18 July 2012
Traditions
As I was reading, I found myself getting wrapped up in the Ibo culture, and I surprisingly accepted their traditions much more than I originally thought I would. Normally, I would never accept someone who leaves their baby twins to die in the forest or cuts their recently dead baby with a razor. At first, I thought that these things were crazy. But there is something about the way these customs were described and justified that made me slowly accept them. Achebe made it all sound so normal. By the time the missionaries came and commented on the sinful nature of many Ibo traditions, I found myself thinking "how could you say that, that's just the way they do things". I'm not sure if I'm proud of that thought, but by that time I was rooting for the clan, even though I knew how it had to end. It wasn't until I finished the novel and took a step back that I realized that some of their traditions were unimaginably horrible. All in all, learning about the culture was interesting, and I would be curious to learn more about other clans that went through the same thing.
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6 comments:
I couldn't agree more! You hit the nail directly on the head when you said that there traditions were "unimaginably horriable". But also looking at as they would, back then there traditions were a way of life and they knew no different so they went with what they knew and how to live.
Yes i definitely agree with Larry. Until the missionaries had come, the people knew no other way of life. They just went on what their ancestors had done. So once the missionaries came, they told them that their beliefs and customs were not true. This probably came as a huge shock to the village people because like I said they had no outside knowledge of the world, and as far as they knew it they were living it right.
I also enjoyed learning about the Ibo culture. Some traditions were out of the ordinary and crazy yet it still interesting to read about. Without outside knowledge of how the world works the people did not know what was considered to be right and wrong.
my only thought on this is that who's to say if the igbo people are right or wrong? just because what they do is different than what we are used to, doesn't mean they shouldn't do it. everything in this world is perceived differently to different people, so who is to say that one persons perceptions is more right than another persons? even though i may not agree, if they wish to live their life differently than mine, i will not interfere with them unless they try to do my life harm.
Totes McGoats, Marleigh! I was shocked at some of their customs but their explanations made it seem somewhat understandable! Don't get me wrong, I would never throw away twin babies, but still it's how they see things and it should be respected! The missionaries came and ruined years of customs and it got me angry! If the village wanted to adopt new customs, then let them! But if they wanted to keep their original customs they should have been left alone.
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