Arrow of God - Characters
Arrow of God - Characters
Arrow of God - Characters
The central character of this novel is the chief priest of the god
Ulu, who originated in reaction to the marauding of the
neighboring tribe of Abame whose mercenaries raided the six
villages now joined together as Umuaro in order to capture
slaves. He has married three wives, one of whom has died, and
tends to shift his affections from older sons onto younger ones.
Seen through the eyes of his oldest son Edogo, he is single
minded and expects all others to think as he does. Thus the
growing isolation, contributed to heavily by the advance of
colonialism, is seen to be partly his fault. As the novel opens,
Ezuelu is unhappy with the escalation of a minor conflict with the
nearby Okperi tribe whom he sees as entitled to a disputed piece
of land. His arguments for not going to war are considered and
reveal his knowledge of history. But a powerful speaker and a
very wealthy leader, Nwaka, prevails. Unfortunately, the delegate
sent to the Okperi gives in to his anger after being goaded about
his virility and breaks the ikenga or ancestral image of the Okperi
spokesman, who then kills him. The resulting war is crushed by
the British District Officer, Winterbottom, who rules in favor of
the Okperi. (The choice of this name for him is humorous, as it
appears to be a euphemism for "ashy buttocks," the undignified
epithet hurled at the British in Things Fall Apart.)
Significant relations of Ezuelu are his four sons Obika, the second
son and heir apparent, Oduche, the lesser son sent to the
Christian school, and Edogo, the oldest son. Obika drinks heavily,
often with his friend Ofoedu, who is "never absent from the scene
of a fight." He defends his half-sister, Akueke, after she is
battered by her husband by humiliating and almost killing the
batterer. He has a rash temperament, and is beaten for his
insolence by Wright when he goes to work on the road. Yet his
relationship with his wife, Okuata (a woman with the same name
as Ezuelu's late wife) is sensitive and caring. He dies of a fever
during a festival, contributing to the suffering thatbrings on
Ezuelu's defeat and madness. Oduche's overzealous adherence to
the literal rule of the Christian faith is comically dealt with
(described above). Ezuelu has two wives, Matefi, the senior one,
and Ugoye, the younger one; his first wife, Okuata, has died
three years prior to the time of the novel and is the mother of
daughters Adeze and Okueke, and the eldest son Edogo, who
lives in a compound tangential to the father's house. Matefi's
children are Obika and Ojiugo; Ugoye's are Obiageli and Nwafo,
who has suffered from convulsions at night but has been cured by
a sacred image or okposi. These children are young enough to be
friends with, tease, and tell stories to Akueke's daughter Nkechi.
Amoge is the wife of Edogo, whose first child has died and whose
second one has turned very sickly. Ezuelu also has a younger
brother Okeke Onenyi, who speaks up to ensure her safety when
it appears that the battered Akueke's husband wants her back.