Blog post #3: Achebe Pt. 1

When reading Things Fall Apart, I tried to keep in mind some of the things that I read in Orality and Literacy by Walter Ong and draw some parallels. 

One thing that I noticed throughout the whole book was the way the footnotes explained the meaning behind people’s names. In western/literate culture (atleast in my experience) I don’t think the same type of meaning/emphasis is put on names. For example, in Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo’s second wife Ekwefi had lost 9 out of the 10 children she bore. When it happened a few times, it started to have an effect on what she named her children; One was Onwumbiko meaning ‘Death, I implore you’, the next was Ozoemena meaning ‘May it not happen again’, after losing another 2, she was resentful and named the next one Onwuma meaning ‘Death may please himself’. These examples show that in their oral culture, a name, something that is solely verbalized, parents choose a name that reflects something in life they want for their children.

Another thing I noticed was an example straight out of Orality and Culture. When the trial is held regarding the husband who beat his wife, causing her brothers to beat him up and take his wife and children away, the evidence is weighed solely on the testimonials of witnesses before the 9 spirits make their decision. There are no documents involved.

A major trait of oral culture that was demonstrated time and again in Things Fall apart was when there were important events, there were no documents or notices sent out. Instead, important events were signified by drums. Also natural events indicated when people were to do certain things. If you were supposed to meet someone at a specific time, you would know the time by the sun’s position in the sky since there is no written unit of time. The same went for farming. People knew when to harvest etc. by the rain/sun patterns.

Stories and proverbs also play an important role in oral culture. They’re not just told for entertainment purposes, but to teach lessons about life. A good example was when Ekwefi told Ezinma the story about the tortoise and the birds. One lesson I took from it was that being well-versed is a valuable skill to have. The tortoise’s way with words was reflective of a valuable trait in their culture. However, it also goes to show that no bad deed goes unpunished. He used his cunning to trick the birds out of their food, and for that, he plummeted to the earth and shattered his shell.