Sunteți pe pagina 1din 2

Don't call a snake by its name because it might hear. Call it "string".

The Theme of Superstitions in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart."

By definition, a superstition is a belief or practice from ignorance, fear of the unknown,


trust in chance, or a false conception of causation. It is a broad term that encompasses
magical thinking and a set of inherited beliefs that make up the texture of religion and
the culture of different groups or races. In Achebe`s Things Fall Apart, a wide range of
superstitions and omens frame around the culture and identity of one of the main
tribes in Nigeria, The Igbo. Later on with the advent of colonization and the arrival of
the Christians, the tribe was forced to give up the traditions it had always held on to,
and thus the Igbo society fell apart. What did their omens and superstitions consist of?

Igbo life in the 1800`s was very much steeped in their mythology. The natives thought
that every sign and event had a reason and purpose hence; their superstitions were
very real to them. All their practices dated back to their forefathers (this is probably
why they were so steadfast in their beliefs) and were meant to keep harmony with
Mother Nature. Thus, they had a God for every different natural phenomenon that
occurred. They worshipped things such as trees, pieces of wood, hills and caves. For
every symbolic God there was a being in the clan that represented it. Ezeani the
Priestess of the Goddess of the Earth, represented the Goddess of Earth, Ani the
source of all fertility, ultimate judge of moral conduct who was in close communion
with departed fathers (p 26). Besides, there was the Oracle of the Hills and the caves
in which the oracle was called Agbala, the woman who then got possessed by the spirit
when the clan sought knowledge from the God through her. The people would usually
listen to everything that the oracle said because they thought it wise.

The people of the Ibo village had many strong superstitions they believed in, such as
Don't whistle at night for fear of evil spirits They were scared of night time
(except on moonlit nights) as they thought it was when the evil spirits came out. Even
the bravest people were held in terror of the dark. They even warned the children not
to whistle at night because they feared the evil spirits would come out and the
dangerous animals would grow even more sinister when dark. This is taken so such a
serious extent that villagers would not even call a snake by its name at night because
they thought it would hear, so it was called a string at night time. What the Igbo
believed about darkness and snakes revealed the Igbo attitude toward the world
(Chapter 2).

Another strong superstition they hold on to was the festival of The Week of Peace
which took place the week before the Igbo started to plant their yam crops. It was
called this way because they believed that no violence should be spread around.
However, during this week Okonkwo commits a great sin by beating his wife, 'it is
believed that evil will fall upon the whole clan, so he must repent" (pg. 29)
Also, no work would be done during that week. All people did was to talk to their
neighbours and drank palm-wine to relax. By doing so, they ensured good luck for a
good crop season. However, if someone were to break the rule of the Week of Peace,
then there would come a bad crop season, and most of the crops would die.
(Chapter4). Here we can observe how important the power of the Gods is to the clan.

A main superstition they had was the belief in the silk-cotton tree as home to the
good spirits of children waiting to be born. The young women who wanted to have
children would just go under the tree. In addition, they believed that children had up
until the age of six to decide if they wanted to live or not. If they decided to be a
devilish child, then it would usually die at the age of six. (Chapter 6)

Further instances of superstition can be traced to the Personal Chi the Igbo tribe
believed in. Chi could be a personal fragment of the Supreme Being, unique for each
individual. It determined much of a person's success and character. "When a man says
yes his chi says yes also"(19). But at the same time a man does not challenge his chi.
"The evil you have done can ruin the whole clan. The Earth Goddess whom you have
insulted may refuse to give us her increase, and we shall all perish" (22). Ezeani said
this to Okonkwo in response to his challenge against his chi. Through the story we get
to know that Okonkwo`s desperate desire to succeed his chi, does not let him go any
further than failure, destruction and death therefore, Chi is simultaneously a destiny
and an internal commitment which cannot be denied.

Unlike any good religion, the Igbo religion encompasses some unaccepted practices
that stunted the development of their village. This was due to the Igbo fear of what
they did not understand medicine, for instance. The belief in Ogbanje, which were
wicked children who usually died at an early age, and who then re-entered their
mother's womb to be born again. They believed that it was the evil spirit of the same
child that just came in the form of many different infants. Then, there was iyi-uwa
which was a special kind of stone which formed the link between an ogbanje and the
spirit world. If the child's iyi-uwa were found and destroyed, then it would not die.
They believed that the ogbanjes would bury their iyi-uwa in order for them to die and
then return to their mother again in order to torment her. (Chapter 9)

In addition, Umuofia villagers were overzealous in their practise of killing new-born


twins and dumping them into the evil forest, where their spirits would roam forever.
For the Igbo people, having twins was considered as "against nature and inherently
evil. Also, members of the tribe that died from certain diseases were looked as "un-
clean thus, they were not buried but rather dumped into the forest as well, as if their
previous life had had no value at all.

To conclude, I would like to state that a prevailing religion may contain endless
superstitious beliefs that mould culture. Some of the traditions and beliefs of the Igbo
people in the 1800s, still remain prevalent in many African groups. Hence I consider
Achebe has wittingly succeeded in depicting the real tribal people and the real customs
of the time. In addition, thanks to the richness of his work, as readers we have delved
into African culture and we have witnessed that if a society is taken away from its
traditional values, it meets decline.

Virginia Alvarez
4th Year - UNLA

S-ar putea să vă placă și