Religions and their Role In Umuofia

The Cultural Aspect of Differing Religions In Umuofia

By. Abbie McQue

Throughout the world, religion is either forced upon people, or they have the freedom to chose what 

they believe. It could be a structured religion or a simple belief in a higher power that controls fate 

and everything around you. Just like people here in America have structured religion with many laws

and practices you must abide by, so do the Igbo people in Umuofia. Among the Igbo people

especially religion plays a vital role in their everyday lives just like it does in our own. For them, 

they make sacrifices to the gods before a planting season, or pray for forgiveness from an

earth god if they have done something to taint the land. Another

occasion that one can see the heavy influence of religion in the

daily life of an Igbo person is in the circumstance of going to war.

Umuofia "never went to war unless its case was clear and just and

was accepted as such by its Oracle - the Oracle of the Hills and the

Caves... If the clan had disobeyed the Oracle they would surely

have been beaten..."(Achebe 12). The local religion can even be

seen in the death of someone for instance when Obierika

enlightens the white man as to why he cannot take down

Okonkwo's body from the tree: "It is an abomination for a man to

take his own life. It is an offense against the Earth, and a man who

commits it will not be buried by his clansmen. His body is evil,

and only strangers may touch it"(Achebe 207).  But just as much as 

the local religion is evident in daily life so to is the new Christian

religion when it seemed the Igbo gods had failed: "At last the day

came by which all the missionaries should have died. But they

were still alive, building a new red-earth and thatch house for their 

teacher, Mr. Kiaga. That week they won a handful more converts (Achebe 151).  Whether you are

Christian or follow the local religion in Nigeria, it is clear to see the role religion plays in everyday 

life and how it affects everyone. 

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print.
"Igbo World Festival of Arts." Frontier Culture Museum. Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia, n.d. Web. Nov. 2016. <http://www.frontiermuseum.org/igbofestival/>.