How Did Igbo Culture Affect Pre-Colonial Nigeria

The Erosion of the Igbo Tribes in Things Fall Apart
After a long history of both prosper and warfare, the colonial man swept into the region like wildfire on the dry brush of the savanna and left in his wake not ash, but the western government. Intertwining both British Influence and Traditional Nigerian Culture, the writing of Things Fall Apart literally speaks for itself, mainly due to the author’s history. Chinua Achebe is a famous Nigerian writer, who grew up under colonial rule but lived to see a post-colonial Nigeria. In his writings, he takes a command of the English language, making it a combination of both English and traditional Nigerian writing. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart gives a separate perspective on both pre and mid colonization,

To understand how the peoples of Nigeria saw pre-colonial Nigeria, we must first see how the peoples personified the tribes. The University of California at Berkeley extrapolated on the structure and perception of tribal society in their study of Igbo society, specifically in regards to Things Fall Apart, where they found “Titleholders were respected because of their accomplishments, they were never revered as kings, and often performed special functions given to them by their impact on the tribe or their masculinity” (Murphy). Okonkwo’s perception of a tribe is a personification of Masculinity and Traditional Culture. Okonkwo’s own life was modeled after these as well- through his career as a wrestler, he showed his masculinity. Eventually, he grew to power in the tribe and encircled traditional culture throughout his personality. This is very important- when Okonkwo was banished from his tribe, he still kept the ideas of masculinity, strength and traditional culture present in his personality. Okonkwo was forced to leave his tribe and was told he would come back to the same tribe seven years later- however this tribe would soon be lost

In the words of Elizabeth Isichei, a historian with the University of California at Los Angeles, “Under British colonial rule, the diversity within each of Nigeria's major ethnic groups slowly decreased and distinctions between the Igbo and other large ethnic groups, such as the Hausa and the Yoruba became blurred.” - (Isichei) Achebe handles the difference between pre-colonial and colonial Nigeria through the distinction between Okonkwo and his tribe. Sometime between the banishment of Okonkwo and his return, the Igbo tribe was colonized by the British. Okonkwo himself shares his dismay when he exclaims, “The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (Achebe 120). Okonkwo witnessed what many tribes went through- feminization and loss of culture. Upon his return to his tribe, he stood as the lone artifact of a lost tribe. He still believed a tribe must be masculine and traditional, while the rest of his tribe now stood for Christianity, soft work, westernization and non-traditionalism. The Tribe he left was Masculine and Traditional, but he came back to a Feminine,