Theme Of Tattoos In Things Fall Apart

The first tattoo is a circle with trees inside and represents the Evil Forest in the book Things Fall Apart. The Evil Forest is strongly tied to the cultural norms in the book and represents weakness. For example, “When a man was afflicted with swelling in the stomach and the limbs he was not allowed to die in the house. He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die”. Twins in the Ibo culture are considered evil and left to die by exposure in the Evil Forest.

The African mask tattoo represents the egwugwu, or the nine masked Umuofia elders. They are seen as ancestral gods and are judges in the community. “And when, as on that day, nine of the greatest masked spirits in the clan came out together it was a terrifying spectacle”. They

The Ibo people had a sacred python who they believed was the emanation of the god of water. “The royal python was the most revered animal in Mbanta and all the surrounding clans. It was addressed as ‘Our Father,’ and was allowed to go wherever it chose, even into people's beds.” In the story, an osu, or outcast, that caused a conflict between the white church and the Ibo tribe by purposely killing the snake. The python is a symbol of protection to the members of the Ibo tribe because it helps them to eat mice and eggs.

The cat design represents the great undefeated Ibo wrestler Amalinze the Cat. “ He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth.” The beginning of the story describes how the main Okonkwo brought honor to his village by throwing the wrestler. Not only does the cat design represent the wrestler himself but it also represents the symbol of strength. Strength is praised in the Ibo community, with only strong men becoming successful. In fact, Okonkwo refused to show any weakness in the story, which ultimately led to his death.

The last tattoo is the phrase “I yam who I yam”. This is a play on words for the original phrase “I am who I am”. Yams are extremely important in the Ibo culture because they are a sign of wealth, currency, and food. According to the Ibo people, “Yam, the king of crops, was a man's crop.” A successful man like Okonkwo was able to not only have many wives and children, but also grow plenty