Things Fall Apart

I just finished the book, Things Fall Apart and surprisingly I enjoyed the book. Some of the language used was difficult to understand at first, but eventually I got the hang of it.

I did some research on the language of the Ibo tribe and found that it is very different from other languages around the world. According to The Africa Guide, the Ibo language is based on voice pitches, vocal inflections and context when defining a word. One word in the Ibo language can have multiple meanings. In the book the people also rely heavily on proverbs and stories to convey their message. The Africa Guide also mentions this important role in the Ibo language.

Some of the Ibo terms used are listed in the back of the book, but I thought it was more fun to sound them out outloud and interpret their meaning as I saw fit. The character names were also a lot of fun to pernounce and say outloud. Further investigation into the reading layed out the sounds of instruments and nature as words and symbols in the Ibo language. For example when the chiming of the gong is done, it is spelled out in the book as if the sounds are words to the Ibo people to be interpreted. The Ibo language is one of the four official languages spoken throughout Nigeria. According to Omniglot ,G. C. A. Oldendorp, a German missionary, was the first person to produce a book containing material written in Igbo, which consisted of a few words and phrases. His book, Geschichte der Mission der Evangelischen Bruder auf den Carabischen (History of the Evangelistic Mission of the Brothers in the Caribbean), was published in 1777.

Here is a sample of the Ibo language which is a translation of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

A mụrụ mmadụ nile n'ohere nakwa nha anya ugwu na ikike. E nyere ha uche na mmụọ ime ihe ziri ezi nke na ha kwesiri ịkpaso ibe ha agwa n'obi nwanne na nwanne.

The names of the characters in the book and the names of the Ibo people also held various meanings. Their names reminded me of Native American names like "One who Dances" and such because their names meant the same thing. On page 162 Okonkwo names his son Nwofia which means "Begotten in the Wilderness."

Religion and Tradition influence the Ibo's way of life very heavily.

Throughout the entire story Okonkwo relays Ibo lifestyles according to customs, religion and lifestyles layed out by ancestors and gods before them. The Ibo people have many gods that they worship for various reasons, much like the Greek and their gods. There is a god of the land, water and even war. But later on in the story when the Christians arrive the reader learns about a supreme god named, Chukwu. The Christians interpretted this as the Ibo believing in their "God" and this Chukwu was him. But my understanding of the reading was that the Chukwu was a Zeus type being, just a god that was higher than the rest. The religious traditions were emphasized throughout the story which proved how strong their belief system was. Okonkwo believed so much in his gods that he exiled himself from his home, his people and his countrymen because of the law of the gods.

Reading more about Ibo religion and traditions I found that after the British colonization the Ibo people were thrown into turmoil and confusion. The widespread force of Christianity ruined the Ibo traditions and caused much grief and ruin among the Ibo.