What’s in it for me? Gain a thought-provoking perspective on the impact of colonialism on African culture and identity.
“Author’s Manuscripts Typed.”
So read the advertisement in the Spectator in 1957.
In Lagos, in what was then the British West African colony of Nigeria, an aspiring 27-year-old writer read the advertisement and sent his manuscript to England. His work told a story of the culture of the South-eastern Igbo peoples from whom he was descended.
The writer waited and waited. Two months passed – nothing. His letters went unanswered. He became convinced his manuscript was lost. But then a colleague took her holiday in England, found the firm of typists, and returned with a typed copy.
The writer was Chinua Achebe and the manuscript was Things Fall Apart – its name taken from a line within the poem The Second Coming by the Irish poet, W. B. Yeats.
The following year, Things Fall Apart was published to instant critical acclaim. The fact that it has now sold over 10 million copies and has been translated into 45 languages attests to its enduring relevance.
Just a quick word of caution before we start: this Blink contains some descriptions of domestic abuse, murder, and death by suicide. So please take care while listening.
Now let’s begin the story of Okonkwo born in the mid-nineteenth century in an Igbo village, Umuofia, which is now situated in south-eastern Nigeria.
Part one
When Okonkwo was just 18 years old, he brought honor to his village by winning a wrestling match against Amalinze the Cat who’d been unbeaten for 7 years. Now, 20 or more years later, Okonkwo is wealthy and well respected even beyond the nine villages of the Umuofia clan.
Although Okonkwo’s father died ten years ago, he’s still haunted by his memory. His father was a spendthrift who’d spend any money he’d get on palm wine. When he died, he still owed many of his neighbors large sums of money. Luckily, among the Umuofia a man is judged on his own merit, not that of his father. Consequently, Okonkwo has become a wealthy farmer and an accomplished warrior. He also has three wives and eight children. But he’s worried about his eldest son, 12-year-old Nwoye, who he thinks is lazy. He tries to correct this by nagging and beating Nwoye constantly.
One morning, every Umuofia man is summoned to the marketplace. Some 10,000 men learn that one of the married women of Umuofia has been murdered by a neighboring clan, the Mbaino. To avoid war, the Mbaino agree to provide a 15-year-old boy and a virgin as compensation. The boy, Ikemefuna, belongs to the whole Umuofia clan, and the virgin replaces the murdered wife. Okonkwo is asked to look after the boy. In turn, he asks his first wife, Nwoye’s mother, to take him in.
Ikemefuna is very afraid. He’s been transported to the Umuofia but doesn’t even understand why. He tries to run away a few times but doesn’t know where to go. Nwoye’s mother is kind to him and eventually, he gets over his fear. He even becomes popular in the household. Soon Ikemefuna and Nwoye become inseparable. Okonkwo also grows fond of Ikemefuna but never shows his affection – to do so would be a sign of weakness. Ikemefuna begins to call him father and accompanies Okonkwo to meetings and feasts.
A few weeks after Ikemefuna’s arrival, the Week of Peace begins. During that week, Okonkwo’s youngest wife goes to a friend’s house to have her hair plaited but then fails to return in time to cook Okonkwo’s dinner. He’s angry and when she finally returns he beats her heavily. He’s forgotten it’s the Week of Peace and even when he’s reminded by his other wives, he continues to beat her.
That evening, Ezeani, the priest of the earth goddess calls on Okonkwo and tells him that he has done a great evil and that it could bring ruin to the whole clan. To make amends and ensure the earth goddess doesn’t punish them by stopping their crops from growing, Okonkwo must make a sacrifice. He does as he’s asked but has also lost the respect of the clan. They talk of nothing else for the whole Week of Peace.
Years have passed since Ikemefuna joined Okonkwo’s household. He’s become part of the family and Okonkwo is pleased that he’s also aided Nwoye’s development greatly. But the peace bringing their family together only lasts for so long. Unexpectedly, Ezeudu, the oldest man in Umuofia calls on Okonkwo and asks to speak to him in private. He tells him that Umuofia has decided that Ikemefuna must be killed and that Okonkwo mustn’t take part in the killing. It’s the Oracle of the Hills and Caves that has pronounced it, he says.
The next day, elders from the nine villagers call on Okonkwo and talk in hushed tones. Later, Okonkwo talks to Ikemefuna and tells him he’s going to be taken back to his village. Nwoye overhears, breaks down into tears, and is given a heavy beating. Ikemefuna can’t believe the news because the idea of his former home has become faint and distant.
The day after, the nine men return. Okonkwo and Ikemefuna set off with them and silence descends over the compound. At the start of the journey the men laugh and joke, but as they leave Umuofia they too fall silent. Some distance away, one of the men raises his matchet and lays a blow on Ikemefuna. Okonkwo looks away, but Ikemefuna cries out as he runs toward his father. Okonkwo doesn’t hesitate, he draws his own matchet and, so as not to appear weak, strikes Ikemefuna down.
When Okonkwo returns home, Nwoye senses that Ikemefuna is dead. Okonkwo, for his part in the killing, falls into a deep depression. But a few days later he visits his closest friend Obierika, and after some conversation to distract him from what he’s done, he begins to feel like himself once more.
Time passes until one day the ekwe – the drums – beat out a message: Ezeudu is dead. Okonkwo remembers that the last time he saw the old man was when Ezeudu told him not to have any hand in the death of Ikemefuna. A shiver runs down his spine.
Ezeudu’s funeral is attended by the whole clan. Drums beat, guns and cannons are fired. The men cut down trees, kill animals, and jump on walls and roofs. It’s a funeral worthy of a noble warrior. When the evening comes, the drums and the shooting intensify, and there’s a clashing of matchets as warriors salute each other. As darkness approaches and the time for the burial is near, there’s a cry and shouts of horror. Suddenly, there’s silence. In the center of the crowd lies the lifeless body of Ezeudu’s 16-year-old son. Okonkwo’s gun exploded and a piece of shrapnel has gone straight to the boy’s heart.
Okonkwo flees as the clan law forbids the killing of another clansman. His punishment is to be banished for seven years, after which time he can return. He gathers his things and his family together and they leave before dawn. When day breaks, men from Ezeudu’s quarter storm Okonkwo’s compound. They burn the houses, kill all the animals, and destroy the barn. They need to purge the land polluted by the killing of their clansman.
Part two
Okonkwo and his family seek refuge in the village of Mbanta – Okonkwo’s mother’s homeland. They’re welcomed warmly by his kinsmen. His uncle, Uchendu, guesses why they are there and Okonkwo tells him the whole story. His uncle makes arrangements for necessary sacrifices.
Okonkwo is given some land to build a new compound and farm. His kinsmen help him build new huts and Uchendu’s five sons give him 300 seed-yams each so he can begin planting when the rains arrive. Okonkwo works hard with his family on the new farm, but the work gives him no pleasure and he grows despondent.
In Okonkwo’s second year of exile, Obierika comes to visit. He’s brought heavy bags of cowries – used as currency – that he’s made from selling Okonkwo’s yams. He promises to continue doing so until Okonkwo returns.
Obierika and Okonkwo visit Uchendu, where Obierika tells of other news. The village of Abame has been destroyed by white men with only a few survivors to tell the tale. He also explains that he’s heard stories of white men with powerful guns taking slaves away over the sea but he doesn’t believe them. Uchendu tells the two men that there are no stories that are untrue.
Sometime later, six missionaries come to Mbanta – one of them a white man. Of course, everyone comes out to see the white man. He speaks to them about the one true God through an interpreter, telling them that their own gods are false gods. He tells them about the Son of God, Jesu Kristi and the Holy Trinity. Many people can’t see any logic in how there can be only one God yet have a Holy Trinity. They’re convinced the man is mad. But one person is captivated by the new religion: Nwoye.
The missionaries stay in the village and preach the gospel. They meet with the Mbanta rulers and ask for a plot of land to build a church. They're given a piece of the Evil Forest where the bodies of people with diseases like leprosy and smallpox have been buried. When nobody dies during the first few days of clearing the forest, the missionaries gain their first three converts. Nwoye has been drawn to the new religion from day one but has kept it a secret. But he listens to the missionaries in the marketplace and soon learns their stories.
Okonkwo finds out that Nwoye has been frequenting the new church and threatens to kill him but Uchendu intervenes. Nwoye wants to get far away from his father so goes to the church and volunteers to go to Umuofia as a missionary.
The clan doesn’t believe that the church will survive as it has a few crises early on but it overcomes these and becomes stronger and stronger. The clan isn’t worried that a few efulefu – meaning “worthless, empty men” – want to live in the Evil Forest. It is, after all, where they belong. But one day, three converts say they intend to burn the shrines of the gods. They’re seized and beaten badly and then the interaction between the village and the church stops for a time. However, rumors begin to circulate that the white man has set up a court in Umuofia, where they’ve already hanged a man for killing a missionary.
Time passes and soon it’s seven years since Okonkwo was exiled. His last harvest in Mbanta is approaching. He’s certainly prospered there, but would have done better in Umuofia. He’s sent money to Obierika to start building a new compound for him and his family to be ready upon their return. To celebrate his coming departure, he holds a large feast. At the feast, concern is expressed for the younger generation who are turning to the “abominable religion” which allows a man to leave his father and brothers and curse the gods of his ancestors.
Part three
Upon his return, Okonkwo finds that Umuofia has changed greatly. The church here has many converts, including men in high places. The white men have also brought a government and have built a court where people are tried before the District Commissioner.
The court messengers, or kotma, are hated because of their methods. They’re also responsible for guarding the prisons which are full of men who’ve broken the white man’s law. There, they’re beaten and work each day for the commissioner and the court messengers.
Obierika tells Okonkwo that the white men have been crafty. They came peacefully with their new religion and the clans allowed them to stay. But slowly they converted clansmen to the religion and now the clan no longer acts as one. The things that held them together are no longer there, and things have fallen apart.
But many in Umuofia aren’t against the changes. In addition to the church and government, the white men have built a trading store which has brought wealth to Umuofia. And as for the religion, well, maybe there’s something in it.
This feeling has been helped by a white missionary called Mr. Brown who’s chosen a path of nonconfrontation with the clan. He builds a school and a hospital in Umuofia and slowly the people begin to send their children to the school. Mr. Brown’s approach gains traction. New churches and schools are established in other villages. He makes friends with some of the great men in the clan and is respected by them.
But eventually Mr. Brown falls sick and returns to England. He’s replaced by Reverend James Smith who’s very different – the complete opposite, in fact. Encouraged by Mr. Smith’s new approach, the more zealous converts flourish. One of them, a man named Enoch, dares to unmask one of the egwugwu – the ancestral spirits of the clan embodied in the clan elders – at an annual festival in honor of Mother Earth. By doing this, Enoch has effectively killed an ancestral spirit.
The next day, the egwugwu gather, including those from neighboring villages, and burn Enoch’s compound and the church to the ground, but they do no harm to Mr. Smith or his interpreter. It appears that the spirit of the clan has been pacified. Okonkwo also feels happy again.
On hearing about the destruction of the church, the District Commissioner asks to see the leaders of Umuofia at his headquarters. Okonkwo is one of the six who attend. They all go fully armed with their matchets. The Commissioner deceives them into believing he wants to hear their side of the story and, having been put off their guard, they’re quickly arrested by 12 of the Commissioner’s men. He tells them that they’ll be released if they pay a fine of 200 bags of cowries. They’re thrown into jail where they’re insulted and physically abused.
Word spreads quickly to Umuofia and other villages and quickly becomes embellished. The court messengers tell the people that their leaders will only be released if they pay 250 bags of cowries – otherwise, they’ll be hanged. As rumors spread others believe the men will be hanged the next day, and their families too. Yet others believe that Umuofia will be destroyed by soldiers. The people of Umuofia decide to pay the fine, not knowing that 50 bags would go directly to the court messengers.
The prisoners are freed and return home. The next morning, at a gathering of the people from the nine villages, some argue in favor of a war to root out the evil. While one man is speaking, five court messengers arrive and Okonkwo springs to his feet and blocks the path of the lead messenger.
The messenger orders Okonkwo to step aside and says they’re here to put a stop to the meeting. Okonkwo draws his matchet and strikes twice – the messenger’s head lies on the ground next to his uniformed body. The meeting stops and Okonkwo looks at the body. He realizes the clan won’t go to war as they’ve let the other messengers escape. He wipes his matchet and walks away.
Later, the District Commissioner arrives at Okonkwo’s compound with armed soldiers and asks which one of them is Okonkwo. Obierika tells the Commissioner that Okonkwo isn’t there but says they can take him to where Okonkwo is and perhaps his men can help them. The Commissioner is confused, but they follow.
They’re led to a small bush behind Okonkwo’s compound where they find Okonkwo’s body dangling from a tree. Obierika asks if the Commissioner’s men will take him down and bury him so they don’t have to wait for people from another village to come and help. He explains that they can’t do it themselves because taking one’s own life is an affront to the earth and anyone who does it is considered to be evil. Only strangers may touch it.
Obierika, unable to hold his peace any longer, unexpectedly shouts at the Commissioner. He trembles and chokes on his words as he says that Okonkwo was one of the greatest men in Umuofia and it is the commissioner who’s driven him to take his own life. Worse still, he’ll be buried like a dog. The Commissioner orders his men to take down the body and take it to the court for burial.
Epilogue
Okonkwo’s final act of defiance was, for him, the only way to preserve his own dignity. He realized that he was powerless to prevent the disintegration of his culture as the influence of Western culture and religion took hold of the clan. He chose to take his own life rather than submit to the new order and face trial and execution.
As the Commissioner headed away from Okonkwo’s compound, he reflected on his many years of “bringing civilization” to Africa. One thing he’d learned was that a District Commissioner shouldn’t be present as a dead man was cut down from a tree – It would give a poor impression to the natives.
He thought about the book he was planning on writing and how the story of this man who killed a messenger would be interesting reading. Perhaps he’d even dedicate a chapter. No, a whole chapter would probably be too much, but at least a paragraph.
As for the title of the book, he already had one, it would be called: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.