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The Role of Religion in the Downfall of the Igbo Peoples in Things Fall Apart

Ahmad Qureshi English 10 Pre IB October 27, 2011 Word Count: 980

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From the beginning of human history, belief in the unknown, the all-powerful has been a part of the human race. Religion has united people, brought peace, but has also done quite the opposite. Religion, almost like a living organism, has an inherent need to self-propagate to continue its existence. This has brought about many conflicts in history when old and new belief systems collide. With every new Abrahamic religion, a new holy book and messenger came to shatter, sometimes literally1, the traditional religions that had existed before it. We see this most explicitly in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe with the coming of the Christian missionaries to the still polytheistic, Igbo towns of Umuofia and Mbanta. It was the weaknesses presented by the traditional Igbo religion in the face of Christianity that brought about the downfall of such a cohesive society. Such practices as the infanticide of twins (Achebe, page 43) and the isolation of the Osu (Achebe, page 113) served to alienate a significant population of the Igbo. Furthermore, the universally accepting nature of the missionaries, who offered a more liberal path, served as the catalyst for the creation of a new and fragmented Igbo people. The traditional Igbo religion as presented in Things Fall Apart was a very profound faith with many Gods, rituals and festivals. Its adherents celebrations and arts were all deeply intertwined with their religion. Festivals like the feast of the New Yam to honour the Earth Goddess (Achebe, page 26) and mask making for the egwugwu (manifestations of the Igbos ancestors (Achebe, page 133)) are all examples of the above. However, there were some negative aspects of this religion as well. Twins were considered an abomination and were disposed of immediately. What mother could bear to see the lives of two of her children thrown away in the Evil Forest (a designated disposal site for abominations like twins) like the fetish of some dead medicine man? As a child, my mother would tell me horror stories of pre-Islamic Arabia, a very patriarchal society, in which infanticide of baby girls was practiced out of sheer shame. Islam and Christianity both reject infanticide (Holy Quran 17:32), (Holy Bible, Ps. 127:5) and the missionaries followed this rule ...rescuing twins from the bush... (Achebe, page 112). Nneka was one of the women who chose her children, and the missionaries, over her ancestral faith. She had given birth four times already and was once again heavy with child, but in each of her previous pregnancies, she had borne twins. Nnekas usefulness as a woman in her own society was starting to be questioned to such a point that when she finally fled to the missionaries, her family was indifferent. It was a good riddance. (Achebe, page 109) to them, as she would probably never bear any real progeny for the family. Women are vital to a society like that of the Igbo as they play a central role
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The Kaaba is a Holy structure to adherents of Islam and is located in Mecca. When the Prophet Muhammad finally conquered his home city of Mecca, he reportedly went straight to the Kaaba and smashed each one of the 360 idols within that the Meccans had previously been worshipping.

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in raising the next generation and teaching them the traditions. Women also have a tendency to protect their young and the infanticide practiced in Umuofia was no small reason for them to turn to the missionaries. Another estranged group among the Igbo were the Osu. An Osu was ...a person dedicated to a god ...a taboo for ever and his children after him. (Achebe, page 113). They were forbidden from gatherings of the freeborn and from taking titles. Long, filthy and dirty hair was their mark as the razor was taboo to them. The Osu were a prime example of how society disposes of those it wishes to be apart. Much akin to the Hindu Untouchables they were segregated to such an extent that they even lived in a specific part of town, namely near the Great Shrine. This lowly caste was not afforded any of the luxuries offered to the freeborn. The arrival of the missionaries showed the Osu a way out of this endless circle of discrimination and they leaped at this chance for freedom. Soon, the two original Osu converts had cast aside the mark of their ...heathen belief... (Achebe, page 114) i.e. their long hair and nearly all of the Osu of Mbanta soon followed in their path. At this point, the missionaries had gained the loyalty of two important groups of people, namely many of the women and the Osu. The women were of social significance in their role in the rearing of children and the Osu were of spiritual importance as dedications to the Gods. Because the newly converted Christian women raised their children as Christians and there was no longer a caste to serve the traditional Gods, piece by piece, the Igbo religion and, by extension, society fell apart. Things Fall Apart demonstrates the effects of colonialism on any native society very well. Many traditional societies whose culture and religion are deeply intertwined cannot stand up to the introduction of a competitor like the example of Christianity in Things Fall Apart. Because of the segregation of the Osu, what had seemed to be an impregnable status quo established by the ancestors of the Igbo had finally been broken by the missionaries. Furthermore, the terrible instances of infanticide gave the women reason to convert. The missionaries achieved their objective only by their comparatively more liberal and forgiving beliefs. Today, the traditional Igbo religion is at a fraction of its former size and the Igbo people are now predominantly Christian. This proudly traditional society fell apart but in the end, the traditional Igbo culture still lives today.

References

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Achebe, C. (1958). Things Fall Apart. Oxford: Heinemann.