Things Fall Apart is an amazing novel by
Chinua Achebe that illustrates the conflict occurring during the period of
British colonization of Africa. Things Fall Apart explores the struggles between the old traditions of
the Igbo community and the effects of Christianity on the people of different
calibers within that society. The novel is told from
the perspective of the native people of Ibo. The novel takes place in Umuofia,
in Nigeria, in an area where their culture is indigenous to the Ibo people. In
"Things Fall Apart" it seems that the African Ibo culture was strong
and functional, such as in its religious beliefs and customs, government,
economic, and social coherence. The order of Ibo society became interrupted and
began to unravel when the white missionaries entered Africa and introduced
Christianity.
The colonial religion first attacked the
outcasts, or osu, of the Ibo society in order to expand on the ideas of
Christianity and how their belief system was not an accurate portrayal. The
traditional belief system had been corrupted by the impact of the missionaries
and there was encouragement of disavowing the traditional beliefs of the Ibo
society. There were changes due to the entrance of the white man, it was no
longer the same society that had been know to the Ibo people. The missionaries
who came to Umuofia set out to reach everyone in order to convert him or her to
Christianity. Kiaga approached two outcasts and told them they must shave their
hair in order to let go of their heathen beliefs. The Christians even lived in
the Evil Forest in order to prove that their belief system was not accurate.
The colonizers used religion as a tool
of Conquest in Things Fall Apart. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua
Achebe, the white men who come to Umuofia find success in conquering the
village by challenging Ibo religion. Because the first white men to appear in
Umuofia were missionaries, the slaughter of Ibo society began with the
challenging of the highly-regarded religion of the Ibo people. The white men
began their religious assault by openly denouncing the many gods worshipped by
the Ibo in order to convert them to the new faith. After accomplishing this,
the white men set out to prove that the Christian religion was superior to all
others by defying the powers of the Ibo gods when they built their church upon
the cursed ground of the Evil Forest. With the Ibo religion being proved
powerless, the converts began challenging their former religion by killing the
sacred python, revered by the people of Umuofia. By attacking the fundamental
teachings of the natives’ religion, the Christians were able to effectively
conquer the Ibo people.
One of the main themes of the novel is
change. It is also seen through religion. The tribe have lived for thousands of
years in an untouched and unviolated existence. The arrival of the missionaries
and the conversion of many to the Christian faith make it very difficult for
some to cope with. Especially those who choose not to convert, and have to
watch as their friends/family take a different path. The Clan has a different
perception when it comes to the gods. Whereas the Christians believe in only
one god, the Ibo have various gods who they worship. There is one supreme god,
but they call him Chukwu because "he made all the world and the other
gods." They also worship other gods such as the Oracle of the Hills,
the sacred python, and the chi, (or personal god). Two of these are animate
gods, in the form of a woman and a reptile. This illustrates another difference
between the two religions as the Christian's god is inanimate. The Umofians had
a religion that worked out great for them, but when the white men came, they
took over their religion and forced them to believe something else. Thus, the
colonial religion has brought a change into the system of religion in Ibo
society.