The Trible Powers in "Things Fall Apart" (:

The book, Things Fall Apart, Achebe describes many power structures. The Ozos, the Eqwugwu, and the Gods are important to the tribes of this novel. The author describes with much detail the traditions of the clans within the novel, but you can easily point out the differences while at the same time see the similarities between the Western and African cultures in this novel.

            In Umofia, the Egwugwu is an important tribal structure. There are nine wise, elderly men that represent each of the nine ancestral spirits; in a way they “represent a village of the clan” (pg. 89). The Egwugwu are summoned during ceremonies and/or trials; they usually appear in a hut of some sort. Their purpose is to serve as the legal council of the tribe/clan. The existence of the British District Commissioner obstructs the role of the Egwugwu by misleading the structure of power in the tribe. Achebe descrition of the Egwugwu is similar to that of the legal systems like officers. The fear of the Egwugwu within the clan is the same fear as we have with court systems and the police in our own culture.

            The Ozos are like titles in our society and are very important to the structure of power in Umofia. The men that have Ozos are held to a very high standards and there are only “four titles in the clan” (pg. 123). There are only a couple of men in each generation the can earn all four titles, and once they have all four titles they are referred as being some sort of “lord of the clan” (pg. 123). Men have to work for Ozos , meaning that than any man can work hard to earn an Ozo. In the Igbo tribe, men who earned Ozos can improve their quality of life by having them. In our society, everyone is given an opportunity to improve and better themselves, and their way of life.

            In Umofia, the existence of gods is also an important structure of power. The tribes customs and way of life are based on the traditions and beliefs of the gods they worship. In the tribe, the women were typically viewed as the mothers and wives, but they didn’t have much say in the terms of power. The priestess of Chielo was representing the god Agbala. The men and women tolerated her words because she was the “priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and Caves” (pg. 107). The way and actions of the people are done in regards of how the gods would want you to live. In modern religion like Christianity, we can compare because of the higher power we influence followers.

            In Things Fall Apart, this is Achebe’s way of comparing African and the Western cultures. You can tell that they are very different, but they have some similarities in their roots.  Their differences are clearly evident, but the traditions and beliefs of the world all find their similarities. We are all equal in many ways.

Africa Research :)

       1.) Nigerian Yam Farming:  http://www.ics-nigeria.info/publications_files/yam_02.pdf ;http://www.academicjournals.org/ajar/PDF/pdf2011/19%20Oct/Fu%20et%20al.pdf ; http://www.ics-nigeria.info/yam01.htm ;http://www.minyanville.com/dailyfeed/2011/06/09/the-most-fascinating-thing-youll/ ; http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Nigeria.html#b

2.     http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad41 ;http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0860005.html ;http://www.onlinenigeria.com/traditions_Customs.asp ; http://www.nigeria-law.org/LFNMainPage.htm ; http://www.nigeria-law.org/ ;http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2836.htm ;http://www.onlinenigeria.com/links/

3.     http://www.ehow.com/info_8302455_african-tribes-19th-century.html;http://www.somalipress.com/nigeria-overview/pre-20th-century-history-nigeria-1053.html ; http://www.africanholocaust.net/peopleofafrica.htm ;http://www.victoriafalls-guide.net/african-customs.html; Of what I have researched and read thus far, Things Fall Apart has touched upon the traditions of tribal Nigeria.

4.     http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/14.htm; http://www.anglican-nig.org/history.htm;http://www.photius.com/countries/nigeria/society/nigeria_society_christianity.html;http://www.waado.org/UrhoboCulture/Religion/Erivwo/HistoryOfChristianity/Contents.html

January 2, 2012 QUESTIONS :)

1.) To me, i think the quote is referring to when two sides of a story are presented, but one side gets all the attention it needs with everyone agreeing with it while the other side gets neglected and judged for opposing the first side of the story. Usually, one side is favored, and is viewed as being the "good guy" or the "right" side.
2.) To him, i think he thinks it's good to be brave, but a coward is looked at differently. There is usually one way, one path, one truth, but his people thought it was a bit extremely because there was only ONE way, something they weren't used too.  Although he thought this was right, he also believed that it wasn't necessary to completely get rid of the African traditions and/or their religions. This was a huge problem because people could not grasp the concept of having just one religion.
3.) This clash of cultures has been very hard for Africans because it was forced upon them from a strange side. Africans had a difficult time converting to the strange ways because in order for that to happen, they had to throw away and forget their beliefs/traditions. They had to change their whole life, not because they wanted too, but because they were forced too.
4.) This article is about the American people. It was talking about how we, as Americans, have everything we need when any situation uprises. For example, we brush our teeth, we see dentists, we take care of our hair, we have a lot of items, we have therapists, etc. We pretty much have a solution for any problem.