WEEK 5

SITI AMIRA BT SALLEHUDIN

1) Based on your reading of "Things Fall Apart", what aspects of the Igbo culture allow the British to take over?

2) Since Sarawak has also undergone colonization, how have these affected aspects of culture in our society?

3) Are there any changes brought about in the lives of the indigenous tribes in Africa and Sarawak?

Answer

In Things Fall apart, the Igbo’s people seem to be disturbed by some of their immoral cultures such as the killing of the twins because of the superstitious that the twins bring bad luck to the family aside from the sacrifices of Ikemefuna because of his father’s fault. These two are the examples for the immoral cultures that the Igbo’s people practise. However, there are some cultures of the Igbo’s people that can be practised such as the gathering and the Week of Peace. Ever since the immoral cultures can be considered as immoral acts to the people, when the colonisation happens, they allow the British to take over the culture. The British gives them education so that the can differentiate the wrongs and the goods in things. In addition, they encourage the Igbo’s people to convert to Christianity but not by forcing them. Even though the people do not have the intention to convert to Christianity, they can attend the class which the British provided for them. One of the Igbo’s people who converted to Christianity is Nwoye - the protagonist who against Christianity’s son.

The colonisation has affected some aspects in the Sarawak's society. For example, the language they used. My friend told me that instead using 'bola' for ball, the Sarawak people use 'bol'. Besides that, during marriage ceremony, the bride will use dress and the groom will use coat instead using the traditional wedding attire. Moreover, I have been told that some of the people in Sarawak still use the term ‘residen’ to the officer. 

            Mostly the country that has been colonised do has some changes in their lifestyle. As for Africa, they get formal education after the colonisation. Moreover, before the colonisation, the people do not have any religion as they believe on superstitious and the oracle. Therefore, during the colonisation, the British spreads their religion which is Christianity to the Igbo’s people. 

WEEK 5

Siti Noor Amira binti Mohammad Johari

1) Based on your reading of "Things Fall Apart",what aspects of the Igbo culture allow the British to take over?

2) Since Sarawak has also undergone colonisation, how has this affected aspects of culture in our society?

3) Are there any changes brought about in the lives of the indigenous tribes in Africa and Sarawak ?

     Based on my understanding, one aspect of Igbo culture that allows the British to take over is when the missionaries try to persuade the Igbo people by using many strategies, and they are easily fall to it. In this novel, we can see missionaries tried to convince by giving them the "iron horse" or bicycle and the other was the use of rhythmic singing and clapping to draw attention to their message. These show that their allegiance towards their belief is not totally strong. Besides, one of the villagers that converted to Christianity was Nwoye, Okonkwo's son. Okonkwo was not satisfied with Nwoye's attitude. He was always complaining about Nwoye who was not possesses manliness as he was. So, Nwoye felt he did not belong to his father and he also questioned himself about the killing of Ikemefuna and the twins. These make Nwoye converted to Christianity which this religion teaches them that everyone was brothers and sisters. Other than that, Igbo people also believe on the Evil Forest was filling with evil spirit which men that killed themselves, ogbanje and twins. Then, when the missionaries came to the village, they gave the forest for the missionaries to build a church. They believed when the missionaries built up a church there, they will be destroyed. Unfortunately, their belief was wrong instead the church made the British more powerful as they could spread their religion easily. 

     In Sarawak society, there are some aspects from colonisation of British that affected in this culture. One of them is their language which still maintaining the English language. As I know, the older still use English words in their daily communication. Such as, ball is 'bola' but they still call 'bol' and also resident is  'pejabat daerah' and they still call 'residen'. Other than that, in that time majority of Sarawakian are influenced by the attire of British. I saw in the picture of the wedding of my parents's friend, they wore coat,necktie,gown,and etc as their wedding attire rather than wearing traditional dress. This shows how British have influenced them indirectly. Besides, in the social perspective, in that time way of life of Malay-Muslim community began to be absorbed by the Western elements. For instance, they built many entertainment center such as Kampung Tanjung Kesenangan Club (1926), Sarawak Malay Tennis Club (1929), Sinjan Music Club, dan Surabaya Jolly Minstrels (Zulkiple Abdul Gani & Juanda Jaya, 2003:643). Besides, from the perspective of eating manner and etiquette, some of Malay Sarawakian rather to use spoon and fork when they eat. It is different from most of the people in West Malaysia which we tend to use bare hand to eat. It is a way for us as Malay Muslim in eating informally. 

     There are many changes that occur in the lives of the indigenous tribes in Africa such as they were not consulting Agbala when they had problems. They converted to Christianity and this made Jesus as their god. Besides, I think there was development in their life. They will go through modernization as the missionaries will help them in developing themselves. It can be seen in the novel, when the Igbo people didn't know the bicycle but they called it 'iron horse'. When the missionaries came, they will teach the Igbo people about technology. Other than that, they also will believe that everyone is the same. There is no more “title” among them because in Christianity, everyone is same. Meanwhile in Sarawak, there are many changes that we can notice here. When there is a colonisation in a country, it makes the country starts to be strong to fight for their right. They will arise to protect their own land and not only see it will be taken by other parties. Thus, this spirit makes them stronger and good enough to fight on. Besides, the colonisation also makes them to be thrived in the technology as well as highly moral standard. When the colonisation takes place, they will introduce new technology and as they go back to their own country, they will leave the knowledge to residents. So, in indirectly the people can go through modernisation by their help. So, we can see from this aspect, not all colonisation will cause bad effects but they also give us some advantages. From the cultural aspect, I believe the indigenous tribes have been influenced by the colonisation. They still maintained the used of west attire in their wedding. Besides, from the political aspect, Malaysia practised Parliamentary Democracy. This system is based from the Westminster System which was totally from British. British brought it to Tanah Melayu and until now we still practise it. 

Rosiah Binti Omar

WEEK 5

1) Based on your reading of "Things Fall Apart", what aspects of the Igbo culture allow the British to take over?

2) Since Sarawak has also undergone colonization, how have these affected aspects of culture in our society?

3) Are there any changes brought about in the lives of the indigenous tribes in Africa and Sarawak?

Aspects of the Igbo culture that allow the British to take over are obviously showed when they don’t care about the missionaries and still let them to stay in the Evil Forest. They believe that the missionaries will die in Evil Forest. Besides that, the Igbo people also practice the openness, which means that they just let the missionaries to influence their mind and just believe what they said.

There are many changes that we can see until today. One aspect that obviously affected the culture is religion. British has brought the Christianity to Sarawak that makes the religion has the highest adherent. There is so many churches build in Sarawak. Besides, English language became the main important aspects that have been brought by British to Sarawak. Most of Sarawakian communicates in English rather than their native language which is Iban. Some of them speak fluently in English.

There are many changes brought in the lives of the indigenous tribes in Africa and Sarawak. In Africa, after the Christianity spread, most of the Igbo people have converted to Christian. They don’t believe in their ancestors anymore because they had found the new religion. They can think before they took some action because they now can differentiate the bad and good. Changes in Sarawak that we can see are the people became more knowledgeable and develop because they are using an international language. Moreover, the British also make the changes in administration system. Sarawak used the resident instead of district office which was brought by the British.

Week 5

Based on your reading of things fall apart, what aspects of Igbo culture allow British to take over?

Since Sarawak has also undergone colonisation, how has this affected aspect of culture in our society?

Are there any changes brought about in the lives of the indigenous tribes in Africa and Sarawak.

There are so many aspects of Igbo culture that allow British to take over. Firstly, they were ignorant of the capabilities of others. They thought that they were the best among all and did not think of the abilities of the missionaries to have come and invade them. That’s what happened when British came with the bicycle that the Igbo people called it ‘iron horse’ and they were so amazed with it and then let the British come and live with them. They thought the British will die after living in the Evil Forest but they turned out to be perfectly fine and even managed to build a church there. That incident had advanced the Igbo people to embrace Christianity.

Firstly, the religion of the people here changed. Majority of the tribes here are Christian after the colonisation when before, many of them were atheist or practiced the religion of their ancestors. The changes brought here, in Sarawak and Africa, the changes brought doesn’t seem to be much different. The systems are changed. The colonisation had brought so many administrations to be followed by the commoners. There were courts, schools and hospitals that were introduced by the British to help advancing the life of the people. Thus the education system, the health and the rules and safety of the people are getting better because of the colonisation.

The social life of the people also changed after the colonisation. The wedding of the people in Serawak and Africa has been western-like where they started to wear suits and wedding gowns during the ceremony and not their traditional wear anymore. Even when they wear their traditional outfit, the women will match it with high heels. Somehow the originality has gone. There are, however few left who still wear it. The way of eating also had changed, as the Sarawakian started to eat using fork and spoon and no longer use their hands like they used to. One by one the culture of the people starting to fade away.

by : Ateeq Medina

Rosiah binti Omar

Week 4- Perfect character a delusion or reality

            Okonkwo been a figure of inspiration to his people when he defeat Amalinze The Cat who have never lose to any battle or fight. After he defeat Amalinze,  he became famous among Umuofia’s people. however, okonkwo also bring disappointment to his people when he disrespected the week of peace. All people did not respect him because they believe that Okonkwo has done a bad things to their God, and he should never be respected by others.

           Characteristics of okonkwo in my nations leader is hardwork and eager to earn a positions of high status in community. It is clearly seen in the society. When he managed to defeat Amalinze The Cat, all the people respect him and point out him as a leader of the clan. 

I can relate Okonwo's characteristic with our former Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. He is hardworking always tried to give the best for his country. Eventhough, there were many obstacles he had to overcome, he still managed to get the independence for Malaya. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo was a person who was very hardworking and always tried to get as much as he could for his life, wives and children. Besides that, Okonkwo's characteristic that I found in Tunku Abdul Rahman was he always upholding his own principle and never gave up on what he already started. 

Rosiah binti Omar

Week 3- Religions and Superstitions

I think that I agree with Karl Marx. Religion guides us to stay on the right track. There is no religion who taught their follower to become evil, thief, rapist, or murderer. Religion is a very important aspects in our life, without religion we will lost and don’t have any aims or goals for our life. However, in the case of Umuofia, I think their native religion stunts their development because they seem to follow what their ancestor’s believe. They don’t want to take any paradigm shift towards their life and religion. If they can think better, their life would be more valuable.

            The new religion which is Christianity, had brought the changes and development to Umuofia. All the people in Umuofia can think before taking any actions or decisions. As the new religion came, they banned all the things that not good for themselves, for example, before the Christianity came, they killed the twin baby but now they can accept the twin baby in their community.

            I think that superstitions and religions affect the development of a country because that set of belief help to sustain positive aspects of individual behaviour that enhance productivity. The new religion also creates the human capital who have many good behaviour and positive thinking.

            One’s belief affects the nation in terms of politics and culture because one’s can change the whole world only using his mind and power. They can spread the bad propaganda and slander about someone or something that can affects others.

week 4

              

Perfect Character A Delusion or Reality

In the novel Animal Farm, the hope for a better world remains unattainable. Even with the change of governance, the animals are eventually mistreated. How is it possible that the longing for good can turn awry when the person is in power for long?

It is possible if the intention of the governance changed. At first it might be honesty that drives him along but as time goes by, he might found another interest such as money or power. When this happens, the longer the person is in charge, then the more awful the people get treated. To find such a good leader with excellent qualities are indeed hard but if the people had known of the true intention of the leader, they must act against him. The people must play their role to get the good instead of only longing for it to come by itself.

In the case of Okonkwo, he is not painted as someone who is without fault. In fact, he is in many ways a tragic hero. Neither is he a person who is evil despite his part in killing Ikemefuna. Based on your understanding of him in the novel, reflect on the following questions:

•             How has Okonkwo been a figure of inspiration and disappointment to his people?

Okonkwo had once known as ‘The Roaring Flame’ for his courage, strength and power. He had defeated Amainze,the cat who was a tough fighter from the other village to make his people grant him that title. He was inspiring the people by that sense and plus when he grew up, he married three wives, got children and own his own yam field. It was symbol of a successful man in Umofia. He was considered a respected man before he was casted away from his village for accidentally killed a young boy. When he returned to Umofia, he was shocked to find that the missionaries already affected the village and the people in it. He tried to fight back and do all his might to rebel. He was disappointed with his kinsmen whom he adored so much as they had turned feminine for not fighting the missionaries. At last, he acted by killing one of the messenger abruptly in the market in front of his people and that had brought questions to them, wondering why did he commit such an act. Okonkwo later felt so depressed by the villagers and there were nothing more he could do to save his people, he decided to take his own life by hanging himself on a tree. And that is considered a taboo for Ibo tribe, to kill own life. In the end, his people disappointed in him and could not even touch him to get him buried properly although he was once a great man.

•             What are the characteristics of Okonkwo that you can find in your nation’s leader?

Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, is the former prime minister of my nation and he is indeed a great man, just like Okonkwo. The characteristics of Okonkwo which is strong, intelligent and dependent are reflected in Tun Mahathir’s personality. He had never quit to make Malaysia a great country and did his best to protect her from any harm. The same goes to Okonkwo when he tried to protect Umofia from the missionaries. Okonkwo wanted his children to be successful and Unoka, his son to respectable be like him and Tun Mahathir wanted the same for his children. The only difference they have is Okonkwo died in such not pleasant way but Tun Mahathir retired respectably after performing his duties as Prime Minister of Malaysia for 20 years.

by : Ateeq Medina