okonkwo’s daughter whom he wished was a born is an

ogbanje but when they discovered, a dibia (medicine man) was called to find and

destroy her iyi - uwa (connection with the spirit world) so she could live long and

stop causing her mother pain (Achebe 56). The Igbo had taboos too and hitting
49
your wife during peace time is one of them. Hence, the reason Okonkwo was

condemned when he beat his wife during peace time (Achebe 21). Committing

suicide is also a taboo in Igbo land. When Okonkwo committed suicide, his body

could not be buried in his father land despite his position in the community else, it

would spoil the land (Achebe 147).

Death warranted a celebration among the Igbos especially if the deceased

died at old age. The level of ritual and celebration was dependent on the status of

the deceased. In Arrow of God, the dead are believed to visit the living and tell

them to bury them so they could rest peacefully, some visit the living to make

demands on what they want to be buried with and sometimes, the dead are left

unburied because the family has no money to give the dead the kind of burial

befitting his status (Achebe 223). Marriage as part of the cycle of life is also a big

event in the Igbo traditional society. Fathers gave out their daughters to men of

strong financial standing and capability and before a marriage is done, questions

are asked by the families about the families that their children are to be married

into. Birth is well celebrated among the Igbos and a marriage without children is

considered a failure. A woman’s stand in her husband’s house was also determined

by the number of children or male children she have produced and respect was

accorded. Achebe has done a good job in capturing the beliefs of the Igbo people

and Africans as whole in his books and these beliefs are still practiced till date.

50
3.2 Oral Narrative Forms.

African Oral Narrative is an important component of oral tradition. It is the

same thing as oral literature except that the African Oral Narratives are in

storytelling form and do not involve the African Oral Poetic forms but oral

literature encompasses both the narrative and poetic forms. The people had oral

forms that help them explain mysteries that they couldn’t understand and had

doubts about. These oral forms have been in existence and have been passed down

from generation to generation by mouth but in recent times, in documents. It

becomes literature because Africans who are literate have modified them and

written them down in prints. This part of oral tradition is dependent on a performer

who formulates it in words on a specific occasion – there is no other way in which

it can be realized as a literary product except it ceases to be oral. The oral narrative

forms are Myths, Legends, folktales, Riddles and Proverbs.

Myths

Myths are traditional stories, especially those concerning the early history of

a people or explaining a natural or social phenomenon and typically involving

supernatural beings or events. They help to explain the world and man’s

experience and serve as a compass to each generation. These are usually true or

based on beliefs.

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Legends

These are traditional stories about people or place that have achieved

interesting great heights or have had encounters with supernatural beings. Through

legends, stories about great people are told and preserved for moral lessons. These

are usually true events.

Folktales

Folktales are traditional imaginary stories that are far removed from truth.

They usually feature animals but the main focus is to teach moral lessons.

Folktales in their imaginary form consist of fairy tales, moral tales and dilemma

tales.

Riddles

Riddles are questions of statements intentionally phrased so as to require

ingenuity in ascertaining its answer or meaning. They are existent in every

tradition.

Proverbs

These are short, well-known pithy sayings, stating a general truth or piece of

advice. They are inherent in every tradition.

3.2.1 Oral Narrative Forms in Things fall Apart and Arrow of God.

52
 Chinua Achebe reflects the oral traditions of the Igbo land in his books

Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God in many facets. He uses proverbs, folktales,

songs and rituals to illustrate the Igbo tradition and culture. To revitalize the past,

Achebe juxtaposes the identity of Igbo society in the mode of oral story. Story

telling gives a moral value and culture in the characters of the novel. In these

books, Achebe use oral narrative forms to bring consciousness of the past. Iyasere

states that Achebe “uses proverbs both to infuse the English language with

traditional African wisdom and perceptions and –with Soyinka, Oladipo and

Christina Aidoo – to provide a ‘grammar of values’ of the world within the novel”.

Proverbs are first mentioned in Things Fall Apart in the chapter one when the

tradition of passing the Kolanut for fellowship and alliance is addressed. “He, who

brings Kola, brings life” is the proverbs used and it is a popular saying in Igbo

culture (Achebe 5) and was first mentioned in Arrow of God in chapter one: “Do

you blame a Vulture for perching over a carcass” (Achebe 9)? Achebe places the

proverbs in well-ordered places throughout the novels. For instance, the Igbo

proverb in Things Fall Apart “when the moon is shining, the cripple becomes

hungry for a walk” would be a rather odd and random statement in a novel but

within its context is referred to someone doing something secretive and perhaps

even shameful at night when no one can see you doing it (Achebe 7). This is

prefaced by the statement “and perhaps those not so young would be playing pairs

53
in less open places, and old men and women would remember their youths”

(Achebe 7). Such proverbs always contain a context and an application. Many of

the proverbs refer to animals in the bush to make cultural point. Nwakibie is one of

the characters in Things Fall Apart and a very wealthy man whose tradition at

meals would be to bless the food with this blessing “we shall all live. We pray for

life, children, a good harvest and happiness. You will have what is good for you

and I will have what is good for me. Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too.

If one says no to the other, let his wings break” (Achebe 14). The proverb uses

natural imagery to compliment the process of making or breaking covenants, in

this case between Nwakibie and Okonkwo.

Achebe uses a lot of proverbs in his books and a number of them are,

1. Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing, he

has learned to fly without perching (Achebe 16).

2. Looking at a king’s mouth, one would think he never sucked his mother’s

breast (Achebe 16).

3. A toad does not run in the day except something is after it (Achebe 21).

4. The fly that has no one to advise it follows the corpse into the grave (Achebe

27).

5. Unless the wind blows, we do not see the fowl’s rump (Achebe 59).

54
 Achebe uses folktales in his novel to illustrate the culture of the characters in

his novels. There is one principal instance in Things Fall Apart where folktales are

used to give depth to certain characters. In chapter seven, Okonkwo is described as

telling stories to his sons. He told them stories of the land – masculine stories of

violence and bloodshed. Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be

violent but somehow, he still preferred the stories his mother used to tell and which

she no doubt still told his younger children – stories of the tortoise and his witty

ways an of the bird Eneke – nti oba who challenged the world to a wrestling

contest and was finally thrown by the cat (Achebe 38). The folktale sets Nwoye

and Okonkwo up for the rest of the story and even supports their differences that

resurge later on in the novel. Achebe uses the traditional tales with their stupid

large animals and small trick star animals to describe the cultural values of the

village and how even the natural world they see around them is implanted with

their own values and traditions. Such is seen with the image of bird and cat

wrestling. Another story told in Things Fall Apart is one that is a mother’s tale; the

story of the tortoise. It shows the behavior of certain characters, especially their

knowledge and interest in the story but also how African people used the stories to

explain certain natural phenomena like why the tortoise’s shell is not smooth

(Achebe 67).

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 Achebe is a master of the oral tradition and his knowledge of it is shown in

the prolific amounts of various kinds of oral traditions found in the novel. While

songs and folktales make up the majority of the examples, Achebe also uses local

myths and legends. An example of a myth in Things Fall Apart is the myth

explaining why mosquitoes always go for the ears (Achebe 53). Legends are also

well exemplified in Achebe’s two books. An example is the legend told in Arrow

of God about a great wrestler whose back never touched the ground (Achebe 26)

and the legend in Things Fall Apart about a stubborn man who staggered back to

tree (Achebe 13) and the legend about a wealthy who set before his guests a mound

of foo – foo so high that those who sat on the other side could not see what was

happening on the other. Achebe’s oral narrative forms keep going on and on and if

one were to explicate them, they would make up a small book or at least, a lengthy

article. This is why Achebe’s African trilogy are the most known African books.

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 CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 CONCLUSION

4.1 Summary of Findings

As mentioned earlier in this work, oral traditions are the people’s beliefs,

customs and total way of life passed down from generation to generation by mouth

and it is comprised of cosmology, and folklore which is divided into oral narratives

forms and oral poetic forms. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Arrow of

God were examined as primary literary texts for the purpose of this work. Hence,

Achebe’s works proved vital in the course of this work and in illustrating the oral

traditions of the Igbo people in their economic and political uniformity as they

lived in harmony until the advent of colonial masters.

The texts highlight the importance of knowing our roots and traditions not

just as Igbos but also as proud Africans who were brainwashed about our history

but have now known the truth through its vivid descriptions of aspect of Igbo oral

tradition. The literary texts started off by portraying the Igbo land as a land where

people lived in a harmony, where there was no king, everyone participated in

administering laws in the community and where everyone mattered – from the

least to the highest. The novels continued to the point where the people who were

57
held in high esteem began to act on their own, the people began to lose the peace in

which their fathers bred them in that when the colonizers came, they were easily

conquered. Hence, the novel also shows the rise and fall of a people – the Igbo

people whose leaders refused change? Okonkwo could not accept the fact that

things were changing and was head bent on restoring the society with or without

the support of his people and this led to Okonkwo’s fall because, one does not

work against his people or fight the fight of the gods, he will fail. These are oral

traditions yet, the people who made them are the same people who broke them.

When Ezeulu tried to take decisions and fight for the gods, he failed too. In

essence, part of the oral traditions illustrated by Achebe in his books is that the

strength of a man is his people and without them, he is almost nothing. This study

went further to examine the Igbo cosmology and their beautiful aspects in

Achebe’s books. It cuts across the belief system and the universal cycle of life. It

also covered the oral narrative forms in the Igbo traditional society as used by

Achebe in his books. They are myths, legends, folktale, proverbs, and riddles. The

Igbos told these narratives to explain the happenings around them that they didn’t

entirely understand. They made sure that through storytelling, they had answers to

whatever questions that might be raised, examples are the creation stories, how

some things came about, and why mosquitoes always go for the ears as Okonkwo’s

mum told him as a boy. There are also stories about animals in the form of

58
folktales to instill moral lessons in their children and examples are the story of how

the bird Enke – nti oba challenged the world to a war, how the tortoise broke its

shell. Storytelling was a major part of the Igbo traditional society and Achebe

made sure he stressed that point in his novels. Other aspects of oral traditions like

songs, chants etc were also illustrated in the book to portray the beauty of oral

tradition.

4.2 Conclusion

In Things Fall Apart (1958) and Arrow of God (1964), Chinua Achebe

brings land and its stories alive with the help of indigenous story-telling tradition

and techniques. Achebe can be considered as a master of the oral tradition and his

knowledge of it is shown in the prolific amounts of various kinds of oral tradition

found in the novels. Proverbs, folk tales, myths, legends and songs are used to

juxtapose the indigenous identity. Through the style of oral narratives, Achebe

draws the tradition of Igbo people against the missionaries. Achebe masterfully

describes a village culture and tradition along with the characters in Things Fall

Apart and Arrow of God. Though, Achebe writes in English, it communicates in

the mode of oral tradition to portray African sensibility and he does not fail to

portray the essence and beauty of oral traditions. The use of words, sentences and

the conversation of the characters, reflects a resistance against the impact of

colonization.
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4.3 Contribution to Existing Knowledge

Every research work, irrespective of the discipline is written to fill a vacuum

left by some research and to make meaningful contribution to an existing

knowledge. Research works educate, take you back to the past literature with the

aim of correcting the future. The neglect of Igbo Oral Tradition dates back to time

immemorial and subsequent generations in Africa have been following the same

pattern, all in the name of modernization and development. With the happenings in

the primary texts, the way the African Igbo society tried to fight colonization and

lost, this research work was able to analyze the dangers of neglecting oral

traditions – people who neglected their people and acted on their own in the books

failed eventually. Thus, this research emphasizes on the importance and beauty of

our African Oral Traditions. Oral traditions are the foundations of modern

literature, the knowledge of oral traditions is the reason an African child sees an

elder and prostrates to greet him.

This research has further proven the place of African Oral traditions in our

traditional and modern society. So, it goes a long way in contributing to existing

knowledge I the sense that oral traditions bring people together, encourages growth

and does no or minimal damage in any way. As a matter of fact, the days when our

fathers relied only on the oral traditions were more peaceful than these days when

people claim to be civilized and copy the western culture.

60
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