Attention Getter: The Ibo culture is a old practice that the people in Southern Nigeria still practice today It’s the second biggest old practices in the world. Transitional Sentence: They have many different customs, traditions and beliefs. Slope:Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is about a leader named Okonkwo, Okonkwo is a wealthy and well respected warrior of the clan of Umuofia. He goes through many hard decisions and hard times with his clan and his family. Thesis: In The Ibo culture they have many rules, beliefs, traditions, and customs that they must follow to be in the clan.
A. Topic Sentence: In The Ibo culture they have some very different customs and traditions that they have to follow so they do not get kicked out of they village or clan. 1. General Statement One of their customs is that hospitality is very important to them in fact, whenever they have a guest over the wife is required to make a big meal for the family and the guest. AWE: “Okonkwo took a pot of palm-wine and a cock to Nwakibie He presented a kola nut and an alligator pepper, which were passed round for all to see and then returned to him” (Chapter 3, Page 19).
Explanation: One of the traditions that they do is when a person comes over they will trade their goods and always bring kola nuts and whatever other gifts they bring and if they bring chalk they will drawn lines on the floor and then paint their big toe with chalk. One of the reasons they honor hospitality so much is because, they always want to make great impressions. The other reason why they bring gifts is to show that the guest is happy to be welcomed into the home.
2. General Statement :Another customs they do is when it is raining out side the children and mothers stay inside their huts and tell stories and eat good food or the children would go with their fathers to his obi. AWE: “At such times, in each of the countless thatched huts of Umuofia, children sat around their mother’s cooking fire telling stories, or with their father in his obi warming themselves from a log fire, roasting and eating maize” (Chapter 4, Page 34) Explanation: They do this to show they stick with their gender roles as well. . General Statement: One of the traditions they have is “The Feast of the New Yam” and it’s when they all throw out their old food, wash everything around them and wash all pots and pans so they are pure and clean, and get fresh yams for the new year. AWE: “On the last night before the festival, yams of the old year were all disposed of by those who still had them. The new year must begin with tasty, fresh yams and not the shriveled and fibrous crop of the previous year.
All cooking pots, calabashes and wooden bowls were thoroughly washed, especially the wooden mortar in which yam was pounded. ” (Chapter 5) Explanation: They do this to show they are ready to live another year and to start out fresh and brand new. Concluding Sentence: This all shows that the Ibo people always stick to their customs and traditions and always follow their own rule.
B. Transition/ Topic Sentence: In the lbo culture they respect their religion and what they believe in very much and do not like when people go against them. . Religion/Beliefs: Some of their religion beliefs are that they worship the goddess of the earth and are always careful to avoid committing sins against her for fear of vengeance that might wipe out an entire generation, they also strongly have faith in the Oracle. AWE: Also, in the book it talks about how the Oracle helps them through life, “The story was told in Umuofia, of how his father, Unoka, had gone to consult the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves to find out way he always had a miserable harvest. (chapter 3)
Explanation: The quote explains that the Ibo people believe that the Oracle will help them and keep them safe from the bad things in life. 2. General Statement: Another belief they have in the Ibo culture is that they worship many Gods not only one. They also have their own personal Gods or called ‘chi’ to also help them get through life without any problems. AWE: Sometimes when people don’t know what to do they go to their ‘chi’ and ask, “At the most one could say that his chi or personal god was good.
But the Ibo people have a proverb that when a man says yes his chi says yes also” (Chapter 4) Explanation: The quote shows that sometimes if they tell the ‘chi’ the answer then the ‘chi’ will also agree with them because the ‘chi’ knows best. 3. General Statement: Finally the Ibo also believe in their ancestors spirits and that they watch over them to protect them from bad spirits. in Ibo culture the spirits of their ancestors are consulted for almost every decision and even serve as judges in legal trials.
AWE: One of the quotes that show that they respect their ancestors is in chapter 2, “Okonkwo kept the wooden symbols of his personal god and of his ancestral spirits. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut, food and palm-wine, and offered prayers to them on behalf of himself, his three wives and eight children. ” Explanation: This shows that Okonkwo and the Ibo people believe that their ancestors will help them through life if they pray to them. Concluding Sentence: This all shows that the Ibo people value their religion and their beliefs very strongly.
C. Transition/Topic Sentence: Finally in the Ibo culture they have a very strict government and very strict laws for the village. 1. Government/laws: Some of the laws and government ideas are that there is a week of peace every year and during court the men are allowed to participate and women are only allowed to observe. AWE: One of the quotes that shows that the week of peace is so important to the Ibo people is when Okonkwo broke the rules of the week of peace, “He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily.
In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace. His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it was the sacred week. ” (Chapter 4) Explanation: This was such a big event in the books because Okonkwo was banished from the village because of his actions. 2. General Statement: Another very important law in the Ibo culture is to not go into the Evil forest but if you have someone who was suffering or dead you have to put them in the evil forest. AWE:“When a man was afflicted with swelling in the stomach and the limbs he was not allowed to die in the house.
He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die. ” (Chapter 3) Explanation: This is an important quote because it shows that they have boundaries in their village and a lot of laws. 3. General Statement: Some if the government’s rules is that men can talk but the women have to sit and observe. AWE: “Without looking at the man Okonkwo had said. “This meeting is for men. ” The man who had contradicted him had no titles. That was why he had called him a woman. Okonkwo knew how to kill a man’s spirit. (chapter 4)
Explanation: This is a sign of government and that women were treated unfairly and it shows that being called a women was a big insult. Concluding Sentence: This all states that the government and laws are very important to them. III. Conclusion o Restate Thesis: The Ibo culture respect all of their customs and beliefs, rules, traditions. o Summarize main ideas: This is why all the Ibo people have so many beliefs and rules because they don’t want their traditions to die. o Profound statement – This all explains how the Ibo people live their lives.