Achebe Essay

Arianna Gagliardi

Period G English

September 9, 2013

Before the Europeans came to Africa, Achebe demonstrates in his book Things Fall Apart that the Ibos had a polytheistic religion, a profound culture, and creative entertainment. Their religion, culture and entertainment held their community together. Achebe uses these three facets of their culture to prove that the Ibos had a diverse society.

Achebe illustrates that the Ibos had their own polytheistic religion that they adhered to strictly before the Europeans intruded. Their religion held their community together. Without it, their whole world crumbles, which is what happens when Christianity takes their religion’s place. Umuofia’s people worship many gods as well as oracles. “The Oracle was called Agbala, and people came from far and near to consult it” (16). The oracles were very important to their way of life and were very distinguished in their community. Clansmen would go to the oracles for advice about farming, for help with a sick child, or if the clan should wage war. “And in fairness to Umuofia it should be recorded that it never went to war unless its case was clear and just and was accepted as such by its Oracle – the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves” (12). The oracles also gave advice about people’s chi, which is each person’s individual god. Every person in the clan worshipped their chi so they would have good fortune. Clansmen would offer sacrifices, which included “kola nut, food and palm-wine, and offered prayers to them on behalf of himself, his three wives and eight children,” (14). When the Christians started their church, many clansmen started to become Christian. As more members of the clan left the Ibo religion, it started to fall apart along with their community as a whole. “He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking and falling apart…” (183).

Achebe shows that the Ibos had a very diverse culture before the arrival of the Europeans. The Ibos believed in polygamy, respect for...