Comparing Diverse African Cultures Essay

Throughout every stopping point on that point atomic number 18 more similar usance, however it is the per newsal experiences that make the cultures opposite and diverse. In the phonograph recording Things F tot altogethery Apart by Chinua Achebe, the main character Okonkwo lives in Umofia until the folk exiles him for accidentally killing a man in his small town. After septette years the people of his village allow him to return to Umofia, among his return there are white missionaries in his village that withdraw come to cite christianity to his people. Okonkwo quickly realizes that his village is now unrecognizable. The short story Life Is refreshful At Kumansenu by Abioseh Nicol, expresses the strong relationships between the living and the unawares that are present in African culture. The religious beliefs, social structures and attitudes toward the dead equal in Things Fall Apart are as similar and different to the concepts present in the short story Life Is Sweet At Kumansenu.Death is a natural part of the circle of life, and the way the dead are treated varies from culture to culture. In Life Is Sweet At Kumansenu, a grand go (Bola) and her granddaughter (Asi) receive an unexpected visit from the tactile property of their son/father Meji. Except it is un gon to Bola and Asi that their loved one is a spirit until after he leaves them. Mr. Addai announces Mejis death to the village on Monday, But I tell you, he was here on Friday and leftfield Sunday morning, Bola said. He couldnt have died on Friday. (Abioseh 10). The spirit of Meji had come tush to his family to say his final goodbyes and thank his mother for all she had done for him.In the African culture they worship and praise the dead, as the dead are a huge part of their lives and culture. withal in Things Fall Apart, Okonkwos people believe in spirits of the Nigerian tribes, also called the egwugwu. The people of Umofia both fear and respect the egwugwu, A adult female fled as s oon as an egwugwu came in sight. And when, as on that day, golf club of the greatest masked spirits in the clan came out unneurotic it was a terrifying spectacle. (Achebe 78). The people of Umofia believe that the egwugwu have magical powers, and know that when they are present someone will most likely be taken as a sacrifice to the gods. The people of African birth treat the dead with great respect and think highly of them. in that respect are numerous different types of religion in the world, in many African cultures the people are polytheistic. In Things Fall Apart non only do they worship gods and priestesses alone they idolize spirits too like the ojbange. The ojbange is a child who has previously passed away, but has come back to haunt the mother and be reborn. Some of them did become tired of their execration rounds of birth and death, or took pity on their mothers, and stayed. (Achebe 70).Some of these children did continue their lives and stir into adults, but most of them die as young children or infants. to a fault in Life Is Sweet At Kumansenu the mothers of ojbange children are ridiculed and mocked by the village people. All the years of their married life, people had said she was a siren because her children had died young.(Abioseh 6). Even though most likely it is not the fault of the mother that their child had died, the people of the village overlook that and continue to outcast them for their witchcraft.A major social custom in African culture and many other cultures is food. Food has the power to bring a dress circle of people together. In Things Fall Apart we see this during the feast for Obierikas daughters wedding shower. As the evening wore on, food was presented to the guests. There were huge wheel of foo-foo and steaming pots of soup.There were also pots of yam pottage. It was a great feast. (Achebe 104). Everyone, all over the world, eats food it is the recipes and different dishes that make the experience diverse. Similar ly in Life Is Sweet At Kumansenu, Bola uses food to take in home her son. We must make a feast, we must have a big feast. I must tell the neighbors at once. (Abioseh 3). Bolas excitement that her son is home calls for a celebration. When having people over baseball club out of ten times food will be gnarly in some way. Food is something that most all people have in common, and is something they think about everyday.The religious beliefs, attitudes toward the dead and social customs make Things Fall Apart and Life Is Sweet At Kumansenu equally similar and different. Two different African stories, from the same culture but that have different traditions and techniques is what makes our society different and diverse.