A Tour through Nigeria in the 1890s: the Ibo Culture

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

Sophomore English: Mrs. Kamali
 The Food

Activity: What foods can you think of that are specific to a holiday or custom in
your family?

Check for Comprehension: scroll through these popular dishes and common
ingredients.
http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Nigeria.html
Answer the questions on your worksheet.
 The Language
Igbo (igbo)
Igbo is one of the four official languages of Nigeria and is a member of the Niger-Congo
family of languages. It is spoken by about 18 million people in Nigeria and Equatorial
Guinea.

Sample text in Igbo

A mụrụ mmadụ nile n'ohere nakwa nha anya ugwu na ikike. E nyere ha uche na mmụọ
ime ihe ziri ezi nke na ha kwesiri ịkpaso ibe ha agwa n'obi nwanne na nwanne.
Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with
reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Activity: look up the meaning for your own name.

Comprehension Check: The names in Things Fall Apart can be both interesting and
frustrating to pronounce. Use the website below to look up the meanings of the
characters on your worksheet.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://culture.chiamaka.com/images/woman_child_nigeria.jpg&imgrefurl=http
://culture.chiamaka.com/igbonames.html&h=420&w=620&sz=67&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=bUImcm2QyN3vfM
:&tbnh=92&tbnw=136&prev=/images
%3Fq%3Dibo%2Bnigeria%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us
 Proverbs
Proverbs are wise sayings that are meant to offer a advice about life. They are common
in the Ibo language, and they are used to pass on traditions and moral values.
Activity: look up proverbs from your own heritage.
Check Comprehension:
Explore some Ibo proverbs using the link below. Select one proverb you enjoy and draw
a illustration of it on your worksheet.
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/igbo/proverbs/index.html
 The Music
The Ibo people have a melodic musical style, into which they incorporate various percussion
instruments: the udu (a clay jug); an ekwe (a hollowed log); an ogene (a bell designed from iron); and
the opi ( a wind instrument similar to the flute).

Originally, this clay

udu pot was only
The ekwe is used to used for carrying
call meetings and signal water, but then
emergency. This women began to
instrument is a form of use it as an
communication in the instrument.
village. Different amounts
of water can be put
inside to adjust the
sound.

Activity: name five different uses that

The ogene is
we have for music in our culture.
the most
Comprehension Check: check out the important
following website and answer the questions instrument
on the worksheet. You will also be able to used in
listen! ceremonies.
http://umunna.org/instruments.htm

Traditional West African music by Yaya Diallo

. Listen!
http://store.mp3tunes.com/artist_details.php?
artist_id=17327
 The Eqwuguw Masks
The Masking Tradition
In Things Fall Apart, the egwugwu come out
in a ceremony that performs the function
of a judicial court. Later, the egwugwu
appear at an important man’s funeral.
On some level, the people of the village
know that these characters dressed in
costume are men from their own village –
people that they know very well. But
people also get wrapped up in the
experience of the moment. The
drumming affects them powerfully. The
egwugwu are dressed in masks
designed to appear terrifying and awe-
inspiring. The spirits even speak their
own language. These egwugwu
ceremonies – or masked performances –
are powerful because they are so multi-
dimensional. Sound, dancing, costume,
sculpture (in the form of masks),
tradition, personal religious belief, group When we get to this point in the book, look
emotion and conviction, and group forward to making your own mask!
participation – all come together.
 Family
The Ibo culture is polygamous. A man earned status by having
multiple wives. Each wife and her children lived in a different
hut called an obi that was part of a family’s compound. The
husband was permitted to beat his wives and children, except
during the Week of Peace. Sons were favored and men have
much more power in the villages.
Activity: how are the gender roles defined in your family?
Comprehension Check: http://www.motherlandnigeria.com/pictures.html#Culture
Scroll down to Places to see how much Nigeria has changed since the 1890s.
 Religion
Activity: From an outsiders perspective, what religious practices might seem strange?
Comprehension Check: use the following website to see what happens when the
Christian missionaries arrive in Nigeria. http://www.bookrags.com/notes/tfa/TOP2.htm
Record your findings on the kola nut, Oracle, twins, Evil Forest and the Earth Goddess
on your worksheet.

The Kola The Evil The Earth

The Oracle Twins
Nut Forest Goddess
 Meet Your Author, Chinua Achebe
Activity: What would be the most challenging part of being an author?
Comprehension Check: Locate important information about Achebe from a biography.
http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/authors/about_chinua_achebe.html
 Sources
• Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
• http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Nigeria.html

• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://culture.chiamaka.com/images/woman_child_nigeria
.jpg&imgrefurl=http://culture.chiamaka.com/igbonames .html&h=420
&w=620&sz=67&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=bUImcm2QyN3vfM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=136&prev=/ima
ges%3Fq%3Dibo%2Bnigeria%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26rls%3Dcom.micro
soft:en-us

• http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/igbo/proverbs/index.html

• http://umunna.org/instruments.htm
• http://store.mp3tunes.com/artist_details.php?artist_id=17327
• http://www.motherlandnigeria.com/pictures.html#Culture

• http://www.bookrags.com/notes/tfa/TOP2.htm

• http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/authors/about_chinua_achebe.html