Igbo Culture In Things Fall Apart

A Society with Soul “As the soil, however rich it may be, cannot be productive without cultivation, so the mind without culture can never produce good fruit.” This quote by Seneca, a Roman philosopher, says that nothing good can ever come out of the absence of culture. Throughout history, many have argued that a society stripped of its culture is a society stripped of its soul. In the novel Things Fall Apart, the Ibo people are completely taken of their culture by the white colonialists. Despite a growing pattern of submission to new culture within the tribe, the people never truly lost their soul. The Ibo tribe was invaded by outsiders, their culture threatened with accusations on their way of life, worship, and customs, practically being
The Ibo people were stripped of their culture by the colonialists, but they never lost their soul. Amidst the invasion of the white people, the Africans still found ways to maintain their beliefs and the essence of who they were. When Okoli killed the sacred python, he clearly went against traditional Ibo customs, but at the same time, he inadvertently reinforced Ibo customs. The Ibo people always look back to their culture for guidance and believe in it regardless of outside threats. Because it is all they have ever known, the tribe maintains their peaceful ways by deciding not to drive the Christians out with acts of violence, but rather, by ostracizing them. Soon afterwards, Okoli dies of an illness, which reaffirms the tribe’s trust in their gods. “His death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles,” (Achebe 141) and would rightfully punish those who went against them. It made the tribe realize that the gods were still with them, causing them to repeal the new policy of ostracism towards the converts. Furthermore, n the end, the colonialists may have ultimately drove Okonkwo to kill himself, forcing him to go against his culture, but in doing so, Okonkwo also reminded the tribe of their culture. In taking his own life, he reasserted Ibo beliefs, one of the tribesman even saying, “It is against our custom,” (Achebe 178) when asked by the District Commissioner why the tribe could not take Okonkwo down from the tree. The tribesman went on to say, “It is an abomination for a man to take his own life,” (Achebe 78). In spite of threats to their way of life and a growing disconnection of their tribe, the Ibos remained true to their culture no matter