Good Night, Prof. Chinua Achebe

Started by emezico, Apr 30, 2013, 06:29 AM

emezico

Quotes From Achebe...

[1] "No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man."

[2] "A child's fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm."

[3] "We have heard stories about white men who make the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas, but no one thought the stories were true."

[4] "The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others. We have albinos among us. Do you not think that they came to our clan by mistake, that they have strayed from their way to a land where everybody is like them?"

[5] "The white man is very clever. He came quietly with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart."

[6] "As a man danced so the drums were beaten for him."

[7] Eneke the bird was asked why he was always on the wing and he replied: "Men have learned to shoot without missing their mark and I have learned to fly without perching on a twig."

[8] "Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, then know that something is after its life."

[9] "A man who lived on the banks of the Niger should not wash his hands with spittle."

[10] "You cannot plant greatness as you plant yams or maize. Who ever planted an iroko tree — the greatest tree in the forest? You may collect all the iroko seeds in the world, open the soil and put them there. It will be in vain. The great tree chooses where to grow and we find it there, so it is with the greatness in men."

[11] "Those whose palm kernels were cracked by benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble."

[12] "When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so but I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship. You do not know what it is to speak with one voice. And what is the result?

[13] An abominable religion has settled among you. A man can now leave his father and his brothers. He can curse the gods of his fathers and his ancestors, like a hunter's dog that suddenly goes mad and turns on his master. I fear for you. I fear for the clan."
― Chinua Achebe

Rest In Peace, Chinua Achebe!


Emmy Baba

Good night and Rest in peace, Prof. Chinua Achebe!

Emmy Baba