Memoir - Igbo Background

Intrigued by Igbo Culture? Indeed I was. Now 67, I can almost recall my days in old Nigeria, in the town of Mbanta. My first experience as a missionary was an eye opener indeed. I was only 19 at the time, to reside in a new environment for a 5-year tenure quite frightened me. I had never heard about the new place I was going to travel to, until the stories and rumors had circulated around. Almost everyone in my team was talking about the horrid smells, savage black people, and false gods and ideologies. It sounded like hell to me, at least at that time.

They called me Rory. When I met the Igbo people I was fascinated with their way of life and embraced it rather than destroy it. I tried to interact with everyone I met and learn as much as I could despite the language barrier. I came to terms that this so called hell was a lie, a farce. It was a beautiful landscape, rich in culture and blossoming into buds of excitement and diversity. The village of Mbanta was nothing like Britain, it was lush, smelled of nature (and excrete!) but most pleasantly of all, it was honest and genuine. From Swamplands to Grasslands to Tropical Forests in was what I had only dreamed of. To me it was like taking a vacation around the world, but to one destination. During the 67 years of my life, I have travelled from the west to the Far East, but never did I experience anything similar to Nigeria.  

Their history is what fascinated me the most. They had a supreme god named Chukwu that had given the Igbo people a blessing. He had created a family that lived in Nigeria and had nothing to eat. Eze Nri and his children were hungry and so he gave them yams to eat, but, much to their discomfort they were hungry the next day. Chukwu gave Eze Nri yam seeds, but could not plant them as the land was filled with water. Chukwu ordered his blacksmiths to smash the land so the water would escape created a barren dry land. He then ordered Eze Nri to plant yam seeds on his children’s grave of which he obeyed to. Then blossomed a yam tree, two huge ones with an abundance of food of which Igbo people embraced as their savior. After learning about this story, I understood why yams are so common and are so popular here, I thought it was just because it was natural, but their belief is what drives their hunger. Indeed food for thought for anyone interested.

Its systems were intriguing and confusing to me. I never quite fully understood how everything worked, but for the most part it did make some sense. Its political structures and systems revolved around crosscutting ties. There were 5 major political groups, The Council of elders (of which I frequently visited), Age groups, council of chiefs, women’s associations and secret societies.

Matters that affected lineage went to the Council of Elders or as I called them ndisi. They had one authoritative member who had his position from being the eldest and therefore had the most respect to own that position. He would make the decision but, it had to be consulted by the rest of the Council who had to all agree before a final decision was made, and essentially achieve a general consensus before matters were decided upon. Very similar to modern day democracy, but they acted with much more respect than what I have seen over the span of my life.

Age groups or ogbu were the groups that consisted of many women or men that resided within the same town and the same age group. Essentially this was a town council or like a job center for modern day. The men and women were separated and had 3-5 year intervals between their ages. The ogbu used this system to record past events and events of their life, but more importantly assigned tasks for people to complete in the community. Younger ages from 15 and up had to perform minor tasks such as helping simply with crops and food management. The young adults such as myself at the time, had to train for battle and protection when they got older as the adults were in charge of the “government” for each village. The elders had the task of the judicial system, as their life experiences would help in making wise decisions. This was an easy system that worked effectively to my surprise, and made the most sense as I reflect on it. If only it was that simple now.

Men of Igbo culture were proud of achievements and titles such as entering the Council of Chiefs. It was very hard to be part of this selected group of people, and I have had a ceremony inducting me as a chief. That experience I will never forget. It was like it was yesterday, many different young men queued up hoping they would get their chance and they chose me. I never really knew why, but I guess that’s just how it played out. Although it was a title I received, to fully become a chief, a young boy must accompany his father and offer assistance throughout his life, before gaining enough experience to become a chief himself. With titles and experiences it allowed many individuals to advance socially thus explaining the high demand of people wanting to join. Titles were expensive and many of the wealthy bought as many as they could, having more titles of course meant you had more power, and achieving only the junior titles in Igbo culture meant that you were nothing to them. The highest title ozo was the hardest to attain and required ones chi to be used in battle to attain it. Spiritually and socially it was very important to everyone in the Igbo culture.

The women’s associations and secret society had very much to do with their spiritual beliefs. The women were responsible for taking care of shrines of which I saw frequently, and the secret societies were masked spirits called egwugwu but I could never find anything else about them. They were very interesting to say the least; I can’t help but regret I couldn’t understand more about them. Lastly the marriage customs were the most important social tie for the Igbo people. It brought families and towns together for these occasions and had to have consent with the groom’s lineage. They had to build their house together and if they struggled, his wife could bring additional wives to him, especially if the household was large. With an increase in wives, it contributed to a man's prestige. Wealthy women also had prestige with trading and weaving and could marry other women to “father” their children.

An unforgettable experience that will reside in my forever. I could never describe its lush landscapes, diverse systems and kind, generous and respectful people to you. They take everything seriously, but enjoy the beauties of life through food, family and religion. No distractions and no limitations, I urge anyone to visit the village of Mbanta, where they welcomed foreigners like me with open arms. Those 5 years were the best 5 years of my life.

Most Meaningful Takeaway - Chinua Achebe

Before I begin with my explanation of my "most meaningful takeaway" I would like to highlight the importance of this novel to me. In the beginning, I really did not enjoy the novel and found it hard to read, but after studying it further in class, I have come to take a liking to its meaning and hidden context. As a black african, I can understand the themes and concepts Chinua Achebe discusses in the interview and "Things Fall Apart", and commend him for writing an important counter-narrative piece of literature for both Africa and the World.


In his interview with 'The Atlantic', Chinua Achebe provided a plethora of opinions and ideas on topics that range from his novels to the state of African countries and its politics.

“The people who consume the news that comes back from the rest of the world are probably not really interested in hearing about something that is working”

The following quote in the interview mentioned, undoubtedly resonated with me the most. The quote explains how the 'common people' in most typically western cultures consume only the news that revolves around controversy and hardship. Chinua talks about how Africa has been portrayed as a whole in bad light surrounding the media with walls of pictures and articles revolving some of their issues such as poverty and corruption. The following statement just proves the ignorance that is embedded into a majority of Westerners. With that, I can say that this ignorance is purely disgusting toward the human race and cannot be tolerated. 

The creators of this media and news are Westerners and have quite literally viewed Africa in one light and essentially are 'Tunnel Visioning'. The feeling of supremacy of white westerners resonates not only within them, but within these people as they are felt as if they are being mistreated and discriminated. This quote is an eye-opener and really DOES show that the majority of the world are exactly what Chinua Achebe described. One opinion, One view, One perspective, but not One Unified World.

#FeelTheBern

The text presented is Bernie Sanders’s address to the nation following his political campaign victory in the state of New Hampshire in 2016. Throughout the text, it is seen that Sanders employs several rhetorical devices and techniques such as but not limited to metaphors and personal pronouns in order to emphasize the dangers of competitors and unite the American public. Furthermore, Sanders looks to persuade his audience with a variety of encouraging and sophisticated yet down to earth vocabulary.

Sanders consistently refers to America and the American people throughout his speech, therefore it can be concluded that they are the target audience. This can be further supported through the diction he utilizes being very simple, hence allowing common people to understand him and allowing him to reach a broader audience. Sanders explicitly state that the “poor Americans”, “victims” and “average middle class American” is the focus of his audience and speeches. Sanders apply negative connotations to associate them as victims to empower the American people and effectively earn the vote. As   aforementioned, this speech effectively targets a broad audience through the language used, and also through the subtle references made within. He also intends to inspire hope within the people through frequently using language such as “we will” and “we go forward”, as well as show respect to the lives lost, despite secondary intentions involving possible diplomatic relations and highly controversial topics. He hopes to weave this extensive vocabulary into the content of the speech to truly spark persuasion and thought.

The content of this speech itself begins with Sanders appreciating the American public by thanking them repetitively. He then describes how crucial this victory was for him and the people of the United States. This supports the discussed purpose of unity, as his description including phrases such as, “Us”,” we are the victims”, we should be in control” reminds the audience of their power but only if they act together, seen especially through his wording as he refers to people as one. He continues similarly throughout, hence delineating the theme of strength in numbers and as a nation, as he describes what the authorities are doing, but also frequently refers to the actions of the American people as if he relied on them. He also evokes the theme of combatting the rich and greedy through his descriptive language used to reinforce their suggested antagonism such as, “We will make sure they are taxed and they pay for their crimes and legal theft”, almost acting as an indirect warning to the culprits of the American economy. In this way, Sanders uses varying content and themes to instill certain emotions within the wide audience, assisted by his tone and the corresponding mood. Using his mood, Sanders uses a certain tone toward different groups to display his hatred toward certain topics and instill a sense of power.

Sanders deliver this speech with numerous different tones, however the one that seems to overrule the others is that of anger, clearly towards the perpetrators of this “legal theft”. As previously mentioned, Sanders expresses this anger, and to an extent disgust (at humanity), through his descriptive language. He uses slang and words such as “Screw them “and “Baloney” to express his discontent with his and America’s opponents. With those Sanders repeatedly mentions his current position in the US as Ethos or credibility. “As Senator”, “We Senators”, “That’s why I’m Senator of Vermont “claiming how his position is enough for people to vote for him and backs up his political ideologies and proves his political correctness. With such a futuristic and optimistic view as displayed by words such as “will” and “forward”, Sanders evokes a sense of togetherness and a desire to improve. This is further enhanced, as are all the emotions and tones throughout the speech, through Sanders utilization of personal pronouns; he frequently uses “we” and “our” as to make the reader believe that they share the same emotions and perspectives as the speaker, hence making the transition from his tone to the audience’s mood more natural and effective.  This could be an effective method of Pathos, by not only turning the people against the perpetrators but to make them feel as they can combat it with togetherness but by persuading his audience that they will thrive under him and claim bigger returns.  

Combined with structured rhetoric, Sen. Bernie Sanders uses countless different rhetorical and literary devices and techniques to persuade his audience to vote for him and rise together. Using effective techniques such as Ethos and Pathos, Sanders can unite his voters and people to ultimately persuade them in voting for him in both the Democratic elections and the election for President of the United States. A confident and effective measure, Sanders successfully uses the right balance of both sophisticated and down to earth vocabulary whilst constantly changing his tone of voice to ultimately deliver a perfect political piece of persuasion.

This should(hopefully) be the right transcript for his speech in new hampshire - Bernie Sanders Text Speech

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/02/10/the-transcript-of-bernie-sanderss-victory-speech/

Characterization of Coriolanus

Shakespeare's last play, Coriolanus was undoubtedly not his most popular. The play describes a story of a god-like warrior who conquers the city of Corioles and granted a renaming to "Coriolanus" in honor of his bravery and confidence. Shakespeare develops the character of Coriolanus both indirectly and directly for the purpose of obtaining an incomplete demigod esque character who is unable to transform into a classical hero. To further highlight this, In act 1, Shakespeare develops his character so significantly, only to fall and intentionally make him a "tragic hero".

This political play contributes to Shakespeares characterization of Coriolanus. In Act 1, Martius has a fight with the plebeians of which increases opportunity to characterize him through different perspective whilst applying a political context.  Coriolanus is described as the "chief enemy of the people" because of the grain issue currently hindering the Roman society. It is obvious that in later scenes that characters such as Menenius and Volumnia think very differently about him, giving an indirect view of his character. Later, during the battle of Volsces, Coriolanus is a brave and honorable member of the Roman army during his first encounter with Aufidius. This was also an indication of foreshadowing his attack against his own kin(betrayal and exile to Rome) whilst intentionally developing his traits and qualities to make him a stronger protagonist. 

We see numerous cases of foreshadowing and repetition that engraves various themes and asks questions about the play as the plot thickens. Furthermore, this allows the play to go forward whilst we continue to learn about his character through indirect characterization of him in the past and his transition of what he currently is taking into consideration the historical context. Lastly, and more importantly, Coriolanus has been built as an incomplete classical hero and referenced to the more popular classic hero Hector. "When she did suckle Hector...Then hectors forehead when it spit forth blood, At grecian sword contemning". Doing this helps the audience understand Shakespeare's intentions of Coriolanus' demi god like characterization that ends up tragically, and so he ends up becoming a Tragic hero.

In conclusion, Shakespeare uses historical and political context to both drive the story of Coriolanus' whilst directly and indirectly characterizing him to become a strong protagonist that lives only to see his own downfall.

PODCAST LINK

The Only Speaker of his Tongue by David Malouf

David Malouf's "The Only Speaker of his Tongue" illustrates perfectly the direct importance of preservation of languages and the responsibility that one may hold to preserving such a thing. Beautiful in its captivating imagery, the statement that resonated with me would be, "The first landscape here is dead. It dies in this mans eyes as his tongue licks the edge of the horizon, before it has quite dried up in his mouth. There is a new one that others are making."

Although not explicit, Malouf captured my attention to this statement, shouting numerous answers. One being which that the landscape he refers to might be his land or culture and how it is dying, or being torn apart. The second being, that the language in fact is what does in the mans eyes, as he sees throughout history and his lifetime its rarity and how it has been almost completely abolished. Malouf also says that his tongue of which speaks the language is trying to grasp for more people to say at as if he is struggling to get nourishment from the food he had already finished. It then "dries up in his mouth" as in slowly being removed and eventually instinct for decades. HE also uses others as if the people that we now conform to are doing something negative by taking their language, as if power of the people has been completely destroyed.

I can admit that I am not a victim of endangered languages and I am quite proud to regard myself as a fluent person in english. Although this may seem to be very arrogant, because this is my only language I can consider myself to be part of a community rather than to conform as many have did in the last generations. A beautiful excerpt that hides the reality of the past,present and future, Malouf brilliantly illustrates the dying languages and how society feels the need to conform to the international language that is today, English.

Power and Resistance - Value of Preserving Indigenous Languages

3. What is the value of preserving indigenous languages?

As  a common New Yorker once said, "the loss of languages passed down for millennia, along with their unique arts and cosmologies, may have consequences that won’t be understood until it is too late to reverse them.” Meaning that if we do not prevent the loss of ancient and indigenous langauges(as well as its culture and arts) the consequences could be severe and we may not know this until we see them. 

Personally, I think that the value of indigenous languages should be taken more seriously from the general population of which speak english. For example, I am from South Africa, but i can only speak english fluently and it is my identity and part of my upbringing. What many seem to dismiss is that many people are not exposed to english as often and in turn feel strongly about preserving their language. This indigenous language is important to people's identity and fully completes a culture. Although we might not recognize it, many of these indigenous languages have much reason to them and explore many things we don't know in the world today. Most often than not, we find the discoveries and inventions through languages that are now a staple such as Arabic,Hindi etc. Without knowing the power these languages contain, we can't simply just cut them off from reality.  On a more sensitive side, art and culture could open a number of possibilties to creators(artists,musicians,performers) that can further express a beauty of a culture. 

Keeping cultural diversity is an important factor.Now a language is not just a body of vocabulary or a set of grammatical rules, it’s a flash of the human spirit. It’s a vehicle for which the soul of a culture comes through to the material world. Every language in some sense is an ecosystem of ideas, a watershed of thought, an old growth forest of the mind. Its  a way of saying,expressing,thinking and feeling.As a crucial building block of culture, we can use ideas and creations to unlock the door for new and better values. We can model this and simply live in a more harmonious world and enjoy better lives.

Every language is important, and if you don't see that, you need to be more open minded.