Things Fall Apart Characters and Igbo Words

Okonkwo

Protagonist, well respected man in Umuofia, 3 wives, 2 barns full of yams, banished after he accidentally kills Ogbuefi Ezeudu's son, hangs himself and he kills messenger, "Roaring Flame", Doesn't like his father, He rules by fear, he is a hard worker.

Unoka

Okonkwo's lazy, gentle, and idle father, debtor, good flute player, scared of blood, failure

Nwoye

Okonwo's first wife's son, converts to Christianity after being captured by the "poetry" of the religion, renamed Isaac

Ekwefi

Okonkwo's second wife, Ezinma's mother

Ezinma

Ekwefi's daughter, an ogbanje, or a child who repeatedly dies and reenters the womb to be rebord, Okonkwo's favorite child, called "Salt" by Obiageli whom she has lots of influence over, "Crystal of Beauty"

Ojiugo

Okonkwo's third wife

Obierika

Okonkwo's friend, sells Okonkwo's yams when he is gone, Maduka's father

Amalinze the Cat

Famous wrestler who Okonkwo defeated at the age of 18

Mbaino

Umuofia's neighboring hostile village, Ikemefuna's village

Igbo

Name of Okonkwo's tribal people

iyi uwa

sacred stone which links ogbanje to spirit world, solves recurring deaths

chi

personal god

obi

living quarters of the head of the family

ilo

village courtyard

Agbala

Goddess of the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves; woman; man without a title

Chielo

Current priestess for the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves

yam

king of all crops

Ikemefuna

Given to Umuofia by Mbaino, Okonkwo takes care of him, establishes a strong relationship with Nwoye, Oracle says he must die and Okonkwo slashes him down

Mbanta

Okonkwo's motherland

Obiageli

Nwoye's arrogant sister who breaks her water pot and pretends to cry about it; friends with Ezinma

locusts

rare occurence, come once a year for sever years then go away for another lifetime, = whites

Uchendu

Okonkwo's uncle who receives him into Mbanta

Royal Python

Sacred symbol for the Ibo people, especially for the village of Umofia; name translates to "Our Father"

ozo

one of titles Okonkwo wants for Nwoye

Enoch

Fanatical Christian convert, rips off the mask of an egwugwu, father is priest of the snake cult, Umuofia burns his house

Reverend James Smith

Very strict Christian took over for the missionary Mr. Brown

proverb

A popular saying that is meant to express something wise or true. In the book the story of the turtle and the birds is a proverb

district commissioner

White European who takes over the justice system for Umoufia. He symbolizes the African society falling apart

religion

What the Europeans used as a weapon against the African society. They attracted the weak and outcasts of the society as a way to cause division in the community.

female ochu (crime)

An unintentional crime. Punished with seven years of exile.

male ochu (crime)

intentional crime punishable by death

Why were the foreigners allowed to build a church in the Evil Forest?

The Ibo people thought the gods would destroy them. When this did not happen, they started to doubt their gods and think that maybe the white man's god was more powerful.

What do anklets represent?

The rank of the men in the village. The District Commissioner cut them off of Okonkwo and the others who were arrested for attacking the church

albino

A person with an absence of color pigments

egwuwu

men of the clan dress as the ancestral spirits of the village at trials and ceremonies

obanje

a changeling; a child who repeatedly dies and returns to its mother to be reborn.

What happens to twins born into the tribe?

Put into pot and sent into evil forest.

iron horse

What the villagers called the missionaries' bike

Chinua Achebe

Author of Things Fall Apart

Palm Wine

Is the drink tribesmen tap from trees.

Kola Nuts

Is the food always broken and shared among visiting friends.