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Ibo Culture Comparison
Ibo Cultural Comparison. This page will be comparing and contrasting the Ibo culture to the American culture.
The Food of Ibo
In the Ibo culture almost entirely revolves around, the consummation and production, of food. The people in the Ibo village rely on the production of vegetables. the yam is one of the vegetables that the villagers grew in the book "Things Fall apart." The first yam is always eaten by the eldest tribe member. the women of the Ibo culture are not allowed to grow yams. For the yam in the culture represents manliness. Only men are allowed to grow and harvest yams. The yam is celebrate in a week called "The New Yam Festival." In this week the yam is eaten in many different ways. The festival celebrates the harvest of the yams. There is another week that celebrates the yam and it is called the "Week Of Peace." During the week of peace the people of the Ibo are suppose to be nice to one another.They believe that if there is violence during the week of peace that it could lead to a bad planting season. The people drink palm oil wine with there neighbors to bring peace.
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Yams -
Kola nuts. -
Palm wine can be collected and stored in calabashes.
"He who brings kola brings life. But I think you ought to break it." (Achebe 6) "When they finished, each brought her bowl of foo-foo and bowl of soup to her husband. An oil lamp was lit and Okonkwo tasted from each bowl, and then passed two shares to Nwoye and Ikemefuna."(Achebe 54)"Not only is yams a main dish in the Ibo culture it also shows the ranking of men"(Achebe 8) "Yam, the king of crops, was a very exacting king" (Achebe 33) "The thick dregs of palm-wine were supposed to be good for men who were going to their wives." (Achebe 21) "The Festival of the New Yam was approaching and Umuofia was in a festival mood. It was an occasion for giving thanks to Ani, the earth goddess and the source of all fertility. Ani played a greater part in the life of the people than any other diety. She was the ultimate judge of morality and conduct. And what was more, she was in close communication with the departed fathers of the clan whose bodies had been committed to earth." (Achebe 36) "Okonkwo was sitting on a goatskin already eating his first wife's meal. Obiageli, who had brought it from her mother's hut, sat on the floor waiting for her to finish." (Achebe 44) “When they had cut the goats’ throats and collected the blood in a bowl, they held them over an open fire to burn off the hair, and the smell of burning hair blended with the smell of cooking. Then they washed them and cut them up for the women who prepared the soup" (Achebe 114)“As the rains became heavier the women planted maize, melons and beans between the yam mounds. The yams were staked, first with little sticks and later with tall and big tree branches. The women weeded the farm three times at definite periods in the life of the yams, neither early nor late" (Achebe 33)
Gender Role Comparison
There is an extremely large difference between Ibo gender roles and American gender roles. In the Ibo culture it is common for a man to beat his wife. A man is considered weak if he does not control, or beat, his wives. In the Ibo culture wives are expected to cook, clean, and take care of the children; while males tend to the crops, go to war, and hunt. The Ibo culture is relatively primitive compared to many other cultures, like the American culture. In our American culture, woman are not expected to clean, cook food, and tend to the children. There are many woman in this society that go to work and provide for their family; there are also men who stay home while the wife goes to work. In America laws also prohibit beating anyone. So unlike the Ibo culture, beating people in America is against the law. A great example of this sort of behavior of Ibo culture is in the book "Things Fall Apart". An example is, when Okonkwo, the main character, beats one of his many wives because she had done something wrong. In the Ibo culture men beat their wives because they would be considered weak if they did not.
"No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man." (Chapter 7, p.53)
- This shows how subservient women are and are expected to be in Ibo culture. Men are expected to be able to fully control of their women, or else they are not considered as men. And for a man to not be considered as one was a great insult.
- ^ "Things Fall Apart
Ibo Music
The Ibo people have a musical style which incorporates various percussion instruments; the most mentioned instruments are the udu, the ekwe, and the ogene. The instruments are hand made by the people. The udu is essentially a clay jug with an additional hole. The udu is played by hand and makes a unique bass sound. The ekwe is a type of drum made from a hollowed log, this is also called a “talking drum”. Lastly, the ogene is basically a large metal bell; it is one of the most important metal instruments to these people. The Ibo predominantly use music within their culture in order to enhance their social events and gatherings. The Music of the Ibo can be described as melodic or symphonic. Music is incorporated in most of our daily lives; just like the Ibo. The American culture and the Ibo culture both use music for similar reasons such as: birthday celebrations, weddings, sports events, and religious ceremonies. Like the Ibo, we also use music and art for ceremonies, but in the Ibo culture art and music are arguably more important in comparison to the American culture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BrzJoukoGw&list=PL5280D3055917895F
Ibo Sports
In the Ibo culture wrestling is a very important recreational activity. In our culture, sports are used in order to entertain us, but the Ibo use sports for another reason.
"Wrestling was an important part of Igbo culture. The importance of wrestling started off as a legendary myth about a warrior who fought off demons by wrestling them. This importance was widespread all throughout Africa. Wrestling was a way that tribes that spoke different languages could come together. All tribes in Africa had one thing in common when they wrestled, the rules were the same but the technique differed. Another reason that wrestling was such an essential part of Igbo culture is that it was a test of manhood. It was a way to test who was going to be the best leader. Many times the winner of a wrestling match could become leader. Also it was a way to solve a dispute."http://thingsfallapart5.wikispaces.com/Wrestling
In the Ibo culture, wrestling is also used in order to settle disputes. For example, if there is a woman who has many suitors and can't decide which one to marry, the suitors would wrestle each other. The winning suitor would marry the bride. Another way wrestling was used in the Ibo culture was in order to come together as a culture. If there were 2 villages who did not speak the same language, wrestling would be a great way in order to come together and celebrate without having to speak the same language. Wrestling was the gateway to becoming known in the Ibo culture. In the book "Things Fall Apart" Okonkwo was extremely well known because of many of his titles; some of his greatest titles came from his wrestling. All in all, the Ibo use the sport of wrestling in order to entertain themselves, settle disputes, and in order to enhance ceremonies.
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Ibo Wrestling
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Ibo Wrestling
Religion;
Ibo traditional religion is based on the belief that there is one creator, God, also called Chineke or Chukwu. The creator can be approached through numerous other deities and spirits in the form of natural objects, most commonly through the god of thunder.(believing in multiple gods means they are polytheistic There is also the belief that ancestors protect their living descendants and are responsible for rain, harvest, health and children. Shrines, called Mbari, are made in honour of the earth spirit and contain tableaux of painted earth. Other shrines keep wooden figures representing ancestors and patrons. The evidence of these shrines, oracle houses and traditional priest in the villages still emphasise people’s beliefs, though with the western influence, Christianity has taken a more dominant role in modern Ibo culture. Compared to our culture this is very different, because we do not have one set religion. There are many different kinds of religions including polytheistic and monotheistic religions.
http://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Igbo-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html