Igbo Culture as Ethnic Source of Ch. Achebe’s Literary Works

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31861/pytlit2018.97.134

Keywords:

Ch. Achebe, Igbo, polygamy, gender, identity

Abstract

In the article the worldview of the Igbo people is analyzed. The most influential Nigerian writer Ch. Achebe belonged to Igbo ethnic group. Thus the author’s native culture became the source of creating images in his texts. As the author lived on the “crossroads of cultures” – the Western European and the African, he was influenced by Christian education and tribal African traditions. As the writer realized that the vast majority of Europeans were not familiar with the life of Igbo, in his works he tried to convey as much as possible the life and traditions of the tribe. Such detailed descriptions contribute to a better understanding of his texts. Though, at first glance, his works are overloaded with ethnographic material, all the realia are taken from the author’s everyday environment. Consequently, the Igbo culture dictionary should be recognized as a key factor in decoding Ch. Achebe’s texts.

Though Ch. Achebe believes that it is more appropriate to consider Igbo ethnos as a nation, it is stressed that on the pages of his novels Igbo appear as a tribe since only a certain clan or tribal community is portrayed. It is accented that in his texts Ch. Achebe conveys the outlook of his native ethnic group, his culture, which becomes the source of the stylistics of his novels. Therefore rituals, African dances, masks, sacrifices, various holidays and festivals that are an important traditional component of the religious culture of Igbo are reflected in Ch. Achebe’s works.

It is noted that polygamy is an essential feature of the Igbo society, and it is also reflected in Ch. Achebe’s novels. Ch. Achebe shows that a woman in the Igbo culture has double valency: on the one hand, this is a thing, on the other hand, the bearer of matriarchal power, the hidden force that helps a person to survive. This is especially vividly depicted in the novel “Things Fall Apart”, and it also acquires an important storyline in the novel “No longer at ease”.

Author Biography

Olesya Shtanyuk, Ternopil Ivan Pul’uj National Technical University

Department of Ukrainian and Foreign Languages

Ternopil Ivan Pul’uj National Technical University

Ruska str., 56, 46001, Ternopil, Ukraine

References

Volpe M. L. Chinua Achebe [Chinua Achebe]. Moscow, 1984, 168 p. (in Russian).

Ilyina N. Yu. “Zhenskaia” proza Nigerii [The “female” prose in Nigeria]. In: Istoriia romannykh form v literaturakh Afriki. Moskow, 2010, pp. 572–587. (in Russian).

Achebe Ch. A Man of the People. London, 1979, 202 p.

Achebe Ch. Arrow of God. London, 1989, 240 p.

Achebe Ch. Home and Exile. New York, Oxford UP, 2000, 128 p.

Achebe Ch. Things Fall Apart. London, 1992, 181 p.

Chigere N. H. M. V. Foreign Missionary Background and Indigenous Evangelization in Igboland. London, 1999, 587 p.

Ebuziem C. E. Doing Ministry in the Igbo Context: Towards an Emerging Model and Method for the Church in Africa. New York, 2011, 269 p.

Emerging Perspectives on Chinua Achebe. Vol. II: Isinka, the Artistic Purpose: Chinua Achebe and the Theory of African Literature [ed. by Ernest N. Emenyonu and Iniobong Uko]. Trenton, 2004, 396 p.

Gagiano A. Achebe, Head, Marechera: On Power and Change in Africa. Boulder, Colo, 2000, 307 Volpe M. L. Chinua Achebe [Chinua Achebe]. Moscow, 1984, 168 p. (in Russian).

Ilyina N. Yu. “Zhenskaia” proza Nigerii [The “female” prose in Nigeria]. In: Istoriia romannykh form v literaturakh Afriki. Moskow, 2010, pp. 572–587. (in Russian).

Achebe Ch. A Man of the People. London, 1979, 202 p.

Achebe Ch. Arrow of God. London, 1989, 240 p.

Achebe Ch. Home and Exile. New York, Oxford UP, 2000, 128 p.

Achebe Ch. Things Fall Apart. London, 1992, 181 p.

Chigere N. H. M. V. Foreign Missionary Background and Indigenous Evangelization in Igboland. London, 1999, 587 p.

Ebuziem C. E. Doing Ministry in the Igbo Context: Towards an Emerging Model and Method for the Church in Africa. New York, 2011, 269 p.

Emerging Perspectives on Chinua Achebe. Vol. II: Isinka, the Artistic Purpose: Chinua Achebe and the Theory of African Literature [ed. by Ernest N. Emenyonu and Iniobong Uko]. Trenton, 2004, 396 p.

Gagiano A. Achebe, Head, Marechera: On Power and Change in Africa. Boulder, Colo, 2000, 307 p.

Isichei E. Igbo Worlds: An Anthology of Oral Histories and Historical Descriptions. Philadelphia, 1978, 355 p.

Kolawole M. E. M. Womanism and African Consciousness. London, 2006, 207 p.

Nwahunanya Ch. Tragedy In The Anglophone West African Novel. New York, 2004, 544 p.

Umeasiegbu Rems Nna. Words are Sweet: Igbo Stories and Storytelling. Leiden, 1982, 139 p.

.

Isichei E. Igbo Worlds: An Anthology of Oral Histories and Historical Descriptions. Philadelphia, 1978, 355 p.

Kolawole M. E. M. Womanism and African Consciousness. London, 2006, 207 p.

Nwahunanya Ch. Tragedy In The Anglophone West African Novel. New York, 2004, 544 p.

Umeasiegbu Rems Nna. Words are Sweet: Igbo Stories and Storytelling. Leiden, 1982, 139 p.

Published

2018-06-29

How to Cite

Shtanyuk, O. “Igbo Culture As Ethnic Source of Ch. Achebe’s Literary Works”. Pitannâ lìteraturoznavstva, no. 97, June 2018, pp. 134-46, doi:10.31861/pytlit2018.97.134.

Issue

Section

Intertextuality and Intermediality