WEEK 3 : Religions and Superstitious

• Karl Marx once commented that 'religion is the opium of the people'. Do you agree with him? In the case of Umuofia, do you think their native religion stunts their development? Is the 'new' religion seen as a way of bringing development to Umuofia?
  
  Apart from religion, superstitions play an important part in the Ibo culture. Do you have your own sets of superstitions which you find difficult to discard?
  The following points can help you as you write your reflective post on the role of religion and superstition in the novel and in your life:
  ·                     Analyse how superstitions and religions play in the life described in the  novel. 
  ·                     Do superstitious beliefs and religion affect the development of a country? How?
  ·                     How does one's beliefs affect the nation in terms of politics and culture?

NUR SAFAWANIE BINTI MOHD. SYAHRIL

Karl Marx once commented that 'religion is the opium of the people'. He implied that people are anxious and worried, but they feel better about the future after they've gone to church and gotten a weekly sermon, even though they are (according to Marx) being sold a fantasy of an afterlife in exchange for their financial support now. The church administered its sermons like a pusher administers a drug to his junkies, in Marx's view. I am agreed with him because every time we are hesitating we will go the mosque or church (depends on the religion) to seek peace.

In the case of Umoufia, I think their native religion stunts their development. This is because they believed in superstitious that prevent them from developing. For example they will not go out at night because at that time, the evil spirit was everywhere. How can Umoufia develop if they only work in the morning? Besides, whenever villagers have questions about the source of their misfortune or the future, they consult the oracle and learn the answer through its priestess. They will listen to the priestess, not their own thought.  By doing so, they are not developing their thinking. Other than that, Igbo people also believed that the twins bring bad luck to the parent. So, they will be left in the Evil forest to die. This kind of superstitious will not bring the Igbo people anywhere. They keep killing the innocent twins. Hence, the society will not develop.

Based on my reading throughout the novel, I believed that the ‘new religion’ bring development to Umoufia. The religion does not allow anyone to kill and whenever someone did a crime, they will be judged fairly by considering their reason. Besides, the new religion also exposes the Igbo people to education. With education, they can develop themselves and their country.

As for me, I don’t have any superstitious that I can hardly discard because when grow older, we will realize what is wrong and what is right. 

SITI AMERAH BINTI RAMLI

According to Karl Marx, “Religion is the opium of the people”. It means that religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. Somehow, I do agree with his statement as religion actually gives support, help and protection to the people. When someone is in despair, they seek peace from God.

In the novel Things Fall Apart, the superstitions and religions can be seen widely among the people in Umofia. They extremely believe in superstitions and have so much faith in their religion until it has stunted their development. For example, they afraid of night time (except on the moonlight nights) because they think that it is the time when the evil spirits come out. Because of that, they probably won’t be out of the house during that time even though it is necessary to do so. Other than that, they also believe that twins must be desecrated and disposed of in the sacred forest. It is not a good thing as they actually have sinned by doing so.

It showed that superstitious beliefs and religion has affected the development of the country. There are things that they should not do but they have to because of their beliefs such as the killing of the twins. As a matter of fact, it caused them to lose more people in the society without knowing that the twins which they had killed can actually bring some benefits towards the people. Apart from that, I agree that the ‘new’ religion is a way of bringing development to Umofia. One of the proofs is when they built the church in the Evil Forest which was said to be a cursed land. Instead of getting cursed, it managed to develop the ‘new’ religion among the society.

In my opinion, there are no sets of superstitions which I found hard to discard in my culture. Before, I used to avoid clipping nails at night. But, now I realized that the real reason of that belief is because during the past, they did not have electricity. So, it was dangerous to clip nails at night because of the darkness. Through times, the superstitions also faded as I managed to think logically about it. 

ROSMAN BIN DRAHMAN

Karl Marx once said that "Religion is the opium of the people". I totally agree with his statement. I understand, that religion gives support, help and protection in the face of God. On the other hand, religion is used in bad ways by some people. Marx wanted to show us that religion has a great power over people. Although religion is hope, faith and belief in sacred for people, it also causes conflicts between different religious, controls people and kill individuals.

In the case of Umuofia, i think that their native religion had stunted their development because of their superstitious belief. From chapter 2, the villagers afraid to come out during night. They believe that night is the time where evil spirits come out. Because of this belief, even the tough and bravest people in the village area afraid to come out. Besides, they also believe that the all the dangerous animal become more sinister and wild during night. Because of this belief they only hunting during day only. They scared to hunting during night. Because of their native religious, their development will never develop.

Based on my understanding about the novel, their "new religion" had bring a lot of changes to Umuofia. One of the changes is the build of the school. Children in Umuofia will be more educated and be able to think wisely because of school that had been built. Besides, because of the "New" religion, Igbo people are able to think which is right and which is wrong. Before arrival of "new" religion, Igbo people always kill twin. They think twin will be brings bad luck to the family. However, after the arrival of the "new" religion, they can keep and take care their twins.

In my opinion, there are no sets of superstitions which I found hard to discard in my culture. Before, i had been taught by my parent that i should not study or reading  during night without light. My parent will tell that my eyes will be blind by evil spirit. But now, i had realized that they told me like that just because they does not want my eyes to be get a sore eyes. For me, all the superstitious that had been told to us is just to prevent us to do something that will gives a bad effects to us. 

HASFIYAH BTE ASSAN

1.    Analyse how superstitions and religions play in the life described in the novel.

The people of the Ibo village have many strong superstitions that they believe in.There is the belief of ogbanje, which are wicked children who usually die at an early. The Week of Peace is the week before the people of the village start to plant their crops, such as yams. It is called the Week of Peace because they believe that you have to be nice to everyone and not use any violence at all. Also, no work would be done during this week. All people did was to talk with their neighbours and drink palm-wine to relax. By doing so, then it will bring good luck for a good crop season. However, if someone were to break the rule of the Week of Peace, then there will come a bad crop season, and most of the crops will die. There is also the Oracle of the Hills and the caves in which the oracle is called Agbala. The Agbala is a woman who then gets possessed by the spirit when the people come to consult the oracle. When people have troubles or anything, they may travel to the oracle and ask for advice. The people will usually listen to everything that the oracle says because they believe that it is very wise. The Evil Forest is a forest near the village in which the people believe all of the bad spirits live. If someone bad dies, their body is usually put in the evil forest. Then, their spirits are believed to roam around the forest. For example, you committed a sin, such as killing yourself, and then your body would be buried in the evil forest. Also, if you were to kill yourself, the people of the village would refuse to touch your body because you committed such an unthinkable sin. They believe the body should be respected, and for you to kill yourself would be one of the worst things you could do. They would have to have someone from another place to remove your body. The Ibo people firmly believe in all of their passed down superstitions.

2.    Do superstitious beliefs and religion affect the development of a country? How?

            Numerous superstitions continue in human society. For example, in Western societies, Friday is an unlucky day and thirteen is an unlucky number. Contrarily, Friday is an auspicious day to Muslims and Hindus. Similarly, crossing of black cat on one’s path is bad omen in Western countries and India. But, it is a good omen in Egypt. Thus, the kind of superstitions varies from country to country. All superstitions are harmful since they inactivate the reasoning capacity of human beings. Secondly, they arrest human endeavour and initiative. Thirdly they make people waste their energy, time and money in worthless rituals and ceremonies. There things lead to decline and decay of civilization. So, we have to be vigilant and guard ourselves against the superstitions. If this continues, the people who live in the country will leave behind than the other developed country. This is because they still believe the superstitious beliefs that brings them nothing.

3.    How does one’s belief affect the nation in terms of politics and culture?

        All religious beliefs and practices may seem superstitious to the person without religion. Superstitions that belong to the cultural tradition are enormous in their variety. Nearly all persons, in nearly times, have held, seriously, irrational beliefs concerning methods of warding off ill or bringing good, foretelling the future, and healing and preventing sickness and accidents. Even people who claim they have no superstitions are likely to do a few things they cannot explain. A superstition is a behaviour that has no rational basis or history or a history that is long-lost. A few specific folk traditions, such as beliefs in the evil eye or in the efficacy of amulets, have been found in most periods of history and in most parts of the world. Others may be limited to one country, region or village, to one family, or to one social group.

WEEK 2 : Women in Things Fall Apart (Part 2)

Questions:

Based on your reading (gender differences), reflect on how these women are treated in the novel. the following questions can help you as you write your reflective piece: 

• How are the women treated in the novel? Do all members in the community agree with the status quo? Why? 
• What contributions are made by the Igbo women to the survival of their culture?
• What are the changes of women's role in the present world?

Answer (Rosman Drahman) : 

One of the main issues in Things Fall Apart is gender issue. In this novel, women are having powerless compare to the men in the society. As an evidence, “And when (Ojiugo) returned he beat her very heavily. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace…It was unheard of to beat somebody during the sacred week”. From this text, we can see that Okonkwo having more power than his wife. Okonkwo severely beats his wife just because a small problem. Besides, women in this novel also denied their social status. This is demonstrated is the way feminine concepts and words are used to refer to weak things. Achebe writes about Okonkwo speaking to a man who contradicted him: “Without looking at the man Okonkwo had said: “This meeting is for men.” The man who had contradicted him had no titles. That is why he called him a woman”. From this text, we had known that women in this novel have nothing in social power. They cannot do beyond what they are told to do.

However, not all women in this novel were treated badly. One of the examples is a woman who related with the Ibo religion. The women routinely perform the role of priestess. Achibe had recalls that during Okonkwo's boyhood, "the priestess in those days was woman called Chika. She was full of the power of her god, and she was greatly feared". Chielo is the present priestess and she is the priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the hill and the Cave. There is an episode during which Chielo has come for Okonkwo and Ekwefi's daughter Ezinma. In this scene, we can see that Okonkwo can’t not do anything instead he obeys what the priestess say to him. We witness a woman not only ordering Okonkwo to give her his daughter, but threatening him as well.  

      Things that had been changes in women’s roles in this present world are women also work like a men. In Things Fall Apart, women cannot work but women should work at home only. Besides, present day, women are getting more power than men. We can see in business sector. Mostly, we can see a company’s boss is a women.

References 

Okonkwo, Churchill (2007). “Inferiorization of Igbo Women and its Consequences.

               Retrieve from

               < http://bookstove.com/drama/women-in-things-fall-apart/#ixzz2N9pwM900>

Answer (Hasfiyah Assan) : 

1.   1.  How are the women treated in the novel? Do all members in the community agree with the status quo? Why?

            All over the world, especially in developing countries, women are not treated as equals. It is not any different in the Nigerian society portrayed by Chinua Achebe in his book Things Fall Apart. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe represents the female characters as they existed in Ibo culture, which is without power but often emotionally strong. He shows how the patriarchal structure has been entrenched in Ibo culture and only represents how it exists, so that people must evaluate the culture for themselves.  Chinua Achebe shows women as having little to no power in society in his book, Things Fall Apart. Okonkwo severely beats his wife for a small problem, not being home during dinner. However, the only reason he gets in trouble is because it is the week of peace. In fact, it is often encouraged that men beat their women for punishment of “wrongdoings”, and the women have no recourse against it.

            Women are not only without protection, but also denied social status. They cannot meaningfully participate in social affairs. This is demonstrated is the way feminine concepts and words are used to refer to weak things. Although the women’s lack of power is very clear when looking at society, it is very obvious in the language employed by the Ibo in Things Fall Apart that women do not have any social power. They cannot do beyond what they are told. This is consistent with real Ibo culture, where social repression of women is happening still today, even though women have gained some power. This means that his representation is accurate and therefore fair.

            Despite their lack of a social status, Things Fall Apart depicts women as having worth and being emotionally strong. Although they aren’t seen and respected as equals to men they are often emotionally strong, and are revered for some reasons. After Okonkwo’s exile, Uchendu speaks to Okonkwo on women and their role.

2.   2.  What contributions are made by the Igbo women to the survival of their culture?

            Discerning the role of women in Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart requires an attentive and unbiased reading of the novel. At first glance, the women in Things Fall Apart may seem to be an oppressed group with little power, and this characterization is true to some extent. However, this characterization of Ibo women reveals itself to be prematurely simplistic as well as limiting, once the reader uncovers the diverse roles of the Ibo women throughout the novel.

            An excellent example of powerful women in the Ibo village is found in the role they play in the Ibo religion. The women routinely perform the role of priestess. There is an episode during which Chielo has come for Okonkwo and Ekwefi's daughter Ezinma. There is no other point in the novel in which we see Okonkwo "plead" with anyone, male or female, for any reason. We witness a woman not only ordering Okonkwo to give her his daughter, but threatening him as well. The fact that Okonkwo allows this is evidence of the priestess's power. The ability of a woman to occupy the role of a priestess, a spiritual leader, reveals a clear degree of reverence for women being present in Ibo society.

3.    3. What are the changes in women’s roles in this present world?

            As the times have changed, along with that standard of living has undergone drastic transformation. Needs of human beings have multiplied and in this process earning substantial income for maintaining a decent life has become the highest priority. With the changed circumstances the role of women has become so important in the society. For matching today’s standard of living and leading a dignified life, it became imminent for both men and women to collectively earn income for the family. 

            Gone are the days when women use to sit at home, managing home and looking after the children. Today women have been given bigger role to play in the society. They are entrusted with more responsibility than their male counterparts. Women have to venture out and work along with men in supplementing income for the family. Initially men objected to women pursuing their career outside home, but with the growing needs and scarcity of money, he had no other way out but to accept the reality and adjust with the changed circumstances.

            Contribution of women in generating income for their families increased drastically. Women started earning income almost at par with their male counterparts. But home was still managed exclusively by women as in the past, without any change. Men did not provide enough support to their female counterparts in managing home and children. It became a challenging task for women to manage both spheres of life, home front and their careers outside home. Women after working hard at their jobs had no respite after coming back from their office.  They cannot afford to sit down and relax for some time, as they have to take care of the needs of their children, manage home and prepare food for their family. It became very hectic for women, as the burden on them increased disproportionately.  Women are bearing the brunt and suffering mental hardship in managing home and pursuing their careers. Further women are also suffering emotionally, as they have to leave their small children at home and stay outside for long hours in pursuing their careers. 

WEEK 2 : Women in Things Fall Apart (Part 1)

Question:

Based on your reading (gender differences), reflect on how these women are treated in the novel. the following questions can help you as you write your reflective piece: 

• How are the women treated in the novel? Do all members in the community agree with the status quo? Why? 
• What contributions are made by the Igbo women to the survival of their culture?
• What are the changes of women's role in the present world?

NUR SAFAWANIE BTE MOHD. SYAHRIL

One of the themes in the novel Things Fall Apart is gender differences.  According to the Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology, “sex differences are used to create gender differences which are then explained as sex differences which, in turn, require gender differences, and so on. This may be no more than circular reasoning, but it is socially very effective. For example, in our own patriarchal society males enjoy a socially dominant position. Thus, from an early age, boys are helped to acquire a masculinity that allows them to assume and maintain that position. By the same token, girls are taught to cultivate a submissive femininity. The resulting difference in the male and female character is then described as inborn and used to defend the existing power arrangement”.

In the novel Things Fall Apart, women have no power and represent weaknesses while men represent a great power and dominant. In chapter 2, it clearly stated that, “In the Igbo world, men are the dominant sex and they “rule” over their families, including their wives. Women are relegated to a more or less servile position, often living in fear of their husbands. Though Okonkwo’s quick temper with his family is never portrayed as admirable, he unquestionably has the right to be aggressive at home.” From this extract text; we can see how women are treated in the Igbo culture. Another example is, Unoka was described as agbala which is a woman because he is a man with no title. This showed that women are sign of weaknesses. Men were supposed to be active and aggressive, while women were expected to be obedient and passive. This is reflected even in the Igbo ways of farming. Only men were allowed to grow yams, and a man's wealth was determined based on his land for planting, his yams for feeding his family, and his stores of seed yams for planting in the next season; therefore, the yam was seen as a symbol of power and manhood. Besides, in this novel, Okonkwo treated his wives badly. It is proven when Okonkwo hit his younger wife just because she was late to prepare his meal. All of the members of community are agreed with this status quo since it has been practised by their ancestors.

However, not all of the women among the Igbo people were treated badly. An excellent example of powerful women in the Ibo village is found in the role they play in the Ibo religion. The women perform their role as priestess. It is stated in the novel, the present priestess is Chielo, "the priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the hill and the Caves" (49). Chielo showed her power when she has come for Okonkwo and Ekwefi's daughter Ezinma. In the novel, we can see how Okonkwo pleaded her to come back in the moring because Ezinman was asleep. However, Chielo ignored what he was trying to say and went on shouting that Agbala wanted to see his daughter. There is no other point in the novel in which we see Okonkwo "plead" with anyone, male or female, for any reason. The fact that Okonkwo allows this is because of the priestess's power. The ability of a woman to occupy the role of a priestess, a spiritual leader, shows a great power of women in the Igbo society.

We also see women in their role as maintaining their culture. One of Okonkwo wives always tell a story to her children before they go to sleep. It is through storytelling that the children learn important lessons about the human condition and from this also they learned about the Ibo creation myths, such as the birds and the tortoise story. The Igbo women are playing a significant role in the maintaining the Igbo culture.

In this era, there are changes in the women’s role. The women started to work by themselves and have an opportunity in education. They have a similar chance with the men in order to prove their ability in various areas. However, these changes are still being doubted by the society of South Africa.

References:

Magnus Hirschfeld Archieve for Sexology (2013), Retrieved from

http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/ATLAS_EN/html/the_social_roles_of_men_and_wo.html

Wood and Eagly (2002), Gender role,  Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_role

SITI AMERAH BTE RAMLI

       Based on the novel Things Fall Apart, the women were not treated well by the society. One of the evidences is when they allowed wife-beating. Okonkwo has beaten his second wife when she was late to come home and make his meal. Okonkwo beat his wife severely for such a small mistake like that and did not even give any chances for her to explain. In fact, the women were treated as the possessions of their husband. They have to stay at home and took care of the children. They have not been given any rights to choose what they wanted in their life but instead, they must follow the words of their husband. In other words, they need to serve their husband as they were slaves. From my point of view, I think that all the members in the community agreed with the status quo as it was part of their culture. They saw woman as a sign of weakness. For example, Okonkwo’s father, Unoka had been called as agbala which means ‘woman’ or ‘a man with no title’. This showed that they underestimated women and put them at the low level, same as the man with no title.

      However, there are some of the contributions made by the Igbo women to the survival of their culture. For example, among the Igbo people, the art of conversation is regarded very highly and it is the role of the women to be the educators for their children. The women taught their children about the important lesson in life as well as their culture through storytelling. By doing so, the history and culture of the Igbo people are able to be passed and maintained through the generation. In fact, the society also viewed that “a man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland.” It showed the women will be the one who will comfort them during hard times. Without the presence of women to comfort and be there for them, the society may fall apart as they cannot survive during the difficult times. Thus, comes the saying “Mother is Supreme”.

       In this present world, we can see that the role of women had changed a little bit. Women are no longer viewed as a sign of weakness but they can stand at the same level with the men. They also had given chances to choose what they wanted in life. As a matter of course, women are becoming more independent and have more freedom compared to before. Instead of being housewives all the times, they can have carriers of their own. Besides, the society does not practises wife-beating anymore. It also had become a crime for a man to beat woman like that. In conclusion, women are treated better nowadays.

REFERENCE:

http://voices.yahoo.com/a-feminist-analysis-chinua-achebes-novel-things-3187491.html

HAMZAH SHIBLI BIN ISMAIL FAIROZ

In the novel Things Fall Apart, the women were treated badly. Their status quo in the society was really low. They were the people who became slaved to their husband. The husband can do anything to the wife. He can beat the wife if he wanted to. In the past, men were the supposed to be aggressive and active while women were supposed to be passive and subservient. This can be reflected even in the Igbo culture where the men were the only person who can grow yam. According to the society, the land for their planting was the symbol of power and manhood for the people. The larger the area, the larger the power hold by one man. While women were supposed to take care of the family heir. Women were supposed to work in the kitchen, do all the house chores, taking care of their child and their husband. A little mistake, the women can be punish severely as shown by Okonkwo where he beat his wife badly for only a small mistake. His wife always get scolded and beat even for small mistake. It showed us that the power of men was over the power of women. Women were treated as slave for them. 

Although the women were treated as slave, women were the person who took care of the needs of the family. Women also were the people who continue the society legacy. They were the people who gave birth to the society`s child. Women in Igbo society were a small group with no power who were to be mothers, stay home and had no respect from the men. Women played the role of a typical house wife and always stayed at home and were not always heard of or were to be seen. The authority of women did not shown much in the culture. One of the wives of Okonkwo who represents this was Ekwefi; second wife, and forced to stay home, life filled with sadness and with terrible luck with keeping a child. Giving birth to ten and only one surviving who is a girl, though she keeped a strong relationship with Ezinma. Achebe describes Ekwefi as a higly devoted mother.

The changes in the women`s role in the present world was the women also have job in the office instead staying at home or only taking care of the house work. Women nowadays have become independent. They can live by themselves and survive without the help of men. They also can overcome the power of the men by being a leader in some company or society. This shows us that women`s job also changing according to the time. Women also gain more respect as the men gain.

References:
Metacognizant (2001), Everything, retrieved from http://everything2.com/title/Women%2527s+Roles+in+Things+Fall+Apart+and+Heart+of+Darkness