A popular quote from “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe captures the above discussion well. He wrote:

A popular quote from “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe captures the above discussion well. He wrote:

When an old man dies and crosses over to Ala Mmụọ, he will stand before thousands of his ancestors to give account of his role in maintaining the balance between Ala Mmuo na Ala Mmadụ on behalf of his family.

If he falls short, as is the case of many Christian elders, who abandoned their families Obi Ndị Ịchie and offered no sacrifices in their lifetime, he will be made to stand outside of the homestead of his ancestors – Ọ ga akwulu na ilo ebe anwụ na mmili ga na ama ya.

It is at this point that such a man will begin to appear to his children in dreams and also in Afa, for them to offer a chicken or goat in his name to Ndi ịchie, as an appeasement for his negligence and admittance to the hall of his hallowed ancestors.

That which he called “inconsequential idol worship” while he was alive, has now become so important that he is willing to frustrate his living children for them to do it.

It is called ‘Idoba na Ndi ịchie”, and it is a standard practice in Ìgbò Odinala for the living to offer an Okokpa (for a man) and Nnekwu (for the woman) to Ndị Ịchie na Umu Ada for the death of a family member. The man who is now disturbing in dreams, never did it for his father or mother. But has now died and seen the importance.

A popular quote from “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe captures the above discussion well. He wrote:

“A man was once told by an oracle that his deceased father wanted him to sacrifice a goat for him and the man told the oracle to ask his deceased father if he ever owned a fowl when he was alive.”

Ụmụ Ìgbò ka anyị malu nụ ife. Ndị okenye anyị malu ife. Onye ọbụna je dozie Obi Ndị Ịchie ndị nna ya, maka uta.