Ibo Culture

Achebe shows many aspects of the Ibo culture in Things Fall

Apart, the major parts being patriarchy, or male dominance in the clan,
and the importance of the gods.
Males are completely dominant in the Ibo clan, with women
being treated almost like property, and Okonkwos relationships with
his wives show that. In the Christian society, the old tradition was that
when a woman married a man, her father passed her along to the new
person in charge of her. We have since gotten rid of that thought, but
this is entirely present in the Ibo culture. Women at the young age of
sixteen are sold to other families to become one of their sons wives. In
chapter eight, one of Okonkwos friends, Obierika, is selling his
daughter to another family. Her name is Akueke, and is introduced as
this, She was about sixteen and just ripe for marriage. Her suitor and
his relatives surveyed her young body with expert eyes as if to assure
themselves that she was beautiful and ripe (Achebe 71). The way they
check to make sure she is still right for buying is almost the way that
they would look over an animal. This shows how lowly they thought of
women. There are also so many times in the book where Okonkwo
thinks badly about women or his obvious disrespect for women is
shown. For example, But it was as silly as all womens stories
(Achebe 75), and That was why he had called him a woman. Okonkwo
knew how to kill a mans spirit (Achebe 26). Not all of the men in the
clan think this way, but most of them do and thats why its a
patriarchal society.
Gods in this clan are the highest form of power. They are treated
with respect and no one dares to go against the words of any god. In
the Ibo clan, agriculture and yams are their main form of sustenance.
Therefore, the goddess of fertility and earth, Ani, is the supreme
goddess and, She was the ultimate judge of morality and conduct
(Achebe 36). Right after this quote, it says, And what was more, she
was in close communion with the departed fathers of the clan whose
bodies have been committed to earth (Achebe 36). Later, in chapter
ten, there is a meeting called that shows the Ibos form of a judicial
system. The egwugwu, or the supposed ancestral spirits, are in charge
of deciding whether someone is to be punished for anything they do. If
there is a big problem, people can bring their conflict to the egwugwu
and have it resolved. Even though the egwugwu arent the actual
spirits, they channel them. Another time where the importance of the
gods is shown is whenever Chielo, the oracle of the god Agbala, calls
for Ezinma, Ekwefi, she called, Agbala greets you. Where is my
daughter, Ezinma? Agbala wants to see her (Achebe 101). Ekwefi,
Ezinmas mother, doesnt want to let Ezinma go, but listens because no
one betrays the gods. There have been a couple of times where

Okonkwo has shown disrespect towards the gods, but for the most
part, everyone respects their wishes.