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Igbo traditions essays
Igbo s culture, tradition, values and norm
Igbo s culture, tradition, values and norm
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In modern day America most of the customs that the Ibo culture has would not be considered okay in today's society. In the book Ekwefi had had two children before Ezinma they were thought to be Ogbanje. They mutilated the second child after it dies to hopefully scare the spirit away, so it would never return. Eventually Ekwefi had Ezinma who carried the spirit inside of her, but they got rid of it with her Iyi-Uwa. I think that this is so unusual and cruel to think your child is something so evil when it hasn't even had a chance to grow up and become somebody. They based their information on the date of death of their child, which in my opinion doesn't determine if a child is evil or not. In modern America mutilating your child after death and then throwing it into a forest would not be considered okay. People who would do these things would be thought of as sick minded psychopath. Another custom that would be considered wrong in most American households and in job positions is that the men almost always hold the position of power. If a woman in the Ibo culture does one miniscule thing wrong, she gets beaten. It is not okay for anyone in America to beat another human being and even abusing animals. If they were to do this they would not just get away by making an offer to the gods, they would be doing their justice in jail or prison.
If Okonkwo or another man figure from his culture were to look at America and our customs they would probably think we are out of line. In Okonkwo's eyes we are probably considered lazy. We go home after school eat some chips and lay on the couch to watch television. Okonkwowould be disgraced with us and probably throw one of his temper tantrums because our country hasn't lived up to his standards of hard work. Another thing that would be different from our society to Okonkwo's is that women hold positions of power. Whether it's the CEO of a company, lawyer, doctor, or a government official, it would be a disgrace to them. They think women should be at home cleaning the floor instead of stepping up to help their community.
I, Obeirika, am writing to you, the District Commissioner, in order to combat your respond to the portrayal of the Ibo. I plan to help you understand the Ibo internal logic so that you can comprehend and value it. We Ibo believe that killing twins is necessary because the earth had decreed that they were an offense on the land and must be destroyed. If we did not exact punishment for an offense against the earth goddess. Her wrath was unleashed on all of the land. If welcoming twins makes the earth goddess angry, then the Christian practice of saving twins is going against our earth goddess. That could and will throw us into chaos. The view maybe barbaric but it’s also our way of living.
“In this tribe the exogamic groups look upon each other as prime manipulators of black magic, so that one marries always into an enemy group which remains for life one’s deadly and unappeasable foes”. It is a strictly enforced custom to forbid the sharing of food, as they are so mistrustful that they receive any gift with suspicion, believing it to be poisoned. In this society, nobody works with or shares with one another, “but there was one man of sunny, kindly disposition who liked work and to be helpful…men and women never spoke of him without laughing; he was silly and simple and definitely crazy. Nevertheless, to the ethnologist used to a culture that has, in Christianity, made of his type the model of all virtue, he seemed a pleasant
In the Ibo culture a man should be a man, war loving, aggressive, made by their own, Nwoye just isn’t that in his father’s eyes. He’s felt that some of the customs his people had were disgusting and did not agree with them at all. Some of these traditions was the beating of women and children, the beating
Approximately 35% make up the traditional native culture of African slaves shipped to America (Mintz & McNeil, 2013). The representation of modern African American civilization is demonstrated through repression, assimilation, and compliance to Anglo Saxon group norms and ethnocentrism of native African people. Ibibio groups of Nigeria, is a smaller cultural section of traditional national African tribes. Comparing and contrasting the likes and differences between the traditional and nontraditional cultures is a means of understanding the roots in the identical traditions.
One of the flaws inside the Ibo culture that eventually leads to their downfall is the social system. The weaker people join the church as a way to gain acceptance. The osu, or outcasts who lived in the Ibo culture want to feel accepted and as a result, follow the Christians. “The two outcasts shaved off their hair, and soon they were the strongest adherents of the new faith” (157). These two outcasts never have the feeling of being a part of the clan. The church welcomes them. The osu cannot cut their hair, marry, or receive a title in the clan. They are “cast out like lepers” (157). The church welcomes the osu and treats them like human beings. This is where the Ibo social system is at fault. An ideal job is to be a farmer and since not everyone can afford seeds and a barn...
In a number of African Traditional Religions there exists a varying sense of morality. In Mama Lola author Karen McKarthy Brown states that Vodou morality is a “survival ethic.” Brown goes further and states that morality in Vodou is tailored to the situation and to the specific person or group involved. Brown elaborates by stating that Each spirit has a moral pull, but no one spirit prevails in every situation (Brown pg.242). One of Brown's best explanations of why this is so is because there is no Golden age in the past and no heaven in the future so nothing is valued higher than survival of oneself and the survival of one's group. (Brown pg.242). Furthermore, Vodou is not a religion that promises a dues ex machina (a god that appears and solves a problem). (Brown pg.242). On the other hand, what Vodou does offer is empowerment to fix or do whatever a person wants and allows them to do it for themselves (Brown pg.242). An example of this tailored morality and survival method for women is when they are pregnant, the naming of a father for their child is a part of their strategy (Brown pg.243). Due to Vodou being a religion of survival, it counsels what it must to ensure survival (Brown pg.254). The downside to this lifestyle Brown shares is that it can become brittle and threatened by inner rage (Brown pg.257).
These Ibo people are already afraid of the British due to them killing the Abame tribe, but now they are coming into their other villages and say that "their buttocks" are going to build some building so they can worship a God they have. To top it off one of the new Christians, Enoch, taunts the egwugwu, or spirits. Even if someone doesn't believe the same as another they should not make fun of their beliefs. Enoch knocks off one of the egwugwu's masks off essentially killing the "spirit". This fear of the British increased, because now one of their own has killed a "spirit" that could possibly enable a curse on them or crop. "Enoch had killed an ancestral spirit, and Umuofia was thrown into confusion."(186) After all this rage against the British has already happened on of the Ibo's own people has caused Umuofia into fear and
The Mbuti people are known as foragers because their main source of survival lies on hunting and gathering as they move from one place to another. They originated from a region in Africa called Congo. The Mbuti people even with their fairly decent population prefer to be grouped into smaller groups or bands which are mostly made up of close relatives. They live in the rainforests of central Africa, where they have lived popularly for more than 6000 years now.
For example, one way gender roles rules the Igbo culture is shown in this quote, “Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper” (Page 16). This shows that, in the Igbo culture, men are the dominant sex and they rule over their families. Women are appointed to submissive and unresisting position, where they often live in fear of their husbands. However, Okonkwo’s quick temper with his family is never portrayed as commentable, it is clear that he unquestionably has the right to be aggressive and hostile at home. This also shows moral development because it explains how the Igbo culture allows for men to treat women. Another example can be shown by the Ibo’s use of the hierarchical system, “He could neither marry nor be married by the free-born. He was in fact an outcast...Wherever he went he carried with him the mark of his forbidden caste – long, tangled and dirty hair. A razor was taboo to him. An osu could not attend an assembly of the free-born, and they, in turn, could not shelter under his roof. He could not take any of the four titles of the clan, and when he died he was buried by his kind in the Evil Forest” (Page 146). This shows that the Igbo culture has clear hierarchal system between the titles/successful men of the clan and the titleless/unsuccessful men of the clan. This shows the moral development of the Igbo culture because it defines how the higher class treats and acts toward the lower
What initially held the Ibo culture together was their religion and their views on masculinity. Their religion controlled almost every aspect of their life. For example, if a women gave birth to twins they would have to throw them away in the Evil Forest, which the Igbo people believed held evil spirits (62).Their views on masculinity were also very important. A man in their culture needs to be strong and would need to have titles in order to be considered a real man. But Okonkwo’s view of a man were little more extre...
According to Webster’s Dictionary, culture is defined as tradition or a way of life. It is also a defining principle in how we live our life and the type of people we become. The Salish Indians of the Montana and Celie, the main character of the book The Color Purple, are two examples of cultures that made them who they are. Celie is a poor, black, woman growing up in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-twentieth century. The men have constantly put her down, through beatings and rape, for being a woman with no talent at all. Her husband’s lover comes to town and gives Celie a chance to see a culture where a woman can stand up for herself and teaches her that love is possible. The Salish on the other hand have a culture that has gone on through the ages and still is a part of each person today despite the obstacles they have had to face. Culture does shape us because from birth it is what tells us our ideals, laws, and morals that we live by each day.
Overall, Christianity can guide and destroy Ibo society by welcoming outcasts, tearing families apart, and building schools. In his novel Things Fall Apart, writer Chinua Achebe uses his novel to describe the positive and negative effects of religion.. The effects of Christianity on Ibo society can serve as a lesson to us to recognize religion as a powerful force that is both ruinous and
Chapter 17 of Things Fall Apart, goes in explicit details of the horrible traditions the Umuofia tribe has embedded deeply into the bases of their society. Abnormal events or people were seen as works of the devil and immediately disposed of “She had borne twins, and they had been immediately thrown away” (151). Another instance is when the outcasts or osu go to Church after seeing how they accept “abominations” such as the mother who only bore twins. The only difference between the osu and average people were that they were forbidden to cut their hair “he [Mr. Kiaga] ordered the outcasts to shave off their long, tangled hair. At first they were afraid they might die[...]
Also, as many of the natives ran to the new Christian faith, many family bonds were broken. Before colonialism took place, family was an important thing in the Igbo society. It was not often that a man would give his son away for any reason, but because of the English coming in and teaching a new faith, many families were forced to give up their sons, daughters, and even some men were forced to give up their wives. The new religion also affected the way certain customs took place in the Igbo society. An example would be when one of the newly converted Christians killed the highly honored snake.
The lectures of reading culture have interested me in many topics about the study of culture. My topic is belief and ideologies. This is one of the important element of culture, as this let us know about the origin of ideologies and belief and how people adapt these things. One of the major factor I chose this topic is that I come from very conservative culture where people have different ideologies and belief so wanted to elaborate about it.