The Mission

Respected Elders and Colonists,


You have shared with my group members a controversial topic involving the colonization of Africa by the British. As you have asked of us, we have collaborated and come up with a decision. Before we actually began any research or arguments, we had put aside our personal western views/thoughts in order to come up with an honest solution. My fellow friends have done research in your time period, what, how, when, where, this problem occurred and how it affected everyone as a whole. After many discussions and arguments over the evidence and facts that were revealed in our research, we’ve agreed on the answer to your question: We all strongly believe that the African society would be better off without colonialism; we have provided three specific points to support our answer.

One of the major topics that both cultures will argue about, mostly anyway, is religion and traditions. The English believe in only one god, God (Jesus), whom created everything that surrounds us. To them, we are all children, brother/sisters, of the lord above us who sent missionaries to convert non-Christians to Christianity before those who didn’t believe in God die and burn in hell. However, your people, have many small gods, like wood, and they slowly grow higher in importance until you reach the ultimate god, Chukwu. The Ibo believe that the smaller gods are the supreme god’s messengers so you could get approach Him through them. We won’t lie, there will be some Ibo that will willingly convert to Christianity without realizing that they are also converting to the English ways. Others will be against it because of their cultural/ancestral religions. The many different views on the new religion will tear families apart, like any other family, making your village vulnerable, weak enough for the English to take over the ones whom opposed.

Another reason for opposing to colonialism is the cultural difference. The English only believe in having one wife in a marriage, they don’t think that wife beating is acceptable, have a wide variety of showing honor, have worship their god for many other things besides fortune. Your people believe in having many wives at once, think that wife beating is acceptable, can only have honor with titles, and worship your gods and ancestors for good fortune. Both cultures also have different customs or traditions, like the English have a funeral when someone dies and the Ibo celebrate what the dead person has done for the village while they were alive, like a ceremonial party for them. If you both were to switch cultures for a day, you’d either find their culture pointless or maybe even offensive.

The last point to prove our position is the great difference in government between both backgrounds. The English have a king/ queen that is chosen for their divine right, were sent by God to rule the country, the people don’t get to vote for their ruler who makes all the rules and choices for their country. The Ibo have elders, and honored men whom had to prove to their people that they were worthy enough, that they had the wisdom out of the many challenges, to make the decisions. Even though the Ibo do have “representatives,” the people of the village are allowed to voice their opinions and thoughts freely. The Ibo wouldn’t be used to the strict government of the English, having someone else whom you may not believe in or trust make all of the decisions for them.

Our group of time travelers has already listed the facts and some predictions as to what may happen if the Ibo do support colonialism. We leave with you this letter and choice, we all hope that you think of it thoroughly before making a move. Look at all of the pros and cons, evaluate your choice twice before making it, for afterwards you may not be able to change it, because it will be too late.



Research Questions

1. Colonialism-When a nation either extends or continues their control over foreign dependencies. An example of foreign dependency, a poor country provides natural resources to a richer country, while the richer country gives them cheap labor. The main colonization period was the 1900s.

2. European inperialists justified their return to Africa as colonizers by stating that the ways of the native people including their religious beliefs, society, and form of government was evil and barbaric. They claimed that what they were doing to these people was saving them.

3. The Berlin Conference affected Africa because it divided up the South of the Sahara, which made it easier to conquer. The population of France and Germany grew because of Africa, and eventually approximately ninety percent of Africa was conquered by Europe.

4. The direct rule sect of government had centralized administrators. Most of its policies revolved around "civilizing" the African people so it could be more like Europe. Indirect government used African rulers instead of the usual European men, which resulted in a tribe-like government.

5. The main purpose in the education was to get the African people into a false sense of security so they could colonize there, as well as getting Africa to meet the same standards of education like in Europe. The newly found education in Africa helped the society evolve more intellectually and even religiously.

6. The role missionaries played in the provision of colonial education in Africa was replacing the traditional way of learning with the ideas that they thought were right. They focused on making more people literate, mainly so that they could read the Bible and teach the people of the meaning of church and its importance. They basically focused on anything Christian. The Europeans' colonialism completely changed Africa.

7. Chinua Achebe got his inspiration for Things Fall Apart­ from the poem “The Second Coming”. In the poem, it talks about how the chaos is beginning. The evil is more evil and Christ is coming back. The peacefulness is over and now comes either the second coming of Satan or Christ. In Things Fall Apart, the clan was peaceful until the white men came into the town. Then slowly, everyone began to fall apart. Instead of Satan of Christ coming into the town, it was hate and controversy.

8. "Things Fall Apart" was set in the 1890's, in Umuofia, and through the culture of the Igbo people. In social life, men gain honor by taking titles. They eventually earn these titles if they are strong warriors, and fearless leaders. Women are not very high on the social ladder and are mostly around to do the housework and bare children. Some inportant celebrations are "the week of peace" and "feast of the yam." The roles of war and religion are very important to the Igbo people and are held in high regards. If you are a good warrior you are successful and if you go against the religion you will be punished. The arts on the other hand are reagarded very lowly and anyone who dedicates their life to the arts are pretty useless.

9. Okonkwo's home is very divided which doesn't make for much of a family life. All of his children live in huts with their various mothers; Okonkwo has his own hut away from all of his wives' huts. Okonkwo's relationship with most of his wives and children is distant, they basically bring him food or go to him when he calls. Okonkwo has a bad relationship with Ekwefi, even though he took her in he often gets angry at her and once almost shot her. Okonkwo actually likes his daughter Ezinma and cares for her but does not show his feelings, he thinks she would make a fine son. He thinks of his son Nwoye as weak like Okonkwo's father was and tries to beat sense into him. In the Igbo society the men are the big workers and they can hold titles, while wieves stay at home taking care of the children, cooking, and cleaning.

10. In chapter four Okonkwo makes the mistake of beating his wife, Ojlungo during the week of peace. This shows that the value of their culture is very important because, since he broke the peace he was punished which shows that the culture is important to the Igbo people. Eseani says wife beating is wrong because it disturbs the earth goddess.

11. The white men are intorduced in the story first as rumors that came from a neighboring clan. The white men were at first precieved to be strange, and feared so in turn they were eliminated. After the devastation of the clan which killed a white man, the people had a different kind of fear of them, but most of the villagers were indifferent of their prescence. Africans supposed that the white men had no toes because they wore shoes.

12. The town had a very big effect on Okonkwo. Such an effect that he had hung himself at the end of the novel. He hung himself because his beloved town was not the same as it was when he left. The white men had caused hate and controversy in his town. He realized that the town would not be the same again. He was not able to handle the problem instead he hung himself.

13. "Heart of Darkness" is much more sympathetic than "Things Fall Apart." Achebe shows the pride African people did and should have, while Conrad basically gives sympathy for anyone who lives in the "heart of darkness," or Africa. He does so because of the way it changes people. He depicts the Africans as pathetic natives who are extremely primitive. They are prisoners and are seen as lower life forms or beasts.



Article

African Myths and Folklore

Most peoples' definition of a myth is something that isn't true. A definition more related to this topic is a story or concept used to explain the world around us. Africa is well known for using myths in their religious and natural beliefs. African myths may vary from how a god came to be to tales involving animals and their creation or behavior. An example of one of these animal stories is that of the Lion and the Fox. A little fox tied up the king lion in his sleep, and when the lion woke, he asked all the animals who did it. The fox confessed and as the lion started chasing him, the jackal procclaimed that the fox will never be caught, and so he didn't. Such stories were created and told in Africa for both an explanation for a natural phenomenon and as entertainment. Without a written form of their language, the people relied on memory and the telling of stories from generation to generation. Folk tales are also a means of explanation among Africans, such as the coming of the different clans and people of Africa. An example of this kind of story is that of the Origin of the Difference In Modes of Life Between Hottentots and Bushmen. This story explains the two clans was started by two people: one who was blind and the other who was always hunting. The hunter came upon a hole one day from which game proceeded, and as the blind man felt and smelled this, he concluded it was not game but cattle. The man was granted his sight and built a kraal around them and annointed himself (in the ways of the Hottentots). The hunter wished to do the same, but the other told gave him some bad advice which ended up burning him. With this, the latter told the hunter to run into the hills with a knobstick and search for honey which sprang the Bushmen. As it is clear, many of these stories seem to be unbelievable to our Western minds, but as an African, this was, not unlike the stories in the Bible, a way of explaining something which was otherwise irrelivent to them.