To be a man in the Ibo culture of Africa in the 1800s meant to live with honor above all. It meant to be respectful to your elders and ancestors, dedicating oneself to his work, and playing an avid role in the ceremonies of the tribe and those most valiant in the tribe would hold titles of importance in their culture. In Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, he chooses to create a main character that displays the characteristics necessary for success in the tribe, like his dedication, courage, strength, and respectfulness. However, Achebe also chose to stress the inner battles Okonkwo faces; his personal battle between his manly hood and his resentment towards his spineless father, the legacy he left behind, and how Okonkwo realizes just how easy it would be follow in his footsteps, a path he spends his entire life trying to stay off of. Achebe uses all of these characteristics of his main character, and in the end his tragic death, to show the inner workings of the Ibo culture and how it was destroyed upon the entering of European missionaries. .
In the novel Things Fall Apart, like many cultures during the 1800's, European or African, the African Ibo tribe placed religion as a form of both a source of spiritual devotion and a law establishing committee. Fundamental rules were found in their society, rules that no one questioned, and instead of an actual government, their religious beliefs instead influenced proper punishment for wrongdoings and provided a code of conduct they lived by. However, with the introduction of Europeans, many of their ideas were questioned, disobeyed with no consequences, and it seemed as if these people were slowly tearing them apart. .
The Ibo's placed high esteem upon the worship of their many gods and goddesses. Yams, the popular crop of their tribe, were used in grand festivals that honored different figures such as Ani the Earth goddess and source of childbirth.
