DISSERTATION ON THE TOPIC:
CHINUA ACHEBE’S ARROW OF GOD AS A NOVEL DEPICTINGIGBO COMMUNITY
WRITTEN BY:
AKSHAY A. YARDI
1
INTRODUCTION
AFRICAN POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE:
A BRIEF REIVIEW
Literature has several purposes. It
enlightens the people along with giving pleasure
and entertainment. Novel is one of the major
genres in creative writing. It is one of the most
prominent forms in Postcolonial literature.
3
Postcolonial fiction is well-known for
exploring the identity, crisis, problems,
political and social upheavals and situations of
the countries that were colonised by the European
empires. The struggling situation of the
countries during and after the conquest is noted
by various authors of Postcolonial writings.
African literature is one of the largest
branches of Postcolonial literature. Among the
African writers, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka,
Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Okot P’Bitek, etc. are very
famous and popular. They all have set a new
tradition in the Postcolonial writings.
Chinua Achebe’s works are especially famous
because of the cultural aspects that he focuses
in his novels. Chinua Achebe’s writings tend to
imply that Africa can boast of a great tradition
and culture of its own. He tries to condemn the
4
thoughts (or rather misconceptions) of the
Western colonisers that the Africans have no
culture and that they are uncivilised. The
western minds thought that Africans are barbarous
people living like animals in forests and are
ignorant. They proclaimed that African tribal
peoples have no culture at all. They exploited
the native Africans under the pretext of
modernizing and civilizing them. The postcolonial
African writer wanted to prove and show to the
world that they too have wisdom, civilization and
culture of their own.
The novels of Achebe particularly speak about
the life in Nigeria, the Igbo people, their
tradition, culture and other aspects of their
routine life. His novels also try to indicate the
status and position of a primitive African man
torn between the two worlds; one that of
5
modernity and the other one of ancient
traditions. His novels and stories try to show
the impact of the western civilization on the
rural and primitive world of the Nigerians. His
heroes are shown as very stubborn and headstrong
as in the novels Things Fall Apart (Okonkwo) and Arrow
of God (Ezeulu). There is a kind of conflict,
trouble, psychological disturbance in the minds
of his heroes due to the severe impacts of the
Western culture on their primitive lifestyle. The
people of the younger generation of the Igbos
shown by the author are seen to have been more
influenced by the modern world.
Chinua Achebe’s masterpiece Things Fall Apart is a
great manifesto of the life and culture of the
Igbos of Nigeria. In this work he has extensively
spoken about several rituals, food habits,
ceremonies, cultural, social, economic and
6
religious aspects of these tribal people. One can
refer to this novel if one wants to analyse and
study the people of Nigeria.
Arrow of God is another famous novel in which
Achebe has spoken more about the religious
aspects and rituals of the Igbo people. This
dissertation work proposes to study the aspects
of the life of Igbos that are depicted in the
novel Arrow of God. I have tried analysing various
episodes, incidents and anecdotes from this novel
for my study in this dissertation work.
7
CHAPTER ONE
THE NIGERIAN IGBO COMMUNITY
The Igbo tribe is one of the largest ethnic
groups in Africa. This tribe is found in south-
eastern Nigeria. The population of the Igbos is
estimated to be thirty two millions. Before
colonization by the British people, the Igbos
were a fragmented and politically independent
community. The Igbo community before the colonial
period was one of the primitive societies as they
lived very close to nature and as a part of
nature in forests. The Igbo community was chiefly
agricultural. They were mostly craftsmen, farmers
9
and traders. The Igbos had followed their own
traditional religion with their own cultural
beliefs, customs and traditions before the impact
of Christianity. Their ancient religion is termed
as Odinani. During the colonial rule, the British
missionaries successfully converted several of
the Igbo people into Christianity. The powerful
invasion of the Christian religion into the
Igboland can be seen in the famous novel Things Fall
Apart by the great Nigerian Postcolonial writer
Chinua Achebe.[a]
Society:
Coming to the social aspects of Igbo
community, we can say that they followed a quasi-
democratic republican system of government. There
was no one king as such, but the villages of the
Igbos were governed by a council of elderly10
people and a few men of titles. The people of
this community had respect for their elders and
always stood by their decisions for the village.
The society of Igbos was patriarchal and
patrilineal. The male heirs of the family
inherited the property and wealth of the father.
The patrilineal social system which was followed
by the Igbos was known as Umunna. The Igbo
community practised polygamy. The polygamity
among Igbos was mainly because of economic
factors. One needed human labour force to
cultivate and maintain the fields and crops and
so one man married multiple wives. The marriages
among Igbos were of special type. Young man who
had attained adulthood was allowed to marry the
girl of his choice with the consent of the girl.
Once the marriage was fixed, the groom had to pay
11
bride-price to bride’s family and take home his
new wife.
The Igbo tribe had its own banking system for
loans and savings. This unique economic system is
still in practice.
Life-style of these people was very much in
synchronization with the nature and their
surroundings. They were culturally a very rich
community before the occupation by the English
colonisers.
Architecture and Housing Patterns:
Let us now see how the traditional Igbo
architecture and housing pattern was. The Igbos
preferred constructing huts of mud-walls which
they called Obi. Every family man had his own
compound built around the huts under his
ownership. The Obi of the owner of the household
12
(i. e., the father) used to be the biggest in his
compound. It was located at the centre of the
compound. Each of his wives had her own small Obi
in which she used to stay with her children. The
huts of all his wives used to be situated in such
a way that they formed half circle around their
husband’s Obi. There used to be a special place
of worship in every hut where everyone kept the
idol of one’s personal God- the Chi and worship
it. Chinua Achebe writes about this in his novel
Things Fall Apart.
Architecture of the Igbos was very unique and
it was named Mbari architecture. It was a style of
building their huts and houses. Their Obis were
made of mudwalls and thatched roofs with carved
design doors. Nsude pyramids are the famous and
special structures in their architecture.
Culture:
13
Igbo people had a rich cultural heritage of
their own since centuries. It was one of the
richest primitive cultures in Africa. Everywhere
in this world, culture is the way of life for
human beings. Similarly, the culture of the Igbos
was very much in coordination with their life in
the natural settings. Igbo people had a variety
of cultural expressions which included their
music, unique but strange rituals, ceremonies,
superstitions, festivals, dressing and also their
calendar system.
Igbo Calendar:
Igbo people had devised their own calendar in
order to regulate their agricultural and also
business activities. Their traditional calendar
was based on their deep-rooted symbolism and
ritualism. Their indigenous calendar had the
following features:
14
Igbos called a year as Aro, a month as Onwa
and a week as Izu. There are four days in a week
corresponding to the four cardinal positions
East, West, North and South. The names of these
four days are: Eke, Orie, Afo and Nkwo. These are the
names of four spirits to whom each of these days
is dedicated. A year in the Igbo calendar
consists of thirteen months of seven weeks each.
[b]
We have already spoken about their calendar
system. Let us now try to look into other
cultural aspects and elements of Igbos.
Language:
Igbos speak Igbo language. It is a tonal
language, written in Roman script and also in
Nsibidi formalized ideograms which were used by the
Ekpe society and Okonko fraternity. Their language
has hundreds of dialects such as Ikwerre and Ekpeye.15
Several of their names and words begin with ‘O’
and ‘N’ sounds. The language of Igbos is rich
with their traditional verses and songs which
they sing during their ceremonies. The folklore
of Igboland is diverse and very rich because of
this language. Almost every ceremony has its own
set of songs and folk verses.[i]
Music and Dance:
The Igbo culture was very rich not only in
the language, but also in its performing arts and
dances. The performing arts of the Igbos were of
several types. They used several percussion
instruments to accompany the verses and the songs
sung during ceremonies. Their music was thus very
rich with the primitive musical instruments such
as Udu and Ikwe (drums), Ogene (a hand bell), Ikolo,
Opi (a wind instrument similar to flute), Igba and
Achaka. These instruments were also used by the
16
village-criers to announce something throughout
the village and give a message.
Igbo music included singing of traditional
folk verses. They had developed their own styles
of dance. Their dance styles such as Atilogwu were
set to the rhythm of the indigenous instruments
by some dance troops. Thus dancing and singing
were an integral part of the culture and
lifestyle of the Igbos.
Mask Dances:
Masquerade or Mask dance was the most
important of all the performing arts of the
Igbos. The Igbos wore masks symbolising their
Gods and ancestral spirits and danced in a
certain way. This mask dancing was considered
holy because it was dedicated to the spirits.
These masquerades took place in the village
17
ground (called as Ilo). Women were earlier
prohibited to watch these mask dances. This mask
dance was also linked with the traditional Igbo
music. The masks were named after some deities
and spirits. The famous masks Agbogho Mnuo used in
the northern Igboland represented the spirits of
the deceased maidens and their mothers who
symbolised beauty. Ijele was one more famous mask
used by the Igbos in the masquerades.
All the music, dance and the masquerades of
the Igbos were practised as rituals during
ceremonies and it is because of this reason that
these folk arts have remained intact even to this
day in Nigeria.
Craftsmanship and Art:
Igbo people had their own visual arts and
architecture. They were efficient artisans. There
18
were many professional craftsmen in the Igbo
community. They prepared various kinds of masks
and outfits symbolising spirits, animals or
abstract concepts. They used to design bronze
castings. Their Uli design is famous.
Religious Faith and Deities:
It is well-known that human being, since the
beginning of civilizations, has been afraid of
various invisible forces of nature. This fear of
the immense powers in the nature originated such
concepts as God, Religion and faith and so on.
Almost every human being believes in some kind of
religion or faith. This religion becomes his way
of life. It also becomes a way in which he can
live to his best adjusting himself with his
surroundings. Igbo community was no exception for
this. Igbos believed in their traditional
religion by the name Odinani.[c] Odinani was a
19
monotheistic faith. Their faith was based on the
fear of the invisible natural powers and the fear
of their ancestors. They believed that their dead
ancestors have inhabited the underground world
and are taking care of their clan.
They considered that there is one undefinable
and invisible divine power in this world which
has a control over everything. They called this
supreme deity as Chukwu. This supreme deity was
considered to be male and was represented by the
Sun. All the other gods were said to be various
forms of Chukwu.[d] This is similar to the Indians’
conception of incarnations.
Chineke is the name of the creator of the
world and of trees, rain and plants.
Chukwu was said to have five aspects which
were represented by five deities. Chukwu was the
20
first source and force for everything. Anyanwu
represented the Sun God. Agbala was the deity of
fertility of earth and its people. Everyone had
one’s own personal deity called Chi. Okike was the
creator of laws that governed the visible and the
invisible. Igbos considered that there are
incarnations of Chukwu in the world and they
named them together as Alusi. Some of the
incarnations were Ala (the earth), Amadioha (free
will of the peoplle, often represented in the
form of thunder and lightning), Igwe (the sky, the
husband of Ala; considered to be responsible for
rain.) Other incarnations such as Ikenga and
Ekwensu were also their deities. If we observe
keenly, we can see that the Igbos respected
nature in all its aspects. Their religion was
based on the concept of the presence of God in
the form of nature. This concept is seen in
21
several other primitive religions and faiths
practised by the tribal people in various other
parts of the world too.
Apart from these deities representing various
elements and powers in nature, the Igbos had some
other deities too whom they considered to be
their ancestral spirits. The deities which
represented their dead ancestors were Njoku Ji, Agwu
Nsi, Ogwugwu, Ndebunze. They called these deities
together as Ndichie.
The community of Igbos believed in both good
as well as evil spirits and also their
reincarnations. This is similar to the belief of
Indians in the concept of rebirth. Ogbanje was
considered as an evil spirit. They believed that
Agbala deliberately troubled family with
misfortunes. Upon being born by the mother, under
a certain period of time, the Ogbanje would die
22
deliberately and then come back and repeat the
birth cycle causing great grief to the family.[e]
Achebe has written about Ogbanje in detail in his
novel Things Fall Apart.
Food and Clothing:
Cuisine and clothing are also the major
factors in the culture of a community. Yam was
and is the most important food crop of the
Nigerians. Igbos considered yam as the king of
crops and so, only the male members were allowed
to cultivate yams. Several dishes and delicacies
were prepared by the Igbos during usual days as
well as on various special occasions. Yam foofoo is
one such popular and common delicacy for Igbos.
Along with yam, the Igbos ate a nut called Kola
nut. Kola nut was not only a food item but it was
also a sacred item. They used to celebrate a
festival specially meant for consuming Kola nut,
23
thus indicating its religious significance. Kola
nut had thus acquired great prominence in the Igbo
lifestyle and cuisine. Nigeria is still famous
for its palm products due to sufficient growth of
palm trees. Igbos were the consumers of local
palm wine which they used to tap from the palm
trees. Palm wine was a prominent drink during
ceremonies too. It was a custom among the Igbos
to offer a horn full of palm wine after offering
Kola nuts to the guests who came to one’s home.
“Nigerian chophouses typically list a number
of soups with meat or fish ingredients,
served with either pounded yam, eba (steamed
garri), semovita or jollof rice. Pounding yam
is an effort on its own, and after observing
its pounding, you probably value your food a
lot more. The soups are mostly palm oil based
and the most popular ones in Igboland are:
24
Bitter leaf soup, with bitter leaf not very
distant from spinach;
ora and ogri soup, a vegetable-based soup,
most commonly eaten in villages;
egusi soup, yellowish soup based on melon
seeds;
okro soup, sticky, viscous ‘draw’ soup made
out of sliced okro pods;
ogbono soup, another ‘draw’ soup based on
ogbono pods and
Vegetable soup, the most exclusive soup,
because of its ingredients.”[f]
Clothing and attire of the Igbos was of the
primitive style. They wore very less clothes. The
primary reason for wearing fewer clothes was
that, Nigeria is situated in the tropical zone
where heat and humidity are very high. Their
25
clothing was meant only to hide their private
body parts. Children did not usually wear any
clothes until they reached the age of puberty.
After acquiring physical maturity the men and
women used to wear simple long clothes that could
cover only their private parts. Igbo women wore
ornaments made out of ivory which were the things
of luxury for them. They wore strings of beads
around their waist which they called Jigida. Beads
of several kind were there in their set of
ornaments.
Ceremonies and Festivals:
Igbo people were the celebrators of life with
great fervour. They had lots of festivities and
religious ceremonies on various occasions. New
Yam Festival and the Masquerades were the major
festivals of Igbo community. The New Yam feast
was very important one because that marked the
26
beginning of the cultivation of yams in their
fields.
Birth, marriage and death of a person have
their own unique importance due to various
rituals in every culture. Igbo society was no
exception for this. They had their unique
ceremonies for every occasion. The naming
ceremony included several rituals such as
offering thanksgiving sacrifices to the family
deities along with folk music. Male childbirth
was considered auspicious because they believed
that the boy would be of help to the family by
taking over the ancestral property after the
death of his father. The Igbo people had a
special practice of naming the new-born child in
the name of the day on which the child was born.
27
Puberty was another phase when the Igbos
celebrated the occasion by arranging for mask
dances.
Title-taking Ceremonies were very common in
the Igbo community. Various titles were awarded
to men with different merits and qualities. A
warrior was given a separate title, an orator was
awarded another title and such other titles were
awarded. Men of title were very much respected
throughout a clan in Igbos. The title-taking
ceremonies were celebrated with great fervour
because of this reason. Some of the titles in
Igbo community were: Ozo, Ici, Ndichie, etc.
The Igbo people were lovers of ceremonies and
celebrations. They had some prominent festivals
such as Ifejoku – the harvest festival, Odo – the
festival of the masks which was very popular and
the Feast of the New Yam, the festival of pumpkin
28
leaves and many others. Their festivals had a
close connection with their agricultural
activities. Sacrifices and offerings were the
prime rituals in almost all the festivals. The
period of festivals was the time of merriment,
relaxation and meeting the relatives.
Moonlight play was one of the important
festive activities of the Igbos. It attracted
children and young adults who would then involve
in several kinds of games and entertainment
activities on a moonlit night. Moonlight play
symbolised freedom as the Igbos used to enjoy
freely dancing, singing, reciting verses and
playing with riddles. Singers were allowed to
satirize the social malpractices openly during
the moonlight play events. Often the moonlight
plays were the occasions when obscenity was
openly exposed and sex- inclined adults got
29
involved in fleshly games. Thus moonlight play
enabled them the freedom of their expression.
Funeral ceremonies were considered very
important among Igbos as these would indicate the
journey of the man from this world to the world
of ancestors, underground. Funeral ceremonies
included sacrifices to the ancestors with a
belief that if they are made happy with
sacrifices, they would accept the spirit of the
dead person in their company. Usually a man of
title had a special and more respectable funeral.
He was buried with a ram and a cock hung around
his neck, after his death. Songs of lamentation
and mourning were sung during this kind of
ritual. Guns were fired by the young men to bid
farewell to the dead person.
Magicians and Medicine men:
30
Magic and medicine were considered as
powerful weapons by Igbos. Magicians and
medicine-men were highly feared for and highly
respected. Magic was believed to be a
communication between man and the super-powers of
nature. Magicians were thought to interpret those
powers and intervene between man and those forces
in order to avoid evils and bring good fortunes.
There were several kinds of magical practices
among the Igbos and those were based on their
purposes and functions.
According to Delafosse, There were various
categories of magicians. There were exorcists or
healers who performed magic to expel the evils;
fetishers who made amulets and talismans;
fortune-tellers, who could predict the future and
discover the secrets; spell binders, who could
cast spell upon people and infect them with
31
diseases and prestidigitators, who could conjure
by force of word only.
Another researcher, Godfrey Wilson has
classified the magic of Igbos into different sets
based upon their purpose and functions. They are:
1. Ceremonial magic
2. Magic of Private Ambition
3. Sorcery or destructive magic
4. Magic for the cure of sickness and trouble
5. Magic of Appeal
Some Unique Customs of the Igbo Community:
Igbo people not only celebrated festivals and
rituals, but they also followed their own unique
customs. The customs followed by the Igbos in
their daily life are described in Achebe’s Things
Fall Apart extensively. These customs were primarily
based on their religious beliefs.
32
One of the most important and very frequently
found customs of the Igbo people was the breaking
of Kolanut. Whenever a guest came home, it was
their custom to welcome the guest by offering him
Kolanuts. The guest was usually asked to break the
Kolanut and it was considered an honour to break
it. The guest felt privileged by this offer. The
custom of breaking the Kolanut was often
accompanied by a prayer, wishing good for all.
Another unique custom of the Igbo people was
the use of some pieces of white chalk. Even this
custom was accompanied with the breaking of
kolanut when the guests came home. The host offered
the pieces of white chalk to the guest. The guest
then drew some horizontal and vertical lines on
the floor, painted his biggest toe with it and
then on some occasions the guest used to paint
33
his face near his eyes too. This custom was also
a kind of welcoming the guests to home.
There were several customs among the Igbos
which were very inhuman. The birth of twins was
considered inauspicious and so the twins were
left to die. They were cast away into the evil
forest to die. For Igbos death was a very
important occurence and it was considered good if
the person dies at an old age without any
disease. But if a person had a disease and died
because of it, he was thrown away in the evil
forest, where they believed that evil spirits
would come and consume them.[ii]
The once culture-rich Igbo community, got
distorted and disorganised by the invasion and
impacts of the Christian missionaries brought
into Nigeria by the British people. The
conversion of the native Igbos into Christianity
34
brought drastic changes in the ethos of primitive
Nigeria.
There were several other customs and
traditional practices followed by the Igbo tribe
since the primitive days. Authors like Chinua
Achebe have tried their best to show the roots of
the African cultures to the world. They tried to
prove that even Africa had its own cultural
heritage which was looked down upon by the
European colonisers.
Chinua Achebe: A Voice of Igbo Community
Chinua Achebe (1930–2013) was a
Nigerian novelist, poet, professor
and critic. His first novel Things Fall Apart (1958)
is considered his magnum opus, and is the most
widely read book in modern African literature.[g]
35
Achebe was born in the Igbo village of
Ogidi in Eastern Nigeria (which is now in the
state of Anambra), on 16 November 1930. His
father Isaiah Okafor Achebe and his mother Jaet
Anaenechi Iloegbunam got converted into the new
religion which had then been introduced into
Nigeria by the European colonisers. They were at
the crossroads of old Igbo tradition and modern
Christian religion. This had a great influence on
their growing children.
During his childhood days, Achebe was
greatly influenced by the traditional folk tales
told by his mother and sister. He also eagerly
anticipated traditional village events, like the
frequent masquerade ceremonies, which he
recreated later in his novels and stories.
He went to the local public schools and
was among the first students to graduate from the
36
University of Ibadan.[h] Achebe gained an
appreciation for Mbari, a traditional art form
which seeks to invoke the gods' protection
through symbolic sacrifices in the form of
sculpture and collage. In 1944, for his secondary
schooling, Achebe was accepted at both the
prestigious Dennis Memorial Grammar School
in Onitsha and the even more
prestigious Government College in Umuahia. He got
influenced by great authors and writers during
his school education.
He later went to the University of
Ibadan in the year 1948, for higher education.
It was during his studies at Ibadan that Achebe
began to become critical of European literature
about Africa.
In 1950, Achebe wrote a piece for
the University Herald entitled "Polar Undergraduate",
37
his debut as an author. While at the university,
Achebe wrote his first short story, "In a Village
Church", which combines details of life in rural
Nigeria with Christian institutions and icons, a
style which appears in many of his later works.
After his graduation from the
University of Ibadan, he became a teacher of
English in a school at Oba. He taught there for
four months, but when an opportunity arose in
1954 to work for the Nigerian Broadcasting
Service (NBS), he left the school and moved
to Lagos. The city of Lagos also made a
significant impression on him. A
huge conurbation, the city teemed with recent
migrants from the rural villages. Achebe revelled
in the social and political activity around him
and later drew upon his experiences when
38
describing the city in his 1960 novel No Longer at
Ease.
Then he dedicated his life to
writing. He wrote several famous novels that
depicted the life in Nigerain Ibgo community. He
is fondly addressed as the “Grandfather of
Nigerian Literature” and is one of the major
protagonists of the African Postcolonial
Literature. His novels have themes based on the
primitive African societies, their cultural
heritage, the impact of colonisation on the
ancient communities of Africa, socio-political
changes in Nigeria due to the European
colonisation and so on.
Things Fall Apart, published in the year
1958 is known as his Magnum Opus. It is
considered one among the world classic novels of
modern times. This novel is all about the Igbo
39
community of Nigeria. Through vivid details and
descriptions about lifestyle, various customs,
traditions, rituals, superstitions and religious
beliefs of the Igbo people, Chinua Achebe has
tried to assert powerfully in his anti-colonial
voice that Africa too has its own culture and
they too have a heritage of being human. Apart
from the descriptions of life and society of the
Igbo people, Achebe has also shown in this novel
how the colonisation by the Englishmen disrupted
and disintegrated the culture and life of the
folks in Nigeria.
His other famous novels are No
Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the
People (1966) and Anthills of Savannah (1987).
The novels Things Fall Apart, No Longer at
Ease and Arrow of God are considered as a trilogy and
are in a sequential order. These novels portray
40
how the colonisation changed the life of the
Igbos in Nigeria.
Chinua Achebe not only wrote
novels, but also wrote short stories and critical
essays. An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's "Heart of
Darkness" (1975) is a very famous critical essay
written by Chinua Achebe in which he strongly
condemns the ideas of racism put forth by Joseph
Conrad in his novel Heart of Darkness.
The style of Achebe's fiction
draws heavily on the oral tradition of the Igbo
people. He weaves folk tales into the fabric of
his stories, illuminating community values in
both the content and the form of the
storytelling. The tale about the Earth and Sky
in Things Fall Apart, for example, emphasises the
interdependency of the masculine and the
feminine. Although Nwoye enjoys hearing his
41
mother tell the tale, Okonkwo's dislike for it is
evidence of his imbalance. Later, Nwoye avoids
beatings from his father by pretending to dislike
such "women's stories".
Another hallmark of Achebe's
style is the use of proverbs, which often
illustrate the values of the rural Igbo
tradition. He sprinkles them throughout the
narratives, repeating points made in
conversation. Critic Anjali Gera notes that the
use of proverbs in Arrow of God "serves to create
through an echo effect the judgement of a
community upon an individual violation." The use
of such repetition in Achebe's urban novels, No
Longer at Ease and A Man of the People, is less
pronounced.
When the region of Biafra broke
away from Nigeria in 1967, Achebe became a
42
supporter of Biafran independence and acted as
ambassador for the people of the new nation. The
war ravaged the populace, and as starvation and
violence took its toll, he appealed to the people
of Europe and the Americas for aid. When the
Nigerian government retook the region in 1970, he
involved himself in political parties but soon
resigned due to frustration over the corruption
and elitism he witnessed.
Chinua Achebe lived in the
United States of America for some period during
1970s. He settled down in the United States
permanently after an accident in the 1990s. He
was awarded the Man Booker International Prize in
the year 2007.
Chinua Achebe, the hero of the
African Postcolonial literature died recently in
the year 2013 at the age of 83 due to old age and
43
long illness. He left the world with greatest
contribution to the Postcolonial literature. He
thus played a great role in bringing African
culture and lifestyle to the front.
44
CHAPTER TWO
IGBO COMMUNITY AS DEPICTED IN CHINUA ACHEBE’S
ARROW OF GOD
Plot:
Arrow of God is a novel which tells the story
of a Chief Priest Ezeulu of Umuachala in
Igboland. Ezeulu is the Chief Priest in the whole
region of Umuaro. He is an authority over all the
six villages of Umuaro because of his divine
powers. He is a man of high respect in the whole
region and has an authority over the religious
ceremonies and rituals. Ezeulu has a prosperous
and rich household with three wives and eight
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children. Being a man of religious authority, he
takes up several responsibilities for his
villagers. Counting the New Moons and declaring
the day of the New Yam Feast is one of his
important responsibilities.
The author then goes on to tell about the war
between Umuaro and Okperi, the two neighbouring
villages. The war is finally settled by the
Englishmen who ultimately become the rulers over
both these villages.
The story of the village of Umuaro has a
parallel story in this novel. The impact of the
Christian Missionaries on the lives of the Igbo
people is shown in this novel. Interestingly, the
chief priest has sent one of his sons, Oduche, to
learn the ways of the Christians and keep an eye
over their activities. Unfortunately, Oduche is
brainwashed and trapped into the Christian
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religious ways. Once, Oduche captures a python
which is considered sacred by Igbos and this
event creates a lot of chaos in the whole
village. Ezeulu is blamed by all the villagers
for sending his son to the Church.
Meanwhile, there are many ceremonies, feasts
and festivals held in the village of Umuaro. The
story has sub-stories of what happens in the
lives of Ezeulu’s sons like Obika and Edogo and
his other family members. In these sub stories,
the author gives descriptions about several
customs, rituals, traditions and lifestyle of the
Igbo people.
As the story proceeds, we see the
intereference of the Englishmen in the political
scenario of Igbo villages. One Mr. Winterbottom,
who happens to know Ezeulu, plans of offering a
powerful administrative position to Ezeulu so
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that Ezeulu would have control over the villages
on behalf of the Englishmen. Ezeulu rejects the
invitation of Winterbottom in the beginning
because of his headstrong nature. He is then
arrested by the people of Winterbottom and held
captive for several days. He denies the offer of
the Englishman very confidently. The subordinates
of Winterbottom wait to see if Ezeulu changes his
mind, but to no avail. Ezeulu is released after a
few days and sent back to Umuaro.
The return of Ezeulu becomes the talk of
Umuachala for a few days and then everything is
quietened as the days pass on. After some more
days, people come and ask Ezeulu about the New
Yam Feast. The New Yam Feast is one of the most
important festivals on which the life and
activities of Igbos are very much dependent. The
Chief Priest is reluctant to announce the day of
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the New Yam Feast because he is too much obsessed
with the traditional ways of counting the new
moons and declaring the day of the New Yam Feast.
When the village is on the verge of starvation,
Ezeulu does not come to the help of his
villagers. He does not announce the day of the
New Yam Feast when it is required. This brings
severe challenges before the people of Umuaro.
Many villagers suffer and die of starvation and
lack of food. All the lands which had been kept
ready for sowing the new yams become barren and
thus agricultural activities and naturally their
lives also are severely affected. Ezeulu’s one
wrong obsession becomes responsible for the
damage to the whole village. Ultimately, the
Christian missionaries take advantage of this
opportunity and help out the people of Umuaro
duing their trouble. They provide them yams to
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sow and eat. Naturally they win their hearts and
become more powerful in that region.
Days pass on and life comes to normal in
Umuaro. But all the villagers start hating and
cursing Ezeulu who apparently did not come to
their help when they were in need. They started
looking at Ezeulu as their villain. When the
entire village had kept hopes and faith in Ezeulu
as their saviour, Ezeulu turned out to be their
enemy due to his authoritative position and lack
of concern for his people. Further one day,
Amalu, an old man of the village dies and Obika
is asked to carry out the ritual of the mask
during the funeral of that old man. Obika who is
sick at that particular time, goes on to carry
the mask and run during the funeral. Due to the
heavy weight of the mask and due to excess of
physical strain and exhaustion, Obika meets
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sudden end of his life. The death of Obika is a
huge shock to the whole of Umuaro. It becomes a
severe trauma for Ezeulu. He feels that the death
of Obika came as a punishment for his
headstrongness and his pride due to his position
of priesthood. Ezeulu thinks that he has been
used as an arrow by his God Ulu. The novel thus
ends in tragic death of Obika, and despair on the
part of Ezeulu.
Cultural Aspects of Igbo Community as Depicted in
Arrow of God:
As in the great novel Things Fall Apart, the
author Chinua Achebe has given vivid descriptions
of various cultural aspects of the Igbo people in
this novel too.
Arrow of God is one more famous novel which
tells about the impacts of the Christian
52
missionaries on the culture, society and politics
of the Igbo people. In the novel Things Fall Apart,
the impact of the Christian missionaries is seen
in the second part of the story, whereas in the
novel Arrow of God, the impact of the missionaries
on Igbo people is seen from the beginning itself.
The author has used the technique of parallel
stories very effectively to depict the Igbo
community on one side and the impact of the new
religion on the other.
In Arrow of God, there are numerous episodes
which tell us about the culture and society of
the Igbo people. Various customs, traditions,
rituals, superstitious beliefs, religious
practices, ceremonies and art of the Igbos are
explained with great skill by the author in this
novel.
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Let us have a glance over these aspects
depicted in the novel Arrow of God.
Religious Beliefs and Rituals of the Igbo
Community:
We have already seen that Igbo people are
very religious and God fearing. They follow their
own traditional religion called Odinani. Their
religion has some unique beliefs and rituals.
In the novel, the concept of God, deities and
the Chief Priest are explained very well. The
villagers need an authoritative person to tell
them about the rituals and traditional ceremonies
since these rituals are very much in
synchronization with their agriculture and
livelihood. We see in the story of the novel that
there is a reference to how the six villages of
Umuaro chose their common deity and named it Ulu
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and appointed a chief priest whom they called
Ezeulu. The story is as follows:
“In the very distant past, when lizards were
still few and far between, the six villages –
Umuachala, Umunneora, Umuagu, Umuezeani,
Umuogwugwu and Umuisiuzo – lived as different
peoples, and each worshipped its own deity.
Then the hired soldiers of Abam used to
strike in the dead of night, set fire to the
houses and carry men, women and children into
slavery. Things were so bad for the villages
that their leaders came together to save
themselves. They hired a team of medicine-men
to install a common deity for them. This
deity which the fathers of the six villages
made was called Ulu. Half of the medicine was
buried at a place which became Nkwo market
and the other half thrown into the stream
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which became Mili Ulu. The six villages then
took the name of Umuaro, and the priest of
Ulu became their Chief Priest...”1 (p. 15)
Thus the villagers of Umuaro feel very secure
and safe when they establish a deity for
themselves. They believe that their common deity
protects them from all kinds of dangers.
The Igbo community practise many
superstitions and religious beliefs. They not
only have their deities, but also believe in
ghosts, good and evil spirits. They also
associate several things with these spirits and
deities. These associations seem to emerge out of
fear as well as a rule or system for a
disciplined life in the society. This is similar
to the associations that Indians have made with
Gods. The fear of God keeps people away from
vices and doing bad things. We have several
56
references in this novel that speak about such
beliefs.
In order to avoid accident at a certain
stream, there is a religious belief which is
referred to in the novel as follows:
“...the nearer stream, Ota had been abandoned
since the oracle announced yesterday that the
enormous boulder resting on two other rocks
at its source was about to fall and would
take a softer pillow for its head. Until the
alusi who owned the stream, and whose name it
bore and had been placated no one would go
near it.”1 (p. 7)
During a brief conversation between Obika and
Ezeulu we come
across a reference to the spirits like Eru, Idemili
and Ogwugwu. This is followed by the description
57
of the spirits which we can see in the following
lines from the text:
“...was dressed like a wealthy man... had an
eagle’s feather in red cap... carried a big
tusk across his shoulder... Then it is Eru,
the Magnificent... When he likes a man,
wealth flows like a river into his house; his
yams grow as big as human beings, his goats
produce threes and his hens hatch nines...”1
(p. 8, 9)
Through references like this we come to know
the characteristic
features of the spirits that are believed by the
Igbos.
The people of Umuaro also believe that even
their market place is governed by some deity.
This belief is very strange one. They believe
58
that there is a powerful deity made by the people
of Okperi to control the market place.
“... This deity called Nwanyieke is an old
woman... beckoning with her broom in all
directions of the earth and drawing folk from
every land...”1 (p. 20)
This shows us that the Igbo people considered
spirits and deities in
male and female categories. We can see a kind of
affinity between the deity and the people when we
see that the deity in the market places dances
with a broom, only that the deities possess
supernatural powers.
Idemili which is considered one of the deities
by the people of Umuaro has been described by the
author through the mouth of Ezidemili, (the
priest of Idemili) thus:
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“Idemili means Pillar of Water. As the pillar
of this households roof so does Idemili hold up
the Raincloud in the sky so that it does not
fall down. Idemili belongs to the sky...”1
(p. 43)
There is an episode in this novel where
Oduche, a son of Ezeulu
once brings a python and captures it in a wooden
box. This creates a great chaos in the whole
village and people start blaming Ezeulu for
letting his son go to the Church. In Igboland the
python is considered as sacred. Python is
considered as a symbol of their ancestors and is
so worshipped. It is considered that Idemili is the
owner of the royal python. Further in the story
we see that Ezeulu performs special rituals in
order to cast away the abomination done by his
son. This conception is similar to the belief of
60
Indians in considering the Cobra as a sacred
animal. Indians worship the Cobra as Naagadevate.
They too believe the concept of abomination and
purification like Indians.
The people of Umuaro believe that Ezeulu is
not an ordinary man and that he is half man and
half spirit. Ezeulu’s friend Akuebue mentions
about this during a conversation with Ezeulu.
Even Ezeulu is sometimes heard speaking to
himself that he is sometimes being used by God as
His arrow and as a whip.
“... This is not my doing. The Gods sometimes
use as a whip”1
(p. 210)
Like in any other religion, prayer has its
own unique significance in the religion of the
Igbo people. They pray to their deities on
several occasions. The Chief Priest and elders
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pray for the well being of the whole clan. They
pray for good health, wealth and prosperity.
Ezeulu prays for the wellbeing of the whole
of Umuaro people, when he sees a new moon:
“Ulu, I thank you for making me see another
new moon... This household, may it be healthy
and prosperous... We may increase in numbers
at the next counting ... May children put
their fathers into the earth and not fathers
their children...”1 (p. 6)
At many other instances in the novel we see
the people praying for the welfare of all the
people while breaking the Kolanut. Indians break
coconut while beginning any good work and pray.
Thus, there is this one more similarity between
these two cultures. All the prayers seem to
suggest only the welfare of the whole community
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and whole world. Prayers indicate that Igbo
people are religious and God-fearing.
Igbo people are known to follow several
unique rituals according to their traditional and
primitive religion. In this novel Arrow of God
there are in detail descriptions of some of the
rituals practised by the Igbo people in Umuaro.
Most of the times, people follow rituals
which have been started by the ancestors. The
rituals have their own reasons behind them. But
often they are followed blindly by the
generations which come next. Here also, we can
see that there are some rituals whose reasons are
unknown to the people of Umuaro, but still they
follow them.
“...He knew that when an Ezeulu or an
Ezidemili died their heads were separated
from their body and placed in their shrine.
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But no one had ever told him why this
happened.”1 (p. 42)
Marriages:
Marriage is a very prominent ceremony among
Igbo community as in all other communities in the
world. The marriage ceremony and the rituals that
are followed after the marriage are described in
this novel. It is a custom among the Igbos to
carry out the ritual of the “sacrifice at the
crossroads” after marriage.
In the story, after the marriage of Obika
with Okuata, a medicine-man called Aniegboka
performs this sacrifice. The sacrifice has
certain procedures that are described thus in the
novel:
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“... The bride had a bowl of fired clay in
one hand and a hen in the other... On his
left hand Obika held a very small pot of
water by the neck. His half-brother had a
bunch of tender palm frond cut from the
pinnacle of the tree... medicine-man chose a
spot in the middle of the way and asked Obika
to dig a hole there and make it wider...”1
then a bunch of cowries was given to the
medicine-man. The medicine-man then asked
Okuata, the new bride to put the cowries, the
palm leaves, and the hen into the hole and
cover it with the fired clay. This sacrifice
is performed in order to bring security and
prosperity in the life of the newlywed
couple. (p. 120,121)
Funeral rites are also considered very
important among the rituals of Igbo people. In
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the story, there is a description of what follows
during and after the funeral. The funeral of an
old man called Amalu in the village is detailed
in the last chapter of the novel. Funeral
includes burial of the deceased person’s body and
also sacrifices. Amalu tells certain things to
his son before he dies. He tells him that his
burial must not be delayed beyond four moons
after death. He also decrees his son to slaughter
a bull as a sacrifice during the burial.
The burial is followed by the great run of
the spirit called Ogbazulobodo. Obika carries the
spirit Ogbazulobodo during the second burial of
Amalu. The mask of the spirit is worn by a person
who runs throughout the village, continuously
uttering several sayings and proverbs. This is a
ritual that Igbo people follow after the death of
a person.
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Superstitions that are popular in the Igbo
Community:
Igbo people are stuck in several meaningless
superstitious beliefs which do not have any base
or rational thought behind them. The
superstitious beliefs are carried from one
generation to the other hereditarily. As there
are numerous religious beliefs in the Igbo
community, there are many superstitions too.
Achebe has given examples of certain
superstitions and blind beliefs that are very
popular among the Igbos.
There is a blind belief that if the broken
Kolanut has six lobes in it, the spirits want to
eat it. We can see an exchange of dialogues
between Akuebue and Ezeulu when they break a
Kolanut and find that there are six lobes in it;
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wherein they both speak about the five and six
lobed Kolanuts and their uniqueness.
There is an episode in the novel wherein a
black magician comes and performs it near a man
who is very sick and about to die. The medicine-
man orders the sick man to shout and send away
the evil spirits which is again a blind belief.
The belief that the spirits who are coming to
take away a dying man’s soul can be frightened by
gunshots is also a baseless superstition followed
by them.
Most of the superstitions among the Igbos
revolve around the medicine-men and magicians
because they are known to cast their spells upon
people and use their supernatural powers to harm
others. In Arrow of God, Okeke Onenyi, Otakekpeli
are those two such medicine-men who are always
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thought to bring evils in the village of Umuaro.
But these beliefs are without any valid proofs.
There is a beautiful example given by the
author to show how the Christian Missionaries
used the weakness of the Igbo superstitions to
have a control and rule over them. The Python
which is considered sacred among the Igbos is
considered evil according to the Bible, in
Christianity. The Missionaries brainwash the
young minds about the python and their blind
beliefs about it. We can see this when Nwafo, the
youngest son of Ezeulu sings a song to send away
the python. Nwafo is made to believe blindly that
the python runs away after hearing the name of a
Christian. It is a common sense that snakes
cannot hear but even then the blind beliefs about
the python continue to dwell in the young minds
of the community.
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Folklore of the Igbo Community:
Igbo community is rich in its local art and
folklore. The tribe which is in the affinity of
nature and wilderness has developed its unique
folk arts. The author has picturised several
illustrations in the novel Arrow of God where we get
to know that Igbo folklore has been carried on
from generation to generation. It is very much
popular among children too.
The Igbo culture is rich with stories
narrated or told by one generation to the next.
In the novel there are some folk stories which
have been narrated by the characters in the
novel.
During a village meeting, Ezeulu goes on to
the stage and narrates a folk tale which is
didactic in tone. Usually we see that the folk
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stories have morality and didacticism as their
themes. The story is narrated by Ezeulu in order
to advise his people of Umuaro not to fight a war
of blame.
“Once there was a great wrestler whose back
had never known the ground... He went and
beat every spirit that came forward. Some had
seven heads, some ten; but he beat them
all... He then gave a challenge to his
personal god, a little wiry spirit who seized
him with one hand and smashed him on the
stony earth.”1 (p. 27)
Mask-carving is considered one of the major
folk occupations (community art) of the Igbos. In
this novel we have the example of Edogo, the
eldest son of Ezeulu, who is a mask artist and an
expert in making idols of deities.
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Village crier becomes one of the chief
exponents of the folk arts. In Igbo culture,
communication is given great importance. The one
who has a good speaking skill and skill of
convincing is more respected. Oratory is
considered as a great art among the Igbos.
The village crier comes and announces if
there is something important going to take place
in the village. He often carries the message of
the important person in the village. In the
beginning chapters we see that the village crier
goes and announces about the festival of the New
Pumpkin leaves as has been told by Ezeulu, the
Chief Priest.
Village crier always carries an Ogene (an
indigenous drum) with him and beats it to catch
the attention of all the villagers and this is an
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important element of their folk art. Such kind of
a thing cannot be seen in city life.
Igbo people adore the art of public speaking.
The village meetings are the events where many of
the great speakers show the power of their speech
and convey their thoughts to the people of the
whole village. Such orators are even sent to
other villages as emissaries. In this novel we
can see that during various occasions the village
meetings take place at the Nkwo market place.
During these meetings, leaders like Ezeulu and
Nwaka speak up their opinions. The speaker comes
in front of the people and addresses the
gathering as shown in the following lines:
“‘Umuaro Kwenu!’ Nwaka roared.
‘Hem!’ replied the men of Umuaro.
‘Kwenu!’
‘Hem!’
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‘Kwezuenu!’
‘Hem!’............”1 (p. 16)
Further speech follows this formal greeting.
Then the speaker articulates all his ideas and
thoughts to the audience. If there is any other
speaker wishing to put forth an opinion, he is
allowed to speak after the first speech is over.
Igbos consider oratory as an art of great
importance in their society. A great speaker uses
plenty of proverbs in his speech and influences
his people. It is considered as a persuasive art
of the folks of Nigeria. Usually the important
decisions about wars, celebrations and about
judicial matters are taken in such kinds of
village meetings. Thus oratory is a folk art
among the Igbos which binds their community
together.
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Igbo folklore is rich not only with lots of
stories but also with great variety of
traditional songs and verses which are sung
during their ceremonies. The folk songs are so
popular among the Igbos that even children sing
them by heart and very efficiently. Children’s
games and fun activities are filled with such
traditional folk verses. We see Obiageli, a
daughter of Ezeulu sing a song:
“And who will punish this water for me?
E-e Nwaka Dimkpolo
Earth will dry up this water for me
E-e Nwaka Dimkpolo
Who will punish this Earth for me?...”1 (p.
67)
The folk art of the Igbos is exhibited during
various ceremonies and festivals when the whole
village comes together. We see Ezeulu narrating a
75
story during his sacrificial offering during the
Festival of the Pumpkin Leaves. Ezeulu narrates
the story of how he met four days of the week and
finally met Ulu, the deity.
Their marriage ceremones are full of joyous
songs and dances. We have the episode of Obika’s
marriage with Okuata wherein the author shows how
the marriage songs are a part of their folk music
and art.
“Whenever a particularly impressive item of
food was set before the women their song-
leader raised the old chant of thanks:
Kwo-kwo-kwo-kwo-kwo!
Kwo-o-o-oh!
We are going to eat again as we are wont
to do!
Who provides?
Who is it?
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Who provides?
Who is it?
Obika Ezeulu he provides
Ayo-o-o-o-o-oh!...”1 (p. 118)
Much of these folk songs are in the form of
conversations and dialogues.
There are even lullabies which are very
popular among the children. We see Obiageli
singing a lullaby for her step-brother Amechi:
“Tell the mother her child is crying......
Ja-ja, ja kulo kulo!”1 (p. 125)
The Igbo folklore is full of music and dance.
There are several details and descriptions of
various primitive musical instruments in this
novel. These instruments are used during various
occasions. Ogene is a primitive drum beat by the
village crier while making an announcement
throughout the village. There is another larger
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drum Ikolo, about which the author writes in
detail while speaking about the Festival of New
Pumpkin Leaves.
“The Ikolo was fashioned in the olden days
from a giant iroko tree at the very spot
where it was felled. The Ikolo was as old as
Ulu himself at whose order the tree was cut
down and its trunk hollowed out into a drum.
Its body was carved with men and pythons and
little steps were cut on one side; without
these the drummer could not climb to the top
to beat it. When the Ikolo was beaten for war
it was decorated with skulls won in past
wars...”1 (p. 71)
Mask dance is the most famous and most
popular folk art of
Igbos. It is considered holy and devotional form
of art. The ancestral spirits are remembered
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during the presentation of the masks. Various
deities and spirits are symbolically presented by
the Igbos by carving out and wearing the masks,
and performing the dances along with musical
instruments. The mask dances take place in a
grand scale. The whole village gathers in the Ilo
where the masks are presented. Usually women are
not allowed to watch these masks on various
accounts. But we see in this novel that even
women come and witness the dance of the masks.
These are usually carried out by groups of
youngsters. There are various occasions on which
mask dances are performed. Akwu-Nro is one of the
occasions on which the mask dance is performed,
as portrayed in the novel Arrow of God. The Mask
during the Akwu-Nro festival is described in the
following manner:
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“The approach of the mask caused a massive
stampede... The metal gong and voices became
louder and louder and the crowd looked around
them to be sure that the line of flight was
clear. .. These young men wore raffia and
their matchets caught the light as they threw
them up or clashed them in salute of each
other from left to right and then back from
right to left... The mask arrived
appropriately on the crest of the
excitement... It approached a few steps at a
time, each one accompanied by the sounds of
bells and rattles on its waist and ankles.
Its body was covered in bright new cloths
mostly red and yellow. The face held power
and terror; each exposed tooth was the size
of a big man’s thumb, the eyes were large
sockets as big as a fist, two gnarled horns
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pointed upwards and inwards above its head
nearly touching at the tip. It carried a
shield of skin in the left hand and a huge
matchet in the right.”1 (p. 199,200)
The mask also has its own long speeches and
songs which it presents during the dance.
Customs of the Igbo People:
The customs and traditions of a particular
community depend on the religious beliefs,
availability of resources, their lifestyle and
the practices followed by their ancestors. Igbo
people have been practising several unique
customs. Some of them have been repeatedly
depicted in Arrow of God.
Reference to the custom of breaking the
Kolanut while welcoming the guest into home, is
given several times in the novel Arrow of God by
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the author. The following conversation between
Ezeulu and his friend Akuebue will make us
understand the custom of breaking the Kolanut.
“... ‘Then break it.’
‘No. The king’s Kolanut returns to his hand.’
..... Ezeulu picked up the kolanut in his
right hand and offered a prayer. He jerked
the hand forward as he said each sentence,
his palm open upwards and the thumb holding
down the kolanut on the four fingers...
‘Ogbuefi Akuebue, may you live, and all your
people. I too will live with all my people...
May we have the things with which to live
well... May good come to the land of
Igbo...’...”
(p. 96).
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Thus the custom of breaking the Kolanut when a
guest comes is very important custom among the
Igbos. It is suggestive of goodwill for all.
There is one more prominent custom followed
by the Igbo people when any guest arrives at
home. The host offers some pieces of white chalk
to the guest who paints his toe with it after
drawing some lines on the floor with it. This is
described several times in Arrow of God. Akuebue
who comes to Ezeulu’s house is greeted in the
same fashion.
Sometimes, even the custom of offering palm
wine to the guest is followed by the Igbos.
Akuebue who comes to meet Ezeulu is offered palm
wine by the host and he drinks it in a cow’s
horn. (p. 98)
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These are the prominent customs followed by
the Igbo community and are shown in the novel
Arrow of God by Achebe.
Festivals and Ceremonies of the Igbo People:
The author has given extensive details of
some of the major festivals and ceremonies of the
people of Umuaro. Igbo people are lovers of
ceremonies. They celebrate every aspect of life.
The celebrations of the festivals are with great
pomp. Out of numerous festivities of Igbo
people, the author has tried to focus on only
some in this novel, festivals such as: The
Festival of the New Pumpkin Leaves, Akwu-Nro
festival and the New Yam Feast.
The author has dedicated a whole chapter for
clear and vivid description of the Festival of
the New Pumpkin Leaves. This festival is
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considered as a special festival of women. Women
wear their finest of jewelleries made out of
ivory on this occasion. As the name of the
festival itself suggests, this is a festival of
the new pumpkin leaves. Women carry some fresh
leaves of pumpkin and gather at the Nkwo market
place. The big drum Ikolo is beaten by Obiozo
Ezikolo. It creates a huge noise throughout the
village. All the women of Umuaro encircle and
then the rituals are carried out by the Chief
Priest Ezeulu, for his village. The Chief Priest
runs throughout the market place and finally goes
to the shrine of Ulu to perform sacrifices.
During all this, Ezeulu narrates the story of how
he came to meet Ulu along with the four days of
the week. The women carrying the pumpkin leaves
make huge noise in appreciation and encouragement
for Ezeulu. Thus the festival of the New Pumpkin
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Leaves is celebrated by the people of Umuaro in
great fervour. These festivals are accompanied
with prayers by the elderly people in the
village.
In a further chapter, Achebe has described in
detail about a minor festival called Akwu-Nro.
“The minor feasts and festivals of the year
took place in their proper season. Some of
them were observed by all six villages
together and some belonged to individual
ones. Umuaga celebrated their Mbga Agbogho or
the wrestling of the maidens; Umunneora
observed their annual feast in honour of
Idemili, Owner of the python... There was one
minor feast which Ezeulu’s village,
Umuachala, celebrated towards the end of the
wet season and before the big festival of the
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year – the New Yam Feast. This minor
celebration was called Akwu-Nro...”1 (p. 196)
This festival does not include many rituals
like the other festivals but it includes
offerings by the widows to their departed
husbands. A similar kind of ritual is seen even
in Indian society. It is during this Akwu-Nro
festival that the group of youngsters including
Obika perform the mask dance in the ilo of
Umuachala. Thus the author has given very vivid
picture of this festival in one of the chapters
in Arrow of God.
The New Yam Feast is the biggest and the most
important celebration of the Igbo people. This
festival is connected to their agricultural
activities and thus shows how the Igbo culture is
basically linked to primitive agriculture. The
New Yam Feast is the beginning of the New Year
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for the Igbos. The Chief Priest who keeps the
count of thirteen months by looking at the
thirteen new moons declares the day for the
celebration of the New Yam Feast. This festival
is very important for the people because it is
the festival when they start cultivating new yams
for the New Year. Yam, which is considered as the
king of crops in Nigeria is given great
prominence. The New Yam Feast marks the end of
the old harvest season. The Igbos keep their
lands ready for cultivating the seed yams for the
next season. As soon as the chief priest declares
the day, they start sowing seed yams into the
soil.
The episode of the New Yam Feast is of high
significance in the novel because it almost
changes the life of Ezeulu. Due to his delay in
declaring the day of the New Yam Feast, Ezeulu
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attracts the rage of all his villagers and
finally all the village is made to suffer because
of the delay in sowing new crop for the next
season. People die of starvation.
The significance and importance of the
festivals is seen clearly through the episode
related to the New Yam Feast depicted in the
novel.
Food and Lifestyle of the Igbo People:
Although the author has given a few details
about the food and lifestyle of the Igbo people,
those are not as extensive as in the novel Things
Fall Apart.
We can see that there are some references,
although not in detail, to the food they eat. The
Igbo people are both vegetarians and non-
vegetarians. Yam, being the major food crop,
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there are several dishes prepared from Yam such
as Yam foofoo. We see Ezeulu eating roasted Yam on
every new moon day. The pounded cassava and
bitter leaf soup are the other food items that
the Igbos consume. They also eat chicken and meat
of the animals such as goats. Igbo people are
lovers of palm wine, the main reason being the
large scale cultivation of palm trees in the
region.
The lifestyle of the Igbos is very primitive.
The materials and articles they use in their day-
to-day life are very simple. The author has given
some references to their equipments such as
goatskin bag- which they use to carry their
necessary things; goatskin- which they use as a
seat while sitting on the floor; wooden vessels
used in their kitchens like ladel and calabash
and such other things. Igbo people use carved out
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cow horns to drink palm wine. The snuff powder is
one among their regularly used items. Apart from
these, Kolanuts, white chalk pieces, camwood oil,
etc., are some of the items that the Igbo people
use extensively in their everyday life.
Proverbs used by Igbo People:
The Igbo language is rich with proverbs and
sayings which have flowed through several
generations orally. The proverbs form a great
part of the Igbo folklore, making their language
and culture very rich. The smartness and wisdom
of Igbo people can be understood through their
efficient and apt use of sayings and proverbs.
Proverbs are heavily used by them, especially by
good speakers and leaders. Proverbs are also used
by the people participating in mask dances and
presentations.
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There are a lot of Igbo proverbs exhibited in
the novel Arrow of God by Achebe. Some of the most
commonly used proverbs and sayings are observed
in this section.
Some of the frequently used sayings are as
follows:
“When an adult is in the house the she-goat
is not left to suffer the pains of
parturition on its tether.”1 (p. 18,19)
“The fly that has no one to advise it follows
the corpse into the grave.”1 (p. 27)
“... if you want to be the lizard that ruined
his own mother’s funeral you may carry on as
you are doing...”1 (p. 51)
“...A man who knows that his anus is small
does not swallow an udala seed.”1 (p. 72)
“... a woman who began cooking before another
must have more broken utensils.”1 (p. 101)
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These are a few examples of common sayings of
the Igbo people.
During the mask presentation, the mask goes on
uttering many proverbs. The Ogbazulobodo spirit
which is carried by Obika during the second
burial of Amalu runs throughout the village of
Umuachala shouting several proverbs.
“... The fly that struts around on a mound of
excrement wastes his time... The man who
walks ahead of his fellows spots spirits on
the way... It is Ofo that gives rain-water
power to cut dry earth...When a handshake
passes the elbow it becomes another thing.
The sleep that lasts from one market day to
another has become death... The mighty tree
falls and the little birds scatter in the
bush...”1 (p. 228,229)... and so on.
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Thus the author has extensively explained
about the proverbs and sayings which have become
a natural and integral part of the Igbo language
and culture. These sayings seem to be arriving
out of their continued experiences of several
generations.
CONCLUSION
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CONCLUSION
The purpose of this dissertation work was to
understand the lifestyle and culture of a
community through a novel. The detailed study of
the topic and the novel has served the purpose of
this dissertation. Chinua Achebe’s novel Arrow of
God has several aspects in it but the aspects
that I chose for my dissertation were to fulfil
the purpose of this work. The study conducted
95
during the dissertation has helped me to
understand the life and culture of the Igbo
community of Nigeria.
In the Introduction of this dissertation, I
have briefed about the African Postcolonial
Writings, with a special focus on the literature
of Chinua Achebe. His works have been a
manifestation of cultural expression of the
primitive African societies. Through his deep
insights into the social setup of the Igbo
community of Nigeria, Achebe has got a tremendous
popularity in the modern literary arena.
Further in the first chapter of the
dissertation, I have detailed about the social,
cultural and religious aspects of the Nigerian
Igbo community. In this chapter, I have noted
down the general information about the Igbos that
was available from various sources such as
96
encyclopaedias, dictionaries and other articles
that were available online. The first chapter
thus became a background with which I could
analyse in detail the text which I selected for
my dissertation work with the specific
perspectives.
In the second chapter, a detailed analysis of
the incidents, anecdotes and episodes from the
novel Arrow of God has been carried out in order to
find out various dimensions of the community life
of the Igboland.
Thus, religion, art, folklore, lifestyle,
food and clothing, customs, rituals of the Igbo
community have been explored while doing this
dissertation work.
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A Select Bibliography:
Primary Sources:
1.Achebe, Chinua. Arrow of God. Penguin Books.
London. 2010. Print.
Secondary Sources:
i. Poetic Heritage; Igbo Traditional Verse; compiled and
translated by R. N. Egudu and Donatus
Nwoga. Print.
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ii. Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Allied
Publishers. New Delhi. 2012. Print.
Webliography:
a.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_people
b.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_calendar
c.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_culture
d.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chukwu
e.http://www.igboguide.org/HT-chapter9.htm
f.http://www.igboguide.org/HT-chapter3.htm
g.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinua_Achebe
h.http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/
1720/the-art-of-fiction-no-139-chinua-
achebe
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