DARREL UNCHATT - WEEK 5 REFLECTION

WEEK 5 REFLECTION (Week 1 Re-post)


In your respective blogs, think reflectively of the issues found in the novel. The following questions should help you in your analysis:

Based on your reading of “Things Fall Apart”, what aspects of the Igbo culture allow the British to take over?
As mentioned in the “Things Fall Apart”, British had taken over Nigeria during the 1800s. The first aspect is the Igbo people were not aware that the British colonised their land until the British introduced the new religion, Christianity and vanished most of their cultures. The Igbo seemed to invite them openly to their land without knowing the British other intention which was to change the people and also the whole country which they would have a hard time to adjust the new changes. They think that by letting the British build the church in the Evil Forest, all of them will get rid but they are wrong. Starting from that, the British slowly take over their land. Second aspect is the Igbo were not uniting at the time the British came. It was their weakness that the British was easily colonised them without taking too much time and converted most of them into Christianity. Last but not least is most of their custom beliefs and cultures were against the Christianity beliefs and also the humanity. For example, the killing of one of the twin was rejected by the missionaries because it is against the new religion and also the Igbo people were amazed by the story of the Jesus Christ’s life.

Since Sarawak has also undergone colonisation, how has this affected aspect of culture in our society?
Sarawak was undergone colonisation by three powerful powers – The Sultanate of Brunei, the White Rajahs and the British. Each power had affected the aspect of culture of the society during that time and until now. The White Rajah or the Brooke’s dynasty was very obvious which had affected the society’s culture. Before Captain James Brooke came to Sarawak, the people were not united as the Malays stayed along the coast lines and the indigenous people stayed in the deep forest. After seeing the situation, the first Rajah of the Kingdom of Sarawak tried to find ways to unite them by introducing them to agriculture. The Malays would work as farmers and the Dayaks would work in the timber sectors. Besides that, the Rajah also welcomed the Chinese and the Indian immigrants as workers but then most of them brought their family and settled down. From my point of view, the Brooke’s dynasty really changed Sarawak on how he brought the Sarawak people together and we still feel the unity until now.

Are there any changes brought about in the lives of the indigenous tribes in Africa and Sarawak?
A lot of changes have been brought in the lives on both tribes. Firstly is unity. The indigenous tribes of both nations began to unite when the colonisers came to colonise their place. Realising that the lands would be taken by the outside’s power, people tended to join forces to defence their land before it would be exploited. For example, Sarawak, the society was not agreed that James Brooke took over their land. They began to fight the Brooke’s soldiers but as the time passed, they were realised that Brooke was doing the right thing for the new country and for the future of Sarawak. Secondly, the two nations were introduced with the new religions. Most of the indigenous people were converted to the Christianity without force. The missionaries know how to persuade them to covert. Besides the missionaries did not vanishing the local traditional beliefs but to obey them as long as it is not against the religion.