Tuesday, February 15, 2011

What are a few Ibo beliefs or practices that Christian missionaries object to in the book, Things Fall Apart?

One of those which comes up in the book is the practice of
forcing mothers to abandon twins, called osu, because they represent evil.  The Ibo
believed that they needed to be sure and distance themselves from these evil beings and
so, in Umuofia, they had to abandon the babies in the evil forest and leave them there
to die.  The missionaries were horrified by this practice and ended up saving the babies
and this was one bone of contention in the story.


The
missionaries also felt that polygamy was an abomination and that it was not
appropriate.  This led to further conflict with the tribe as it was obviously an
integral part of Ibo culture.

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