Monday, September 3, 2018

What did Okwonkwo's first and third wives contribute to the betrothal feast?

In chapter 12, Achebe provides further insight into the important Igbo tribal customs by illustrating the uri ceremony, which is a phase in the marriage ritual that takes place after the bride-price has been paid.
In the uri ceremony, the suitor brings palm-wine to the bride's family and the rest of his kinsmen. The next day—after Okonkwo and Ekwefi's sleepless night with Ezinma—Okonkwo's family attends Obierika's daughter's uri ceremony. The ceremony is considered a women's tradition, and the women of the village gather at Obierika's compound to help his wife prepare for the massive feast. Achebe writes that Nwoye’s mother carried a basket of cocoyams, a cake of salt, and smoked fish for Obierika’s wife. Okonkwo's youngest wife, Ojiugo, carried a basket of plantains, cocoyams, and a small pot of palm-oil, while her children carried water to Obierika's compound for the feast.


The daughter of Okonkwo's friend, Obierika, is getting married. A wedding is a very important occasion in Igbo culture, and is always accompanied by a large, sumptuous feast in which the whole village gets involved. The ensuing betrothal ritual, or uri, is an old tribal custom in which the suitor presents palm-oil to everyone in the bride's family. For her part, the mother of the bride is expected to prepare food for the wedding feast, with the assistance of other women in the village.
All three of Okonkwo's wives participate in the uri. His first wife, the mother of his oldest son, and Ojiugo, Okonkwo's third and youngest wife, bring cocoyams, palm-oil, salt, smoked fish, plantains, and water to the betrothal feast.

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