Achebe Arrow of God
The Prehistoric Man
Throughout Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness he routinely mentions the natives of Africa as prehistoric men. He compares them to children and demons claiming they are uncivilized. This view was commonplace in the west during the end of the 19th century. In the book Arrow of God it is clear Chinua Achebe disagrees with this notion of Africans being prehistoric. Achebe attempts to educate us on the customs and values of the Umuaro people in Nigeria. He writes in depth about Umuaro’s greetings, values, religion, rituals, and many other aspects of life in this part of Africa. In Achebe’s novel he is able to refute the west’s idea of Africans as uncivilized and prehistoric through his description of Umuaro’s culture.
The people of Umuaro live a very traditional and structured life. This all begins with greetings. If you were to imagine an uncivilized, child-like society would you expect to find a complex welcoming ritual? However, in Umuaro there are very strict guidelines to greetings. A person entering a kinsman’s obi is expected to abide by these rules of interaction. Upon sitting down inside a friend’s obi the visitor is invited to draw his personal symbol with chalk on the floor. He is then expected to mark himself in the way determined by his rank in society. As a measure of goodwill the host should provide a kolanut to be broken. Even though this greeting is important and necessary it can sometimes be tedious, and this leads to Akuebue complaining, “Must you worry about kolanuts every time? I am not a stranger” (Achebe 95). The kolanut is broken into lobes by pressing outward on it with the palms of both hands, and the lobes are passed around to each visitor and host as refreshment. Greetings play a big part in the formality of society in Umuaro; without an appropriate greeting business could not be expected to go smoothly.
The decision making process in Umuaro is very efficient and interesting. The male elders of the six Umuaro villages
Throughout Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness he routinely mentions the natives of Africa as prehistoric men. He compares them to children and demons claiming they are uncivilized. This view was commonplace in the west during the end of the 19th century. In the book Arrow of God it is clear Chinua Achebe disagrees with this notion of Africans being prehistoric. Achebe attempts to educate us on the customs and values of the Umuaro people in Nigeria. He writes in depth about Umuaro’s greetings, values, religion, rituals, and many other aspects of life in this part of Africa. In Achebe’s novel he is able to refute the west’s idea of Africans as uncivilized and prehistoric through his description of Umuaro’s culture.
The people of Umuaro live a very traditional and structured life. This all begins with greetings. If you were to imagine an uncivilized, child-like society would you expect to find a complex welcoming ritual? However, in Umuaro there are very strict guidelines to greetings. A person entering a kinsman’s obi is expected to abide by these rules of interaction. Upon sitting down inside a friend’s obi the visitor is invited to draw his personal symbol with chalk on the floor. He is then expected to mark himself in the way determined by his rank in society. As a measure of goodwill the host should provide a kolanut to be broken. Even though this greeting is important and necessary it can sometimes be tedious, and this leads to Akuebue complaining, “Must you worry about kolanuts every time? I am not a stranger” (Achebe 95). The kolanut is broken into lobes by pressing outward on it with the palms of both hands, and the lobes are passed around to each visitor and host as refreshment. Greetings play a big part in the formality of society in Umuaro; without an appropriate greeting business could not be expected to go smoothly.
The decision making process in Umuaro is very efficient and interesting. The male elders of the six Umuaro villages