Rituals of the Umuofian Culture

A detailed Summary of Rituals of the Umuofian Culture


In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, many cultural values are demonstrated through special ceremonies. The Ibo inhabitants of the land Umuofia perform ceremonies of many different sorts. Today, in modern America, we brush our teeth, take showers and go to school, but in this text, the Umuofian villagers break kola nuts, have bride-prices, and sacrifice living organisms. These rituals are not just done for any reason, but they have special importance towards each clan. We may think the rituals to be odd, but in a peculiar way, it relates to many customs we do today.

"'He who brings kola nut brings life. But I think you ought to break it,' replied Okoye, passing back the disc. 'No, its for you...'" (pg. 6) One must be wondering what a kola nut is and why it is so important. The breaking of the kola nut (somewhat like a coconut) shows status, respect and honor. As we have the custom of unscrewing the cork in a wine bottle, they break a kola nut. Normally, the oldest in the famil


Not so far away, lay the Evil Forest, which entrusted in it are all of the bodies of the ill-fated men and women who died from "evil causes." Twins were also thrown into the Evil Forest because of the clan's superstition. The story did not mention a particular reason, but one would think it to be another interesting custom they used. "It is more difficult and more bitter when a man falls alone." (pg. 25) Unoka, Okonkwo's father was also laid in the Evil Forest to rest because he had developed an unusual disease. Not only was it a shame, but leaving people to die in the Evil Forest was said to "cleanse" one from its' spirits. Of many other humans thrown in the Evil Forest, suicidal ones were thrown there too. They were thought to be un-pure because they would do such a thing to themselves. Later we learn that through the Christians' preaching, they develop an understanding to how inappropriate it was to do such a thing. Towards the end of the novel, the Ibo culture strides away from these lo

Some common words found in the essay are:
Evil Forest, Chinua Achebe, kola nut, evil forest, Unoka Okonkwo's, bride price, , thrown evil forest, ibo culture, cultural values, break kola, thrown evil,

Approximate Word count = 677
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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