Cultural Dissensions and the Temporality of Colonialism in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God

Abstract

This article investigates the intricate web of cultural dissensions in Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God (1964). Moving beyond a binary view of “colonizer vs. colonized,” this study examines the novel as a depiction of a society produced in an “interregnum”-a rupture in time where the past is no longer accessible and the future remains indeterminate. The research explores the semiotics of Igbo culture within the specific setting of Umuaro, a society in transition where traditional customs and foreign European influences clash. By analyzing the internal power struggles of Umuaro alongside the external pressures of British administration, this study highlights how ideological rigidity and the pragmatism of survival led to the eventual collapse of the traditional Igbo social order. Central to this analysis is the character of Ezeulu, the Chief Priest of Ulu, whose personal ambition and “fatal inflexibility” create a scission within his community. While the British administration sought to impose political authority by misinterpreting traditional structures, the internal division between Ezeulu and his rivals further “trampled” the culture, rendering it vulnerable to colonial displacement. Ultimately, the research argues that the shift toward Christianity was a pragmatic response to the threat of famine and social disintegration, signaling the “song of extermination” for traditional Africa and the birth of a new colonial order. This study utilizes a qualitative framework to examine how meaning is produced and contested, illustrating that the downfall of traditional society was a result of both external interference and internal rigidity.