For this week’s reading, “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe is set in the village of Iguedo, in the Umuofia clan. Although this is a fictional village, the culture and events that take place in the story are similar to those of Achebe’s home village of Ogidi. In the story, the Umuofia clan is located near the bank of the Niger River in Nigeria, close to the real city of Onitsha. During the 1890s, when the story takes place, Igbo-speaking people lived in independent villages, like Ogidi and Iguedo, and were ruled by titled elders. Although technically separate, these villages work together and support each other. In the story, Umuofia is part of the so-called “nine villages”.
For reference, Nigeria’s villages and clans are broken up by the language that is spoken by each group. The Igbo-speaking people live in the southern region of the country.
Understanding the setting during the time when the novel takes place is critical in interpreting the story in the correct context. As mentioned above, Umuofia is one of the nine villages in the story in Igboland and is the village in which his father was born. In Igboland, placement in the villages is determined by where your father was born and is called the “fatherland”. Where the mother is born would be called the “motherland”. Typically, the child or children would live and grow up in the father’s birthplace. Residing, instead, in your mother’s birthplace can be seen as deprivation to a male’s identity and may even make them appear as “weaker”. This is important in the context of the story because although Okonkwo was growing up in Umuofia, he is later sent to another village, Mbanta, for seven years after he is exiled. In this case, Umuofia is his fatherland and Mbanta is his motherland.
References
Achebe, C. (1992). Things Fall Apart. Everyman’s Library.
Anonymous, 2002, Tradition vs. Change in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”, Munich, GRIN
Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/23478
From Fiction to Field Notes: Observing Ibo Culture in Things Fall Apart. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/publications/se/6107/610702.html
Hello! This post was very informative. I made sure to read the context presentations for this week before starting Things Fall Apart, simply because I knew going into the book with a base level of knowledge would help me tons. I find it so interesting that residing in one’s “motherland” is considered shameful, and I am curious to see how that plays into the plot go the novel. Again, great job on your informative post.
This post is really cool! I had no idea that Nigeria was split up into clans. The rule that where the father is born is the fatherland, which is where you reside. I find it intriguing but not surprising that residing in your motherland deprives you of your maleness. It is something that has been traditionally inherent in the world’s culture. Is Nigeria still divided into clans?
I am also very surprised by these custom and beliefs. It is extremely interesting to hear about practicality being abandoned because of ritual and belief. Residing in the homeland of one’s mother in my experience is a very useful thing. Not only is it a connection, but it is a strong and mutually beneficial one. it is interesting to hear that in these villages, custom would call this “weak.” It shows the flaws of relying heavily on past practices to dictate actions and also shows the lack of questioning that occurs in these societies.
Wow! I find that people look down upon of children or people that grow up in the town that their mother did. I wonder why this is? I also do not exactly understand the idea of this. If someone else’s father grew up in the same town as a different person’s mother, would that not mean that all people are potentially weaker? Or is it more of a dominance things? Growing up in the mothers hometown can show that she is the more dominate person in the relationship? Again, I do not entirely understand this concept, but I do find that interesting. Also, another thing that I found to be quite unique is the fact that Nigeria was divided into different clans!
Great angle on your context presentation! I think it is extremely important to understand geographic locations when we are learning of different cultures. It is ironic how we can learn of so many different geographic locations or different countries that have practically the same pre-colonial stories. I find it fascinating that even in those times when man seemed to be, in layman’s terms, not so evolved that the majority still tried to be more civilized and not resort to violence. It makes me believe this is ultimately why Okonkwo didn’t fit in and where a lot of his despair resonated from.
It’s really interesting about the information you provide in the post. I have never heard and know the differences between “fatherland” and “motherland”. And the reason of appear as “weak” solved my question of why Okonkwo was exiled to “motherland”. Also, I think this is also a kind of example showed the status of women there. They are subaltern and even where they born is seemed to be in a low level.
This is a really fascinating context presentation and I can tell you did a lot of research for it. It offers a very valuable insight to the importance of location, especially in “Things Fall Apart”. The symbolism of strength being attached to the Fatherland and weakness being associated with the Motherland is both a testament to the One and Other themes deeply entwined within cultures and also offers literary cues that setting can be indicative of character status. This is evident through the fact that Okonkwo, who had the privilege of living in his Fatherland, was later exiled to the “shameful” Motherland of Mbanta.
Thank you for the context of the setting! I think it’s very interesting that Nigeria’s clans are broken up by language. Also, I find it really fascinating the way they have a distinction between the where the father is from versus where the mother is from.
This was a great comment! I was unaware that Nigeria was split into these different colonies! I also find it very interesting that if you reside in your motherland, you lose your maleness which is very important in their culture!
I loved that you included the geographic locations behind the story. I think that this is beneficial to know when reading the story so you can picture in your head where exactly the story is taking place. I also find it fascinating that the “motherland” and “fatherland” connects with one of our course concepts of “One” and “the Other”. It is evident that this concept has been around for many years. The “fatherland” is seen as the one while the “motherland” is the other. This suggests that the fatherland is the one that holds the most power since your child typically grows up there.
Thank you for the article. The geographical knowledge of Nigeria described in the article is very interesting, and the name of their village for “motherland” and ““fatherland” reflect their unique local culture.
Thank you for sharing this article. The Geographical map is very helpful to imagine location of Umofia, which Okonkwo was a leader, and other villages around that have a conflicts with him. Also it shows a strong culture of villages in Nigeria and difference of strength for “motherland and “fatherland”.
This is a really good post. It shows me a comprehensive background for this week’s reading. The post focus on the geographic location and native culture in Nigeria. It is so interesting to know that groups are split by the different languages to form different clans and the idea of the “fatherland” and “motherland” Besides, after reading your presentation, it will be much easier for me to read the rest of the book. Thanks!
I thought this post was very interesting, and I feel like this was great to learn about. The influence of someone from the fatherland, feeling obligated to have connections is fascinating. Different countries can have different stories portraying the same messages. Okonkwo was blessed to be able to live in the fatherland but did not fit in which became shameful.
Thank you for such an informative post! Setting is always important within a work, but what I found incredibly interesting here is your attention to the ideas of “fatherland” versus “motherland” and how gendered they are. It is especially fascinating to me because the role of the parental figure plays in an actual geographic setting — it is as if the land itself is gendered in this way. And, playing off of stereotypical patriarchal gender roles, the “fatherland” is (from the way your post describes it) viewed as superior while the “motherland” is viewed as inferior, or more specifically, weaker. It is incredibly insightful to be able to have this background going into this text, because it allows the reader to have a sense, through the geographic elements of the world in which this text is set, of the culture that will be explored. Thank you again for this wonderful piece of information!
Great post, it is very informative. I had no idea about the setting in Nigeria and placement of people in different groups, fatherland, and motherland, and how people are labeled and given power based on which side you are living or associated with the most.
I absolutely love how you dove into greater detail about the geographical setting of the story and its significance. I did not know that growing up in the ‘motherland’ was seen as a threat to the father’s masculinity and power and it was really interesting to learn that. I also didn’t know that the regions were separated on a language basis. Once again, great context presentation!
Thanks for sharing the background story of Chinua Achebe. It’s easier to understand the literature with the author’s background in mind.
Hi I like the way you address the context of this week’s reading. From your post, I have more understanding of the background of the culture and geography of the story that took place. During high school, I learned something about how western countries divide Africa and the influence of that. After this week, I think I will read into detail about those historical events and their linkage with this event
I think from reading the book there were a lot of information given about the clan, locations and the people but here you were able to sum up the information in an easier way to understand. I think by reading your post before one starts reading the book they will be able to have a better understanding. I found it interesting how you mentioned children grow up in the city their fathers were birthed because when I read the first few pages I wondered why Okonkow stayed in the city to be known separately from his father although he despised him.
It is intriguing how the meaning of fatherland and motherland differs among cultures. I did not expect that motherland would have a disgraceful meaning to it. Masculinity seemed to be a highly esteemed trait in Igboland.
Reading about your explanation of the setting in ‘Things Fall Apart’ has expanded my knowledge of how Nigeria looked like during the pre-colonial and colonial period in southeastern Nigeria. By Okonkwo having lived through these two periods, we as the readers will get to understand on the settings in both periods in Igbo culture. I got to know that the villages in Nigeria are divided according to language spoken. I think that it is a unique characteristic of these villages that does not exist in most African countries. Another key point to note is on the key emphasis been given to the fatherland as compared to the motherland.