Portrayal of African Traditions and Customs in Achebe's Novels

Abstract

This research attempts to explore how successful Achebe is in portraying the African traditions and customs and their way of life in these selected novels by Achebe. Thus, it has taken Sudanese Nuba's traditions and customs in the Nuba Mountains as a reference to support the view that these novels really depict Africans traditions and customs. The study traces Igbo traditions and customs including religion concepts and practices, funeral rites, harvest festivals, marriage rituals, and wrestling matches in Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God and No Longer at Ease, and then compares them with those of the Nuba’s. The research employs the descriptive analytical method. The research consist of five chapters; chapter one is a general introduction, chapter two deals with theoretical frame work and published researches that deal with this study, chapter three shows the method and thematic representation, in chapter four the comparison between the two communities’ traditions and their way of life is held, and chapter five is a concluding chapter which presents summary, findings and recommendations. The research results show considerable similarities between the two communities in religious beliefs, marriage rituals, harvest festivals, and funeral ceremonies. These similarities definitely support Achebe and other African writers in their argument with their European counterparts, who contend that the Africans have no culture of their own. The study reveals that Africa has a great and rich religious system, which had organized people's way of life spiritually, socially, and politically.