#BookReview: Arrow of God By Chinua Achebe
[et_pb_section][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text]Chinua Achebe takes us through the tortuous journey of colonialism and how it destroyed a people in this all-time classic, “Arrow of God.”
The story revolves around Ezeulu, the priest of Ulu, the deity of the six villages of Umuaro. Chaos began when the people of Umuaro twisted by Nwaka’s oratory, decided to go to war with the people of Okperi over a piece of land. Ezeulu, who knew the history of the land as passed down to him by his father, warns the people of Umuaro of the dangers of fighting a war of blame, as Ulu wouldn’t be part of such a war. The consequence of their foolery results to several avoidable deaths, and the white man, Winterbottom steps in and makes name for himself as “destroyer of guns,” when he orders their guns broken except for a few which he took away with him. Ezeulu is called upon to testify in court in the ensuing land dispute, he goes ahead to tell the truth as he knows, against the truth his people were projecting. His piousness earns him the respect and friendship of the Whiteman Winterbottom, but the growing hostility between him and his people, especially Nwaka of Umunneora, only gained weight.
In the light of this development, when the need for a warrant chief for Umuaro arose, the only person that seem fit given past experiences of fraud and high-handedness displayed by locales occupying similar post elsewhere, was Ezeulu. Winterbottom sends for him, but the court messenger with his false air of importance ruins the party by creating an atmosphere of tension. The messenger returns to Okperi with an unpleasant message owing chiefly to his mannerism. Ezeulu consults his clansmen on the recent development to seek their counsel. But his clansmen, again led by Nwaka told him in malice to go sort himself out with the Whiteman who was after all his friend.
It was thus a very irate Ezeulu with his second son Obika that set out to answer the Whiteman’s call at Okperi. Ezeulu’s prestige would rise all over Government hill Okperi and beyond, as Winterbottom develops a terrible fever that sends him into a coma. Imprisoned, Ezeulu weaves his revenge on his people, as the new moon appears and there is no Ezeulu to announce its arrival. Ezeulu’s refusal to accept the Whiteman’s proposal prolongs his stay in Okperi, during which the time for harvest drew near and the remaining tubers of yam from the previous season that should be eaten at intervals by Ezeulu, remains uneaten as an absent Ezeulu cannot perform the traditional rites. The consequences of this abandonment would be famine, as harvest cannot be made if the customs aren’t followed.
Ezeulu returns after several weeks in detention, but Ulu remains mute in the face of grave danger, even as his people are threatened by famine. Umuaro sort to appease the angry deity, and demands his priest eats the remaining yams from the previous harvest, to enable him announce the new yam feast. Ezeulu wouldn’t defy a silent Ulu, even with the mounting pressure and rapidly encroaching famine. The new Christian religion ceases the crisis and steps in with an offer that was at the time irresistible. Umuaro turns to the new Christian God who offers protection from Ulu and accepts their offerings of one tuber of yam and even more.
Meanwhile, Ezeulu’s second son Obika, known for his stubbornness and fiery temper develops a fever, only days after he picked up a dreaded medicine man Otakekpeli and throws him into a nearby bush in a shower of sand, at a festival. He shouldn’t assume the dreaded mask Ogbazulobodo, but Obika, fearless and most times insensitive to danger, would assume the mask. He assumes the mask on the eve of Amalu’s second burial and is killed in the end.
The developments in this book leaves the reader dissatisfied, pained and with lots of unanswered questions. For instance; should Ezeulu have gone ahead to eat the remaining tubers from the previous season, without observing the custom? Was the custom not already violated by his long absence, which is also not custom? Was his action/inaction responsible for the ascension of the new Christian religion? Was Ulu deliberately punishing his priest for his thirst for revenge, with the death of his son? Or was the punishment for the priest’s refusal to heed his people’s voice? If Obika’s death has nothing to do with Ulu, could one attribute it to Obika’s reckless outburst at the dreaded medicine man, Otakekpeli? Could it be that Ulu surrendered to a superior power, haven ignored those who violated the custom? Could one say Ezeulu didn’t make a very wise decision, since he himself has always been a proponent of change, haven sent his son to join the new religion, haven always made reference to the incident that led to abolishing tribal marks? Would things have remained the same, perhaps the natives would have developed at their own pace, if the Whiteman hadn’t come into their lives uninvited?
These questions and many more, nags at the mind, as one glides through this great read.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
