In the novel, “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe a Nigerian author, tells the history of a small village in Nigeria. The history is focused on the daily life of a man named Okonkwo. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was a man known for his laziness, and cowardice. He was unoccupied, poor, libertine, gentle, interested in conversation and in music more than anything else. Unoka died in disrepute, leaving many village debts unsettled. In response, Okonkwo consciously adopted opposite ideals and becomes productive, wealthy, thrifty, brave, violent, and adamantly rejects everything for which he believes his father stood.
Okonkwo always leaded in his own way, a way which made his wives and children afraid of him. With the arrival of white missionaries, Okonkwo had a hard time trying to adapt to changing times and at the end he realized that he was no longer able to function within a society created by foreigners. In fact, Okonkwo was not the only one with that problem but also the villagers were having trouble adapting to these changes. They did not know how to react to the sudden cultural changes that the missionaries threatened to change with their new political structure and religion.
Hence, this essay has as intention to show the effects of European colonization on the Igbo religion. Colonialism brought extreme effects in the Igbo society. As the white men moved into the Igbo’s land, their culture, values and their beliefs changed. These changes were extremely evident, but in the end the Igbo were unable to doing anything to stop the changes that had already start taking place in their society. As soon as the whites arrived, they introduced a new religion that was completely different than the natives were accustomed to.
The white man told the Igbos that, “they worshipped false gods, gods of wood and stone,” (145) also, he mentioned that there was only one God, the creator of everything. Okonkwo was convinced that the man was entirely wrong, but his first son, Nwoye, had been captivated by all of these new ideas, and after a discussion with his father, “Nwoye decided to go to Umuofia where missionaries had a school to teach, to read and write the new Christians. 152)” “He was happy to leave his father to follow the missionaries. (152)” Indeed, Nwoye was not the only one convinced by the new form of religion, but also other natives, and some of them turned away from everything they were, just to be part of it. Before colonialism, the unit of the family was very important in the Igbo culture, but with the arrival of missionaries and their religion the division among families began.
Sons, wives, and daughters separated voluntarily from their family to follow the new form of religion, even clans could no longer act as one. When Okonkwo accidentally killed a young boy during a funeral celebration, he was banished from the village for seven years (124). When he came back from his exile, he noticed that his own brothers already had different thoughts about their customs and said they must fight for their land and for their religion. Okonkwo refuses any changes, and began to speak out to defend his motherland.
He said, “Until the abominable gang was chased out of the village with whips there would be no peace (158),” the division was so marked that many others did not agree with his point of view, but he remarked, “If a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor, what do I do? Do I shut my eyes? No! (158). ‘” Okonkwo was trying to convince the clans to fight, fight and fight for their customs.
Obierika told him, “our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad, (176)” that white man was very intelligent, because he came peacefully and quietly, but then, he has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart. ” (176) White man had achieved his gold by dividing Igbo society. They knew that by doing so the Igbo could not stand together to fight and defend their way of life. The arrival of the missionaries in Umuofia was to govern and to change every aspect of the Igbo life and customs. The Igbo was a merciful society, unaware of the white missionary’s intentions.
The Igbo were kind; they introduced the missionaries to their clans, and even gave them portions of their lands, not knowing that the white men will be the cause of their cultural overthrow. Colonialism affected them in many different ways making the Igbo culture disappear. Okonkwo’s death at the end represents the death of the Igbo culture as well. Change was inevitable, and Okonkwo was afraid of it. Okonkwo was not ready to accept, and to live within the rules of white men. After the loss of most of the important things in their culture it does not make sense to him to stay alive