African Proverbial Sayings- A Paremilogical Reading of Achebe’s Arrow of God

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Ife PsychologIA, 20(2), September 2012Copyright Ife Center for Psychological Studies/Services, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

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African Proverbial Sayings: A Paremilogical Reading of Achebes Arrow of Go

Doyin AguoruEnglish and Performing Arts Department

Olabisi Onabanjo University

Africans are a culturally deep and psychologically peculiar people. Proverbsconstitute a major form of collective consciousness through which Africanscommunicate ideas and opinions. Several studies reveal that thought patterns,attitudes and psyche of peoples are comprehensible through paremiology, thestudy of proverbs. Nigerias Chinua Achebe has carved out a niche for himselfas an African Proverbialist. This article examines the psycho-cultural value ofproverbial sayings in his work. The application of this linguistic form as adominant tool in the narrative technique and in the portraiture of the themesand characters is the focus of this study which takes as reference, Arrow ofGod, a work that concretizes the African psycho-cultural crisis. It examinesthe psychological, philosophical and cultural values embedded in the African

proverbial folio.

ISpeech communities all over the worldengage in proverbialisims as a form or typeof linguistic tool. Its usage may becontrolled or conditioned by variables suchas gender, age, class, and cultural values.In most parts of the world, proverbsperform similar functions in speech. Theseinclude training, indoctrination, andtransference of history and culture. The

value of proverbs is not necessarily in itsbeing a universal concept but in its being apragmatically germane linguistic tool for allspeech communities.

Wang Qin (1996) observes that thecharacter of a people is clearly branded inits proverbs. Therefore, the study of apeoples proverbs is likely to reveal a lotabout the peoples history, culturaltradition, mores, morality, sense of value,geographical environment and so forth.However, the social usages of Koreanproverbs appear to be the exception to the

rule. Chong- wha Chung (1996) explainsthat the functions of proverbs in theKorean society differ from othercommunities. The speech form is a culturalheritage of the lower class of the societyand is not shared by the upper class, whohad for their cultural vehicle the Sijopoetry (1996:7). Therefore the Koreanproverb is a preserve of the lower class of

the society and, the language, Chungobserves, is in most cases vulgar andcoarse. The commoners, through thismedium, reconstruct the depth of thehardship they suffer, unleash their angerand frustrations upon the ruling class,warn contemporaries against the dangersthat life holds, and express joyfulexperiences.

However, whether the form is employed

as guidelines, maxims for life, or asprinciples to be followed, proverbs serve asa store of striking truths and social identityof a people. African proverbs performseveral functions. They paradoxically assertpractical truths that reflect primarily on theculture, psychology and philosophy of theAfrican. Lady Kofo Ademola (2002 Vols.1&2) states that the African proverbpossesses qualities that enable it to conveythe mores, values, beliefs, wisdom,philosophy, as well the cultural tenets ofthe African peoples. Proverbs, she

continues,

...enrich a language: they givein-depth meaning to words aperson who could interspersespeech with apt proverbs wasregarded as someone withgreat wisdom and culture(2002:9).



Ife PsychologIA, 20(2), September, 2012

Chinua Achebe, a Nigerian of Igboextraction is from a tribe that celebrates theOkwu Oka(oratory) religiously.

Said Achebe:I have often said that one of

the most important genres inIgbo is oratory, and that is notpreserved in the same way thatproverbs, anecdotes, andstories are preserved. This is amatter of individual excellenceit is a part of Igbo culture.

There is no way of preserving itunless you record peoplesvoices. All that is part of theinheritance I feel I am workingwith. Proverbs are just aportion of this inheritance

(Cited in Egejuru, 1996:79).

The Igbo speech is well known for itssuccess in oratory but within this is thespecific use of apt proverbs to achieveresounding success. To the Igbo any speech that is not purchased with aptproverbs and idioms is regarded as naked(Nwadike, 1989:31).

A close study of Achebes Arrow of God

reveals that the Igbo man does not onlypunctuate his speeches with proverbs, but

that he can go on talking for a length oftime without using plain language. TheIgbo proverb is described by Igbo scholarsas a form of speech which is pregnant withmeaning. More often than not, it confoundsthe unintelligent that is not used to theform (31). The Igbo speakers define it asabubo eji eri okwu(Obiefuna1978); proverbs

are condiments of speech (32). AchebesArrow of God has been described by somecritics as a dictionary of Igbo proverbialsayings. Nwadike (1989:36) asserts thatthere are specific functions performed by

the Igbo proverb. According to him, each inits own genre:

has something to underscoresuch as caution, praise,encouragement, dissuasion,children upbringing, selfcontrol, thrift, hard work

Summing up his analysis, Nwadikeconcludes that the form embellishes andreinforces arguments, that they aremnemonic devices through which allprinciples relevant to successful living iscommitted to memory. They perform

ideological functions by being available inmaxims, memorable maxims which can beeasily recalled. One can say without anyfear of contradiction that African writersuse proverbs as artistic devices in theirworks. The literary effusions of the firstgeneration of African writers who wrote thecontinent into history (a group proudly ledby Achebe) is marked with the use ofproverbial sayings which emerge in theseworks as techniques for reinforcing andrediscovering the cultural, religious andpsychological values of the African people.

To Bernth Lindfors Proverbs are horses ofspeech:

... they can be employed notonly to retrievecommunication gone astraybut to speed it up, slow itdown, convey messages,deliver light-hearted jests,sharpen arguments, bluntcriticism, clarify difficult ideasand disguise simple ones

beyond easy recognition(2002:105).

In Obiechinas opinion, proverbs give:

complexity to narrative, unity ofform, coherence and pattern toaction, and direction to moraland social insight. They can alsoindicate force andresourcefulness of character(1995:157).

In Arrow of God, proverbs are used todefine the novels action and support thedevelopment of plot, stirring up depths ofemotional response to the conflicts andaction.

Achebe is a master of the proverbial art.Zulu Sofola, in an article titled AchebeEze Nka - the Master Artist, describesAchebe s Nka, the word for art, as the soul



Doyin Aguoru: A Paremiological Readings of Achebess Arrow of God

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of art or creative force. She accordsAchebe the title of Eze Nkabecause, in her

words, he towers above all else and standsout as a master artist (47). The proverbialsayings of his people which he artisticallycelebrates is not a coincidence and a

number of critics have written assumingthat it would be undermining Achebesartistic prowess (okwu oka) in several ways

linguistically, psychologically, restored thedignity of the African from the imperialistsdebasement.

In Achebes words, his aim was clear:

To help (the) society regain itsbelief in itself and put away thecomplexes of the years ofdenigration and selfabasement it is essentially a question of

education, in the best sense ofthat word. Here my aims and thedeepest aspirations of my societymeet. For no thinking Africancan escape the pain of thewound in our soul. The writercannot be excused from the taskof re-education and regenerationthat must be done. In fact, heshould march right in front(Cited in Sofola, 1996:46).

It is in this sense that Achebe situates his

early novels in the communities andensures that the culture, values andcharacteristics of these communities towerabove all other characters in the novels(Ker, 2003:126).

Arrow of God, his third novel, is set in the

tribal society. The setting and mood of theperiod portrayed is enhanced by thesystemic use of proverbs. This, the authoruses to evoke the cultural milieu withinwhich the action takes place. Achebesproverbs can serve as keys to an

understanding of his novels Lindfors says,because he uses them not just to addtouches of local colour but to sound andreiterate themes, to sharpencharacterization, to clarify conflict and tofocus on the values of the society he isportraying (2002:77).

II

Critical writings on Achebes workspronounce Arrow of God the most complexof his works. Through his themes,proverbial sayings, wise sayings, metaphors

and similes, the work creates an intriguingimpression upon its readers about theAfrican orientation and particularly the Igbomans way of life. The principles Achebeespouses on conflict, character, unity, andpatience, consequences of choice, truth,foresight, and vengeance remain relevant tocontemporary situations in Africa today.

Inability to comprehend the worth ofproverbial sayings in a given work can belikened to the Igbo saying:

Onye nzuzu jeer ikpe biliri illa

mgbe o huru ka ndi ozona-ala,mana-aju mgbe aga-ebi ikpe-The unintelligent who attendeda gathering for the settlementof a dispute rose to go whenhe saw others do so butwondered when a decisionwould be given (becauseproverbs were used, he failed tounderstand when the rulingwas given (Nwadike, 1989:37).

This psycho-cultural analysis is carried out

from six synchronising perspectives: TheComing together of Umuaro, The OkperiWar, Tunes in the House of a Great Man,Oduche the Proverblial Lizard, Akuebe andEzedimili as Foils, Proverbialism andOgbazulobodo: the Spirit of Death.

Conflict in Arrow of Godis woven around

the people of Umuaro. Ezeulu the ChiefPriest is the personality through which theomniscient narrator introduces the readerto the state of affairs in Umuaro. Theburning thoughts of the Chief Priest as heperforms the monthly rites of welcoming the

moon reveal the historical event that leadsto the creation of the deity Ulu. It also laysa background to the preceding events andthe consequences of the Okperi War thatbrings about the European incursion andpresence in Umuaro. The physical,psychological, ideological and culturaltension set from the beginning of the novel




which starts in medias rex7 is tangibly felt

and the use of proverbs is the dominanttool employed in the land.

The Coming Together of Umuaro

But Umuaro had grown wise andvery strong in its own conceit and hadbecome like the little bird nza, who ate anddrank and challenged his personal god to asingle combat (Achebe,1967:17). Six

villages, Umuachala, Umunneora, Umuagu,Umuezeani, Uuogwugwu, and Umuisiuzo,are under constant oppression of the hiredsoldiers of Abam. The leaders come togetherunder the name Umuaro and install acommon deity, Ulu, and are never defeatedagain. Ezeulus bitterness springs up fromthe attitude of the offspring of these samepeoples to the god who had foundedtheir town and protected it (18).

The Okperi War

The leaders of Umuaro, perhaps because ofthe indemnity granted them by Ulu, decideto send emissaries to challenge the peopleof Okperi over a long-standing land dispute.At a village gathering summoned toconsider the issue, Ezeulu dissuadesUmuaro from taking the unwise decision ofgoing to war over a wrongfully contestedland. Proverbial sayings that eventuallydetermine the fate of Umuaro are flungfrom the three sides from which the issueswere raised.

Ulu would not fight in an unjust war,(18) the Chief Priest cries. Nwaka, a wealthychief, portrayed as Ezeulus archenemy,waters down the priests counsel andknowledge about the ownership of thedisputed land with a saying Wisdom is likea goatskin everyman carries his own.Knowledge of the land is also like that(19).Nwaka gives another version of the story as

7This artistic strategy is employed in commencing the plot of

the work from the middle then progressing the structure todrive the narration back and forth either through flashback oroccurrences that unfold which culminate in suspense and

surprise.

told him by his father. Nwakas argumentcarries the day as we are told: Nwaka hadtotally destroyed Ezeulus speech (20).Ogbuefi Egowanne, one of the three oldestmen in Umuaro, counsels the younger mensent as emissaries to Okperi on the manner

and approach to adopt while conveying themessage. He says,

But I am an old man, and anold man is here to talk. If thelizard of the homesteadneglects to do the things forwhich its kind is known it willbe mistaken for the lizard of thefarmland (20 & 21).

Ezeulu is enraged by the hypocrisy ofthe elder and his sense of irresponsibility.

He defies the mans counsel and alsopredicts its consequences of taking to suchcounsel with three proverbs:

When an adult is in the housethe she-goat is not left to sufferthe pains of parturition on itstether (21).a boy sent by hisfather to steal does not gostealthily but breaks the doorwith his feet?(22).When we hear a house hasfallen do we ask if the ceilingfell along with it?(22)

Akukalia, a brave young man whose

maternal parentage is of Okperi, is

appointed to lead the emissaries. He

assumes that he understands the people

and therefore advises the others to leave

him to tackle them: So leave them to me

because when a man of cunning dies a man

of cunning buries him (24). His mothers

people welcome him albeit apprehensive of

his unusual visit early on a market day.

The urgency with which the emissaries

wanted to deliver the message is wrapped

up in another saying: an important

mission; yes. We have a saying that the

toad does not run in the day unless

something is after it (25).

Akukalia is killed in the conflict thatensues in the course of his team deliveringthe message and it is his corpse that




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returns to Umuaro. This tragedynecessitates another assembly of the eldersof Umuaro. At this meeting many of theelders advice that the matter be laid to restbut others would not hear of it. Achebes inhis authorial comment observes,

but there were others who, as the sayingwas pulled out their hair and chewed it.

They swore that they would not live and see

Umuaro spat upon (31).

Ezeulus response to the eloquentorations of his kinsmen reflect his sorrow:The reed we are blowing is now crushed.He reminds them of his advice on the issueat the previous gathering I used oneproverb. I said when the adult is in thehouse the she-goat is not left to bear itsyoung from the tether (31). He used theproverb to describe the posture of the elders

of Umuaro who should have spoken againstthe plan. They -the elders- were quiet withthe exception of Ogbuefi Egowanne who inEzeulus words Put a live coal into a childspalm and asked him to carry it with care.We have all seen with what care he carriedit (31).

He accuses the elders of abandoningtheir responsibility and attending tofrivolities they were in the house and yetthe she-goat suffered in her parturition(31). He accuses them of challenging theirchi (god and deity) and also pushingAkukalia to untimely death. He tells the taleof a great wrestler who challenges spiritsviolently. Although his flute playeradmonishes him and ask him to comeaway, the wrestler remains stubborn andsets the stage for his destruction. As far asEzeulu was concerned Umuaro had beenAkukalias Flute player, but we did notplead with him to come away from death the fly that has no one to advice it followsthe corpse in to the grave (32). But, hecontinues, Let the slave who sees anothercast into a shallow grave know that he willbe buried in the same way when his daycomes (32). Reaffirming his position andthat of his god on the land dispute andAkukalias death he concludes: If you go towar to avenge a man who has passed shiton the head of his mothers father, Ulu willnot follow you to be soiled (32).

Umuaro goes to war with Okperi andthere are killings on both sides. The

colonial government led by Captain T.KWinterbottom invade Okperi and Umuaro,disarm the warriors, and put an end to thewar by establishing European presence inthe towns.

Tunes in the House of a Great Man:Characters in Ezeulus HouseholdAchebe from his omniscient point of view

portrays, through characterization, thevalues and vanities that make or mar aman. Ezeulus compound is a large one.Achebe carefully portrays each characterand develops them in such a way that theyare relevant to the plot structure of thework. Edogo, Ezeulus first son is a carver.His character and personality isconsistently compared with that of Obika,his younger brother. Edogo with whom

Ezeulu has little or no patience, combineshis carving profession with farming in hisspare time. He sulks most of the time,perhaps because he is aware that hisfathers opinion of him is low, and partlybecause his fathers attitude and utterancesconfirm this. On an occasion his father hadmade enquires about his carving a god andobserving that he was not forthcoming he

yelled: You may carve all the gods inUmuaro. If you hear me asking you about itagain take my name and give it to a dog (5).

Ezeulu prefers Obika, who is described

as great and manly, for several reasons:the striking resemblance they share, hisstrength, and his comeliness. Achebedescribes him as one of the handsomest

young men in Umuaro (12). Obikasweaknesses, palmwine and a fiery temper,were sources of concern to his father who,inspite of these weaknesses, still preferredhim to Edogo his quiet and brooding halfbrother. Occasionally in the narrative,Ezeulu will proverbialize his counsel to hisbeloved son:

It is praiseworthy to be brave or

fearless, he once said, butsometimes it is better to be acoward. We often stand in thecompounds of a coward to point atthe ruins where a brave man usedto live. The man who has neversubmitted to anything will soonsubmit to the burial mat (13).




Apparently, Ezeulu would rather have asmart boy who broke utensils in his hastethan a slow and careful snail as a son.

Obikas choice of friend however is asource of disagreement between him andhis father. Ofoedu is a typical never-do-well

who indulges in drinking. Ezeulu ispersuaded that if his son continues tobefriend Ofoedu, he will not succeed in life .After a drinking spree with his friend on aprevious day, Obika arrives late to the roadconstruction project carried out by his agegroup. Mr Wright, the European in chargeof the road, whips Obika for his latenessand his comical disruption of the roadwork.Ezeulu hears of the whipping and sendsEdogo to make enquires.

Edogo comes back in the companyof Obika and his friend which further

infuriates Ezeulu who could never get usedto this worthless young man who trailedafter his son like a vulture after a corpse(110). The chief priest is certain that thedrinking of the previous day must havebeen the cause of his sons folly andsubsequent humiliation. Without waitingfor further explanation he states let me tell

you that this is only the beginning of whatpalm wine will bring to you.The death thatwill kill a man begins as an appetite (110).

Edogo, in his characteristic contemplativemood, broods over his fathers attitude. The

trouble with his father was that he couldnever see something and take his eyes awayfrom it (110). His mother had been right inher assessment of Ezeulus attitude andapproach to life:

Ezeulus only fault was that heexpected everyone - his wives,his kinsmen, his children, hisfriends and even his enemies -to think like him and to act likehim (114).

Edogo considers this attitude in the light

of a saying that says if a man sought for acompanion who acted entirely like himself hewould live in solitude (114). Edogo, who

stammers agonizingly when deeply affectedby serious issues, discloses the depth of hisdisagreement with his father in a dialoguewith his fathers friend, Akuebe. Achebecharacterizes Edogo as a weak, evenpitiable character. From Akuebes point of

view, Edogo has more than a passinginterest in becoming the Chief Priest of Ulubut lacks the courage to say so. He feelspity and a little contempt for the youngman:

The fellow does not fall where his

body might be picked up it doesnot require an oracle to see that heis not the man for Chief Priest. Aripe maize can be told bymerely looking at it (156).

At the end of the narrative, one perceivesthat Edogo, though weak, is insightful. Hissuspicion that Ezeulu was grooming Nwafotheir youngest brother for the office of theChief Priest is not unfounded.

Obikas fiery temper is described in twoparts of the narrative. He humiliates

Otakpeli, a wicked medicine man at themasquerade festival where his age groupbrings out a new mask. His father and wifeheave sighs of relief when Otakpeli leavesthe arena, although the father thinks thathis sons action is rash and foolish. At theorders of Captain Winterbottom, amessenger is instructed to invite Ezeulu tothe Government Hill. He, Obika, shouts atthe insolent messenger saying that he hasno grain of sense in his belly. He also tellshim on two occasions that he is mad.

Obikas distinct personality is portrayed

illustratively and proverbially in thenarrative. For instance, the perfection withwhich he severs the head of the sacrificialram at the masquerade festival, the speedfor which he is known, and the articulatemanner with which he speaks qualifies himnow and again to carry Ogbazulobodo:

No other person could carry theOgbazulobodo as well as Obikain the village. Wheneversomebody else tried there wasalways a big difference: eitherthe speed was too slow or the

words stuck in his throat (279).Obika is called upon to run asOgbazulobodoby the Amalus family.

Though he had a fever he was implored andthus entreated:

There are many people who cando itbut he who is called againand again by those trying invain to catch a wild bull has




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something he alone can do tobulls (280).

Obikas collapse and death after running asOgbazulobodo for Amalus funeral shookUmuaro to its roots; the general consensuswas that a man like him did not come into

the world too often (285). These twocharacters Edogo and Obika fulfill Akuebesproverbial saying that

in all great compounds theremust be people of all minds-some good, some bad, somefearless, and some cowardly;those who bring in wealth andthose who scatter it, those whogive good advice and those whoonly speak the words of palmwine. That is why we say that

whatever tune you play in thecompound of a great man thereis always some one to dance toit (124).

Oduche the Proverbial Lizard

Oduche, the third son of Ezeulu, is thecontroversial figure in the narrative. It is onthe account of his involvement with thechurch that Umuaro concludes that Ezeuluis the white mans friend and has joined thedetractors of the customs of Umuaro todesecrate the land. Ezeulu sends Oduche to

church three years after the Okperi war.Ezeulu witnesses against his people duringthe European intervention and legalproceedings that pronounced Okperi therightful owners of the disputed land. Heenlists the boy after he makes the Whiteman the promise to do so, also havingensured that the White man had not comefor a short visit but to build a house andlive (55).

Oduche goes to church with his heartfull of pride after his father speaks to himabout his mission amongst the Europeans

and the church-going natives.

The world is changing I donot like it. But I am like thebird Eneke -nti- oba. When hisfriend asked him why he wasalways on the wing he repliedmen of today have learnt toshoot without missing so I havelearnt to fly without perching. I

want one of my sons to jointhese people and be my eyethere. If there is nothing in it

you will come back. But ifthere is something there youwill bring home my share.The

world is like a mask dancing. Ifyou want to see it well you donot stand in one place. My

spirit tells me that those whodo not befriend the White mantoday will be saying had Iknown tomorrow (55).

Oduche makes remarkable progress inhis educational and religious pursuits. Theexpectations of his tutors are high becausehe is one of the youngest converts. Thearrival and activities of Mr Goodcountry, a

zealous native priest from the Niger Delta,marked the turning point in the life ofOduche. While teaching the natives on acertain day, Goodcountry cites as example;the Niger Delta Christians who fought thebad customs of their people, destroyedshrines and killed the sacred iguana, (56).Goodcountry issues a challenge to theChristians in Umuaro. He prompts them tokill the sacred royal python of Idemili andsays: if you are afraid tokill it do not count

yourself Christians (57).Moses Unachukwu, the first convert in

Umuaro challenges Goodcountry over theissue, citing references from the Bible andthe ancient myths of Umuaro. Oduche wascaught in the cross fire when he innocentlychipped in a scriptural verse: Did not Godtell Adam to crush the serpent whichdeceived his wife? (59). Goodcountry seizesthis opportunity to humiliate Unachukwu.He commends Oduche, whose name hepromised to change to Peter at his baptism,which was fast approaching. Unachukwuresponds with two proverbial sayings:

I have been to the fountain headof this new religion and seenwith my own eyes the whitepeople who brought it. So I wantto tell you now that I will not beled astray by outsiders whochoose to weep louder than theowners of the corpse (60).




Throwing a challenge at Oduche with thisstatement:

You may be called Peter, oryou may be called Paul orBarnabas; it does not pull ahair from me. And I have

nothing to say to a mere boywho should be picking palmnuts for his mother. Butsince you have become ourteacher I shall be waiting forthe day when you will havethe courage to kill a pythonin this Umuaro. A cowardmay cover the ground withhis words. But when the timecomes to fight he runs away(60).

Oduche rises to the challenge and makesup his mind to kill one of the two pythonsthat live in his mothers hut. But instead ofkilling the python he decided to lock it upin his box where it would die of suffocation.Pandemonium takes over Ezeulus housewhen Oduches box starts to move. Ezeulubreaks open the box to see an exhaustedroyal python. Ezeulus critics have anoccasion once again to comment on hisactions. Anosi says to himself:

I have already said thatwhat his new religion will

bring to Umuaro wears a haton its head. (55). To others hesays what that man Ezeuluwill bring to Umuaro ispregnant and nursing a baby(63).

Oduches actions gives Ezeulu cause toplace the blame on himself for sending himto church. It never occurs to him at thepoint of sending his son to join themissionary that he could be converted totheir faith. In his words A man who brings

home ant-infested faggots should notcomplain if he is visited by lizards (72).

Later in the narrative, Ezeulusdisillusionment comes, not as a result ofOduches practice of Christianity but hisdisloyalty to the purpose of his being in themission. Oduches involvement with themissionaries continues to be a controversialissue and the natives bear a grudge against

the Chief Priest for it. Popular opinion hadit that if Ezeulu, with the sacred office heholds, allows his son to mingle with peoplethat kill and eat the sacred python andthose involved in other things considered asabomination in the land, he -Ezeulu- is the

personified proverbial character of thelizard who threw confusion into his mothersfuneral rite and wondered if he didexpect the outsiders to carry the burden ofhonoring the dead? (155).

Ezeulu repeats this proverb when hediscovers that the church takes advantageof the Chief Preists delay in theannouncement of the new yam festival. Thechurch offers the people indemnity againstthe wrath of Ulu should they harvest their

yams before the sacred festival providedthey bring their thanksgiving offering -

yams- to the church. Ezeulu, full of griefcalls on Oduche who keeps the informationaway from him. He reminds him of thepurpose of his being exposed to the whitemans ways. He dismisses Oduche from hispresence utterly disappointed. He says Goaway and rejoice that your father cannotcount on you. I say go away from here,lizard that ruined his mothers funeral (276).

Akuebe as Ezeulus FoilAchebe places Akuebe by Ezeulus side

the same way he places Nwaka by

Ezedemili. Although the friendships aresimilar, they produce different types ofinfluences. Ezedimili, the Chief priest ofIdemili, prods Nwaka to challenge Ezeulusand Ulus authority over certain affairs inthe community because of his great wealthand status in the society. It appears thatNwaka is fortified by Ezedemili and has thewherewithal to contend with Ezeulu.

Their enmity grew in the years thatfollowed the Okperi war that they were atthe point at which the Umuaro peopledescribed as kill and take the head (47).

Nwaka had threatened Ulu by remindingEzeulu and the people of the fate of anotherdeity that failed his people (47). Havingsurvived this challenge he goes a stepfurther to defy Ulu and his priest. Heboasts of his challenge and the inability ofUlu to harm him at the Idemili festival:




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I returned from my sojourn.Afo passed, Nkwo passed, Ekepassed, Oye passed, Afo camearound again. I listened butmy head did not ache; I didnot feel dizzy. Tell me folk

assembled, a man that didthis, is his arm strong or not?

The people marvel at the source of Nwakasstrength. A proverbial saying of theirssuggests that their curiosity is indeedheightened for when we see a little birddancing in the middle of a pathway we mustknow that its drummer is in the near- bybush (48).

We are told that Ezedemili has a verystrong influence on Nwaka and hisfriendship with the former gradually

turned him into Ezeulus mortal enemy.One of the ways Ezedemili accomplishedthis is to constantly assert that in the daysbefore Ulu the true leaders of each villagewere men of high titles like Nwaka (49)thus, feeding his ego. Akuebe and Ezeulusfriendship, on the other hand, is based onmutual respect and concern for each other.Akuebe respects the office of the ChiefPriest but is still bold to confront him withissues that pertain to his role as the ChiefPriest of Umuaro, his immediate family, andhis community. Akuebe is portrayed as a

wise man who examines issues with level-headedness and the psycho-culturaldictates of the society to which he belongs.

He is able to assess the situation andknow that Nwaka and the Priest of Idemiliare jealous of Ezeulus position andauthority. Instead of being blinded by rage,he, to an extent, understands the internalcrisis faced by his friend with his childrenand his people. His level of consciousnessof political and spiritual structures of hisland is evident in his dialogues with hisfriend. He informs him that the people are

implying that Ezeulu is the cause of thetrouble in Umuaro. The extent of Ezeulusbitterness towards his enemies expresseshis posture towards the people and towardsthe Europeans. Ezeulu in this discussionlends his voice to the internal anger uponwhich he constantly feeds his thoughts:

What annoys me is not that anoverblown fool dangling emptytesticles should forget himself

because wealth entered hishouse by mistake; no, whatannoys me is that the cowardlypriest of Idemili should hidebehind him and urge him on(161).

Akuebe states that the two are jealous ofEzeulu who cannot comprehend this butrefutes the claim to say No, its not jealousybut foolishness; the kind that puts its headinto the pot. But if it is jealousy, let him goon. The fly that perches on a mound of dungmay strut around as long as it likes, itcannot move the mound (161). Ezeulu is

proved wrong and his enemies have the lastsay over the issues. Akuebe wants Ezeuluto re-think his position on the issues of theland and his attitude to his people, he

counsels once again:

you forget one thing that no

man can win judgment against a

clan. You may think you did in the

land dispute but you are wrong.

Umuaro will always say you

betrayed them before the

Whiteman. And they will say you

are betraying them again today by

sending your son to join in

desecrating the land (162).

Ezeulus proverbial retorts are preceded bya loud ringing laughter which appears toAkuebe like an encounter with a mad manlaughing on a solitary path(126). Hereminds Akuebe that the war againstOkperi brought the Europeans to Umuaroand that he is not responsible for theforeigners establishing their institutionsthereafter.

Have you not heard thatwhen twobrothers fight a stranger reaps

their harvest? (162).We showedthem the way and we are stillshowing them. So let nobody cometo me now and complain that thewhite man did this and did that.The man who brings ant-infestedfaggots into his hut should notgrumble when lizards begin to payhim a visit (163).


http:///reader/full/african-proverbial-sayings-a-paremilogical-reading-of-acheb


Appealing to Ezeulu on behalf of the clan,Akuebe says,

We know what we did wrong, sowe can put it right again oursages have saidthat a man whodoes not know where the rain

started to beat him cannot knowwhere he dried his body. We are

not like that we know wherethis rain began to fall on us(163).

Ezeulu interrupts him sharply; he claimsthat the Whiteman has not only beeninvited into Umuaro but that he hasbecome an institution. Shifting the blameon the Chief Priest, he reasons, will notdrive him away. Proverbially speaking, heexplains the purpose for allowing his son in

the midst of the Europeans:

Shall I tell you why I sent myson? A disease that has neverbeen seen before cannot be curedwith everyday herbs And ourfathers have told us that it mayeven happen to an unfortunategeneration that they are pushedbeyond the end of things, andtheir back is broken and hungover a fire when this happensthey may sacrifice their own

blood. This is what our sagesmeant when they said that a manwho has nowhere else to put hishands for support puts it on hisown knee (165).

That, he concludes, was why thepatriarchs of Umuaro sacrificed one ofthemselves to put an end to the attack ofthe Abam warriors.

Towards the end of the narrative,Akuebe, with his voice of reason, warns hisfriend of the impending doom as he holds

the entire Umuaro ransom. Akuebe isperhaps the only man in Umuaro who doesnot think that Ezeulu is deliberatelypunishing the clan. In his opinion, Ezeuluwas the proverbial Nte and: a thinggreater than the Nte had been caught inthe Ntes trap (275). To him the situationappeared to be similar to the sayings of hisancestors when two brothers fight to

death a stranger inherits their fathersestate (275). He sounds a final warning in

Ezeulus ear by informing him that thechurch was about to reap the harvest of thenew yams by offering sanctuary to thosewho wished to escape Ulus wrath. The

Chief Priests indifference alarms Akuebewho explores this final discussion as anavenue of persuasion before the tragediesstrike.

Achebe carefully establishes a link inthese dialogues, in the meditations of theChief Priest at the beginning of thenarrative and his reflections during hisdetention. The major issue is whether hehas authority over the people as the ChiefPriest of Ulu or if he is merely a watchmanover the clans affairs (3&4). Ezeuluperceives that there will be grave

consequences with the prevailingcircumstances in Umuaro; not for nowalone but for all time the experience willafflict Umuaro like an Ogulu-aro disease

which counts a year and returns for itsvictims (274).

Ezeulu has great compassion for theinnocent people of Umuaro but his angersubsumes his feelings. Anger, towards hisenemies and detractors, whom Ulu warnshim not to avenge:

Ta! Nwanu! Who told you that

this was your own fight I saywho told you that this was yourown fight which you couldarrange to suit you?Bewaredont come between my victimand me or you may receive blowsnot meant for you! Do you notknow what happens when twoelephants fight? Go home andsleep, leave me to settle myquarrel with Idemili, who wantsto destroy me so that his pythoncan come to power, now you tell

me how it concerns you. I say gohome and sleep (240-241).

Ezeulu would not heed Ulus warning asrevealed in the authorial comments and hissubsequent reflections. Before leaving theGovernment heel upon his release heboastfully replies those who congratulatehim on his victory over the White man with




202

yet another version of the proverb he usesto accuse Umuaro of insolence towardstheir deity:

I shall come again, but beforethat I want to wrestle with mypeople whose hand I know and

also know my hand. I am goinghome to challenge all those whohave been poking their fingers intomy face to come outside their gateand meet me in combat andwhoever throws the other will striphim of his anklet.The challenge ofEneke ntulukpa to man, bird andbeast, said John Nwodika withchildlike excitement. You know it?Said Ezeulu happily (221).

Ezeulus victory over the Europeans has

an edge of bitterness to it. He sees hisdetention as a tool with which he can geteven with those who were challenging hisauthority and the people of Umuaro whoignored the fact that a priest of his caliberhad been detained. Achebe portrays his fallas a result of his hubris his inability toovercome anger and bitterness. The twofactors drown the compassion, an attributethat is expected to accompany the office ofa High Priest (12).

Obikas death speaks volumes as Ezeuluhimself becomes a by-word and a proverb.

He is the proverbial: Grass upon which two elephants

clash

Eneke Nktulupa A brother who fights his brethren to

death while a stranger inherits theirestate

The Anita priest and deity whofailed his people and was carried tothe boundary of Anita and setablaze.

Ezeulu is dazed by the outcome of his

wrestling bout with his clan Ulus warningabout his meddling comes to pass: As forme and Idemili we shall fight to the finish;and whoever throws the other down willstrip him of his anklet! (241) In a way,Idemili strips both Ulu and his priest oftheir anklets, Obikas death is to Ezeuluhis own death (285); his life has come to anabrupt halt.

for Ezeulu there was no nexttime. Think of a man, who unlikelesser men always goes to battlewithout a shield because heknows that bullets and matchetstrokes will glance off his

medicine-boiled skin, think ofhim discovering in the thickbattle that the power hassuddenly without warningdeserted him. What next time canthere be? (285)

His sons death was humiliating because ofthe prevailing conflict in the land.They saya man is like a funeral ram which must takewhatever beating comes to it withoutopening mouth; only the silent tremor of hispain down its body tells of its suffering

(286). He would have been more than equalto the tragic loss of Obika were it notcompounded with the humiliation of theprevailing situation in the land. Proverbialquestions haunted the Priests mind.Whywhy had Ulu chosen to deal thuswith him to strike him down and cover himwith mud? What was his offence? (186)

Was it ever heard that a child wasscalded by the piece of yam itsown mother put in its palm? Whatman would send his own son with

a potsherd to bring fire from aneighbors hut and then unleashrain on him?) Whoever sent hisson up the palm to gather nutsand then took an axe and felledthe tree? (286)

From one point of view, one can ask,who is the proverbial lizard: Ezeulu orOduche? Again who is the proverbial braveman whose house is in ruins: is it Ezeulu orObika? One has cause to believe that thepeople of Umuaro do not employ the

didactic values their proverbs teach butengage in the rhetoric of the form. Nwakawe are told is respected for his oratory andis able to sway peoples opinion with hisgreat speeches, which were interspersedwith proverbial sayings and not necessarilysound reasoning. Ezeulu has since hischildhood lived in the fear of momentswhen his mothers insanity was at its peakespecially when his mothers feet were




put in stocks, at the new moon (278). Hebecomes demented fulfilling the sayings ofNwaka and a few others who say he acts asthough he had caught his mothersmadness.

Proverblialism and Ogbazulobodo the Spiritof Death

According to the Umuaro tradition,Ogbazulobodo,a night spirit, runs before amans final burial. A fully costumed spirit,Ogbazulobodo, moves with great speed, andchants proverbs as incantations heraldingthe final passage of a dead one. Once thespirit is invoked, it vanishes like the windleaving potent words in the air behind(282).The proverbial incantations chantedat top speed are laced with the religious,

cultural and philosophical, andpsychological beliefs of the people.

The fly that struts around on a mountof excrement wastes its time; themount will always be higher than thefly.

The thing that beats the drum forngwesi is inside the ground.

Darkness is so great it gives horns toa dog.

He who built a homestead beforeanother can boast of more brokenpots.

The man who walks ahead his fellowsspots the spirit on the way.

Bat said he knew his ugliness andchose to fly by night.

Even while people are still talkingabout the man a rat bit to death, lizardtakes money to have his teeth filled.

He who sees an old hag squattingshould leave her alone, who knowshow she breathes.

He who will swallow udala seeds mustconsider the size of his anus (282).

when a hand shake passes theelbow it becomes another thing.

The sleep that lasts from one marketday to another has become death.

A common snake which a man sees allalone may become a python in hiseyes.

The very thing which kills mother ratis always there to make sure that itsyoung ones never open their eyes.

The boy who persists in asking whathappened to his father before he hasenough strength to avenge him isasking for his fathers fate.

The man who belittles the sicknesswhich monkey has suffered should ask

to see the eyes which he got fromblowing the sick fire.

When death wants to take a little dogit prevents it from smelling evenexcrement(283).

A chorus of male singers, ayaka,remainsat the ilo to welcome the spirit which runsthrough the six villages. Unfortunately inthis case, the carrier, Obika, re-enters theilo, collapses and dies. Significant as thisdeath is to Umuaro, Achebe uses themedium of the spirit of death and Obikas

participation in this cult to further reinforcethe relevance and the significance ofproverbs to the Igbo people. Several of theproverbs have themes of death and onewonders if it had anything to do with thecarriers death. The most strikingsignificance of these proverbial incantationsis that it teaches values such as wisdom,the benefits of unity, and moderation. Itgives a mysterious air to the belief patternof the people of Umuaro. Achebe brilliantlycaptures this from diverse perspectives.

Conclusion

Achebe in his article The novelist as aTeacher (1973) discusses his role as awriter in African society. He states:

I would be quite satisfied if my novelsespecially the ones set in the past did nomore than teach my readers that their past-with all its imperfections- was not one longnight of savagery from which the firstEuropeans acting on Gods behalf delivered

them (Cited in Dasylva, 1994: 139).

Achebes approach to colonial andpostcolonial challenges in Nigeria remain agreat treasure to African literature andhistory. He fulfills the role of a teacher inmany ways and a major tool he hasemployed to achieve this in this novel is inthe use of proverbs. Whenever andwherever proverbs are used in the right




204

context they are found relevant in probinginto the psyche, cultural values and cultureof a people. A study of Achebes use ofproverbs reveal how the entirety of the Igbocultural values is adapted to the day-to-dayconflict and situation of the Umuaro people.

Lady Kofo Ademolas compilations of

African Proverbs confirm the universality of

themes, precepts, and cultural values

amongst African countries. Ironic is the fact

that the people of Umuaro are destroyed

because they will not heed the ancient

counsel of their proverbs which they quote

over and over again. The answers to the

questions that Ezeulus mind is unable to

provide lie within the precepts, themes and

forms of the proverbs he and the members

of his clan use as incantation, history and

oratory.

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Heinemann, Ibadan.Ademola K. (2005) African Proverbs Vol. I

Bookcraft Ltd, Ibadan.Ademola K. (2005) African ProverbsVol. II

Bookcraft Ltd, Ibadan.Amali Emmanuel. (1985) Proverbs as a

Concept of Idoma Performing Arts InNigeria Magazine. ( Vol. 53 No 3).

Chong-wha Chung (1996) Identity of theUnderprivileged and Reality of Poverty asReflected in Korean Proverbs. TokyoForum.http:\\cogweb.ucla.edu\Abstracts\

Tokyoforum96. htmlDasylva Ademola (1994) Evolving a

Taxonomy for the African Hero.

Unpublished Thesis University ofIbadan.

Ejeguru Phanuel (1996) Orethory Okwu

Oka: A Neglected Technique in AchebesLiterary Artistry in Ihekweasu Edith(ed.) Eagle on the Iroko. Selected Papersfrom the Chinua Achebe InternationalSymposium.Heinemann books, Ibadan.

Innes C.L (1990) Chinua Achebe. CambridgeStudies in African and CaribbeanLiterature. Cambridge University Press.

Ker David, I (2003) Studies in African andAmerican Culture. Mosuro Publishers,

Ibadan.Linfors Bernth (2002) Folklore in Nigerian

Literature. Caltop Publications, Ibadan.Nwadike I.U (1989) The Igbo Proverb a

Wider Perspective in Nigeria Magazine(Vol. 57 No. 1&2), Lagos.Obiechina Emmanuel (1996) In Praise of

the Teacher in Ihekweasu Edith (ed.)Eagle on the Iroko. Selected Papers fromthe Chinua Achebe InternationalSymposium. Heinemann books, Ibadan.

Ohaeto Ezenwa (1997) Chinua Achebe ABiography. James Currey, Oxford.

Zulu Sofola (1996) Achebe Eze Nka-TheMaster Artist in Ihekweasu Edith (ed.)Eagle on the Iroko. Selected Papers fromthe Chinua Achebe International

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African Proverbial Sayings- A Paremilogical Reading of Achebe’s Arrow of God