Name: Gausvami
Surbhi A.
Assignment
Topic: “Chi” Symbolism in Things Fall Apart
Paper no. 14,
The African Literature
Roll No.
: 22
Submitted
to: Dr. Dilip Barad, M.A. Department of English
MK
Bhavnagar University.
Email id: gausvamisurbhi17@gmail.com
“Chi”
Symbolism in Things Fall Apart
Introduction:
Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. Published in 1958, its story chronicles the pre-colonial life in Nigeria and the arrival of the Europeans during the late nineteenth century. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, one of the first to receive global critical acclaim. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and is widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world.
The novel follows the
life of Okonkwo, an Igbo man and local wrestling champion in the
fictional Nigerian village of Umuofia. The work is split into three parts,
with the first describing his family, personal history, and the customs and
society of the Igbo, and the second and third sections introducing the
influence of British
colonialism and Christian missionaries on the Igbo community.
We have African
philosophy, Western philosophy, Oriental philosophy, American philosophy, Latin
American philosophy etc., each of which has a plethora of philosophical
doctrines, schools and traditions. African philosophy is the rational comments
on African way of living and experience of life. Because of its critical nature,
African philosophy constitutes the highest form of African thinking and
reflection; it is the motor and catalyst of Africa’s entire cultural endeavors
and civilization. The picture of an Igbo society that was highly organized and
deeply religious, a society which valued bravery, hard work, material wealth as
well as eloquence and dignity–a society that possessed an enviable culture.
“Chi” symbolism
Fiction is fiction but
ides that are conveyed in that is far beyond one’s imagination. Chinua Achebe
is the prominent novelist of Igbo culture and he tried to give “Narration of
the Nation” through this novel. He deliberately used various symbols in the novel
and ‘Chi’ is most significant symbol in the novel.
When fiction becomes
logically established and weighed on the balance of reality, they could stand
for philosophy. Etymologically, hermeneutics suggests a sacred origin, being
derived from the Greek word “hermeneia” which is related to the name of the god
Hermes and the verb “hermeneuein”. These words have three directions of
meaning:
To express/expression,
to explain/explanation and to translate/ translation. All the three shades of
meaning are rendered in English by to interpret/interpretation which in
general, means “bring to understanding.” In Greek mythology, Hermes is the
messenger of the gods, the go-between between gods and men. Hermes, the
wing-footed messenger-god, functions significantly, to render what was beyond
human understanding into a form that the human mind could grasp. In order to
accomplish his tasks, Hermes had to be conversant with the idioms of both gods
and men. He makes manifest the divine thought, translates the infinite to the
finite, the divine spirit into sensory phenomenon and therefore he denotes
analysis, measure and particularity. On this issue, Ralph Madu says Hermes had
to understand and interpret to himself what the gods wanted to convey before he
could proceed to translate, articulate and explicate their intention to
mortals. Paul Ricoeur sees the history of modern hermeneutics as dominated by
two movements, one epistemological and the other ontological. The first is the
act of understanding as a mode of knowing and the second as a way of being and
a way of relating to being.
Symbol, Paul Ricoeur
says in Hermeneutics, is “any structure of signification in which a direct,
primary, literal meaning designates in addition another meaning which is
indirect, secondary and figurative and which can be apprehended only through
the first”. Thus, one can say that a
symbol is any expression which refers to some intuited universal meaning.
Symbols are characterized by multiple meaning. They are signs with double
references of which the first meaning points analogically to a second which is
not given in any other way. There is always a natural link between the
signifying and the signified.
The Igbo concept, Chi,
has a religious background even though it occupies an enviable position in Igbo
sapiential framework. It is used in various forms. Ralph Madu postulates two
forms: it could mean simply day as in chi abola (it is day break); from a more
sacred origin, it means personal god—divine afflatus—the spirit that animates
human beings. Theophilus Okere corroborates that chi is really a personal god.
It is the supreme God shared by each individual but more specifically in his
aspect as giver and author of destiny. For Madu, destiny is the philosophy and
belief of the traditional sage that every life is unique in significant way and
is subject to series of unforeseeable hazards and unexpected rewards all mapped
out by chi.
Justin N. Ekennia sees
chi as the third element of the Igbo metaphysical understanding of person. This
60 Chi Symbolism in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is an additional element to
western understanding (27). For him, chi ‘is a unique life force, which each
person possesses. No two persons have the same chi. It is regarded as the Igbo
principle of individualization…. each person is unique and irreplaceable’.
Arinze regards it as an emanation or participation of the supreme God. Arinze
calls chi a personal god. Chi is seen as the supreme God as shared by each
individual but more especially in his aspect as giver and author of destiny. In
another articulation, Mbonu Ojike in his work My Africa asserts: ‘No one chi is
like another because no two persons are identical. A rich man’s chi is rich and
a poor man’s chi is poor. A man’s chi is masculine and a woman’s chi is
feminine. A man’s chi is equal to that man’.
Chi is a good example
of a symbol with accumulative intention, a traditional sapiential and religious
symbol which has taken on so many contradictory values that tend to neutralize
one another. The chi symbol also demonstrates the potentiality of some symbols
to Chi Symbolism in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart acquire oppositional values and
function that make polysemy one of the prime problems of semantics.
Existentialism
and Concept of ‘Chi’:
This universe is very
large. We are tiny part of this universe. and it does not get affected by our
actions and deeds. it doesn't care for us. Universe will remain as it is
weather we do anything for it or not. There is different between what we expect
from it and what we find in it.
Either people believe
in God or they find life as meaningless. once we find it meaningless then we
start thinking that does it mean that 'life is not worth living?'. So some
people may committed suicide but we can give our own unique meaning to life
rather than committing suicide.
Unlike Rene Descartes,
who believed in the primacy of consciousness, existentialist asserts that Human
being is "thrown into" a concrete, inveterate Universe. We don't know
that weather it is our choice or not to be human, to be Hindu or Muslim, Man or
Woman. Sometimes we can choose something but sometimes we remain choice less.
Here we find Choice v/s choicelessness. Albert Camus said that
"Existence precedes essence". We are indifferent to material things
such as chair,fen or any material thing. The essence of material things are
predetermined so they act accordingly. But the essence of human cannot
predetermined. therefore we are creator of meaning of our life. as a human
being we are free to make choices. But after that we are responsible of
consequences that may arrive as a result of our choices. Generally what
happened is that people make their choices but they try to escape from its
result. Existentialism is not escapism.
Existentialism is not Nihilism. Nihilism denies that there is ultimate meaning of life. it completely believe in objectivity. While existentialism believe in subjectivity. in a way this not a pessimistic idea but optimistic idea by giving subjectivity or hope to individual's life.
It does not believe in
“Karmic philosophy". It does not believe in God as divine power, but it
believes in self. Some existentialist is believer also, so they argue that
there is God as divinity. but He will not do anything for you. But we have to
do work for our existence. According to existentialism one should live
with passions. we are the creator our "own work of Art". We can give
variety of colors to our Universe.
Life is full of
adversity; there cannot be a best teacher rather than your sorrow and
sufferings. One can learn new things only through pain and grief. Therefore we
become habituated to sorrows and suffering.
Existentialism and
concept of ‘Chi’ is directly connected because both believe in making the
destiny by one’s choice and also responsible for the consequences that may
arrive at the end.
Chi Symbolism in
Things Fall Apart:
Achebe has described
the Chi through the main character Okonkwo. the son of the lazy and
unsuccessful Unoka, by dint of his industry, rose to power and prominence in
his community. He became a successful farmer and thereby acquired wealth, and
so took traditional Igbo titles. In his observation with important implications
for both Okonkwo and his chi, Achebe argues that: anyone who knows his grim
struggle against poverty and misfortune cannot say he has been lucky. If ever a
man deserves his success that man is Okonkwo. At an early age, he had achieved
fame as the greatest wrestler in all the land. That was not luck. It seems that
Okonkwo strongly believe in Nietzsche’s concept of “Superman” that man is
capable of doing everything. (kush) Finally,
at the funeral of Ezeudu Okonkwo killed his son accidently. That is the point
of no return. He got punishment from village people and he had to flee to
Mbanta(his maternal land) with his family. While in exile he lost his taste of
work. He becomes charmless, without enthusiasm of youth. When he returns from
exile he found that Umuofia people have accepted Christianity. It was great shock for him. He thought that
how people can accept other religion. Thus, he was in state of ‘Ambivalence’.
He could not accept the other religion. At the same time he committed suicide
which is considered ‘Taboo’ in Igbo culture. Okonkwo tried to burn Church with
the help of his fellow members. After knowing the fact that Igbo people will
not fight against British people he committed suicide. Obereika, Okonkwo’s best
friend complained to the district commissioner, ‘that man (Okonkwo) was one of
the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself and now he will be
buried like a dog’.
As
is evident from the above account Okonkwo’s life was filled with ups and downs,
climax and anticlimax, praise and dejection and finally shameful death. How
best can one interpret Okonkwo’s fate vis-à-vis his chi? As his life was
characterized by contradictions –success and failure, greatness and shameful
death–could one say that he had two chis or only one that was both successful
and unsuccessful? Here what is important is not the raising of particular
philosophical problems but the spotting of the general philosophical
orientation of the chi/personal destiny issue in Igbo culture. Like most
African tradition, Igbo have a participatory culture. To have created man, God
is to bear a hand in his cause and be involved. (Okoro)
Conclusion:
‘Chi’
means personal God who drives someone to act In particular way. Each person has
his own unique chi which different from other. One can have more than one chi.
as in the case of Okonkwo, he has two chis or we can say that one chi that is
both successful and unsuccessful.
Works Cited
kush.
Chi in Igbo cosmology. 20 March 2014. 5 April 2018
<https://youngafrikanpioneers.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/chi-in-igbo-cosmology/>.
Okoro, Edward. "CHI SYMBOLISM IN ACHEBE’S THINGS FALL
APART:A HERMENEUTIC UNDERSTANDING." (n.d.).
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