dtcengl375fall2014.blogspot.com
The majority of Achebe's work focuses on the rituals associated with Okonkwo's cultural. Things I found interesting were the constant "donations" of yams to their ancestors and other related rituals.
When Okwonko beat his wife during the Week of Peace before planting their crops, he was forced to give multiple items like yams and chickens back to the Earth because of the villages fear of retribution.
Another ritual I thought peculiar because it is not seen in our culture, was that related to children. Okwonko's second wife Ekwefi had 10 chilren who all but one died before the age of three. Those in the village believed that Ekwefi's children were obanje or cursed children, who died and then were reborn in the womb only to die again. But to break the cycle, a very wise medicine man was called and spoke to the child about an item that kept them tied to the earth. It was everyone's belief that the only way Ekwefi's daughter would live is if the item was broken, severing her tie to it and the items tie to the earth.
For us, we don't associate birth with evil or haunted spirits. We see it as a beautiful thing no matter what.
No comments:
Post a Comment