Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

The Igbo have some really fascinating and interesting festivals and holidays in their culture. They celebrate for weeks at a time during the festivals and holidays. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, there are different holidays throughout the novel and there are some festivals as well. There is the Yam Festival and during it they pray to a goddess and they ask for a good harvest. They also have the Week of Peace and during that week they aren’t allowed to hurt anybody or you will be punished. There are many activities and things to do as a community during the Yam Festival and during the Week of Peace. Throughout the novel, Achebe talks about the festivals and holidays; how they brings people together, there are rules you
There are some things that you are not allowed to do or you will be punished. During the Week of Peace you are not supposed to beat anyone or you will be punished. You also are not allowed to say harsh words to your neighbor. During the Week of Peace, Okonkwo beat his youngest wife, Ojiugo because she was not home to cook him lunch, instead she dropped her kids off with a different wife and went to her friend’s house to get her hair braided. Okonkwo waits for her return “He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo’s return. And when she returned he beat her heavily. In his anger he had almost forgotten that it was the Week of Peace” (29). Okonkwo had forgotten that is was the Week of Peace and have broken the rules. You must not hit anybody during this week. It is disrespectful of the gods and ancestors. If you break the rules during this week it shows you have no respect for the gods and ancestors. Okonkwo was punished for his actions. He has to repay for what he has done. Okonkwo must repent and ask for forgiveness from the earth goddess. Okonkwo must also repay for what he has done. According to Shepherd et al, “he is forced to repent by priest by sacrificing a nanny goat and a hen and paying a fine of one length of cloth and 100 cowries” (Shephard et al). So since Okonkwo broke the week of peace by beating his wife he is now responsible for paying back the earth goddess with a goat, a hen, a length of cloth and 100
There are multiple activities going on. One of the activities is the wrestling matches. The whole village comes together and they all come and cheer on the wrestlers and they come to have a great time. “The whole village turned out on the ilo, men, women and children. They stood round in a huge circle leaving the center of the playground free. The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought there by their young sons or slaves”(46). The whole village comes together to see these guys wrestle. They are all standing together waiting for the wrestlers to come out. All the people from the village know when the matches are. They are always during their off season. There are seven drums beating to keep them standing on their toes waiting for the wrestlers to come out. Each wrestler is led out by his supporter and they get ready to fight. Okodo explains when and how the match is and set up. He