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Chapter 20

Chapter 20. Return to a changed Umuofia. Did you know?.

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Chapter 20

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  1. Chapter 20 Return to a changed Umuofia

  2. Did you know? In many species, the lizard's tail will easily break off from the body, allowing the animal to escape if seized by the tail. The lizard will grow a new tail, which will usually be shorter than the old and will contain a gristly rod or tube instead of bone. A new tail will grow also from a break in the tail. That is why some lizards have two or three tails. http://animals.howstuffworks.com/reptiles/lizard-info.htm/printable

  3. Discuss “The clan was like a lizard; if it lost its tail it soon grew another.” pg 151 How has time treated Okonkwo and Umuofia since his exile? Discuss.

  4. Okonkwo • Okonkwo lost his place among the nine egwugwu. • He was not able to lead his tribe against the Christians. • He lost time for him to earn the highest titles in the clan.

  5. Significance • The clan has moved forward without him. He is not indispensable to the tribe. • Okonkwo is a determined man but even then, time has not been kind to him. He has lost plenty of opportunities to fulfil his life’s dream and ambitions. • One feels that one’s chi is more powerful and cannot be overcome by hard work alone. The ‘tail’ that regrows is not the same again.

  6. Umuofia • Church has grown in strength. • Converts included not only ‘low-born and the outcast’ but also men of worth such as Ogbuefi Ugonna who held two titles. • A government had been set up with a court and District Commissioner. The kotma’s (court messengers) are hated but are a common sight now.

  7. Significance • Fear of suffering the same fate as Abame has kept protests or violence in check. • Rebelling against the white man would be like rebelling against themselves as their own people now help the white man in government and have converted to their religion. • Despite everything, the clan will move on with life. It will ‘grow another tail’.

  8. “He has put a knife on things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” pg 156Do you agree completely with Obierika’s statement? • What are the things that have held the tribe together? • What exactly did the white man do to drive them apart?

  9. “He has put a knife on things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” • Tribal customs are practiced by all. • Respect for each other/ wishing the best for each other - Presenting of kola, breaking of kola – for ancestors to protect them against enemies, for health and life • Art of conversation is highly regarded, full of respect for each other - in conversation, not coming to the topic right away. Speaking in proverbs is a high form of speech. Okonkwo is rebuked when he shames someone else in speech.

  10. Men’s worth and achievement are recognised. Men are judged according to their worth, not their father’s. Achievement is revered. • Belief in the Oracle. The Oracle is consulted on all matters about life. The priestess is well respected and feared. Umuofia never went to war unless its case was clear and just and accepted by Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. • Observances for between planting and harvesting (Week of Peace), or before harvesting (Feast of New Yams)

  11. Traditions and customs for each occasion. Eg. Bride price (respects the worth of the bride), Uri, funerals. • Superstitions/ Beliefs. Chi, Obanje. • Practices – Ochu. Egwugwu. Abandonment of twins in Evil Forest, non-burial of people who die from stomach swelling.

  12. White man’s “knife” Split up families - “Blessed is he who forsakes his father and mother for my sake”. Support Nwoye leaving his family for the religion. Cast doubt on religious beliefs – boast that all gods were dead and impotent; challenging osu’s to cut of their long hair (a symbol of their outcast status); setting up church in Evil Forest; taking in twins; killing a royal python.

  13. Over ruling tribe elders and egwugwu. The white man has brought with him his own governance. The District Commissioner, with his band of court messengers, mete out harsh justice against those who speak out against the white man’s religion or go against the white man.

  14. Significance • The white man has struck at what forms the core of Igbo society – religion and family. • He has made them question beliefs, practices and structures that have been put in place since they were young. These are the beliefs and practices that gel them together and identify them as a tribe.

  15. The white man has replaced traditional forms of governance such as the elders or the egwugwu in handing out justice. • In addition, he has struck at the family as a unit, endorsing converts who leave their families behind for the religion. Breaking up a family unit, which is the heart of any society, is the ultimate knife that splits the tribe apart. It instills hatred and resentment for the white man and the religion.

  16. It tears the peace-loving tribe apart. Members like Okonkwo want to take up arms against the white man to drive them out, others who are more peace-loving want to use diplomatic means. • The white man may not have come with the purpose of splitting up the tribes or families. But by imposing governance and introducing a new religion, he has unwittingly split the tribes apart from within.

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