Things Fall Apart - Part 1

It's hard to read "Things Fall Apart" and not talk about colonialism.  However, the story is ripe with examples of how an orally based society communicates not only with each other individually, but collectively as a society including it's unique social structure and hierarchy.

In revisiting this story with a lens on the language only, it's evident that they place a lot of emphasis on the elders of their community to interpret law and maintain order within the community.  They have strong customs and rules that are relayed through the elders and oracles of their communities.

This suggests that tribal knowledge is passed down from the elders to the younger members of the community.  As younger members grow older they participate in tribal affairs (assuming they are worthy of course) and the community perpetuates it laws and traditions.

The interesting thing about this is how they convey this knowledge to the people of the tribe.  By wearing costumes and portraying the role of gods, they act as conduits from the spirit world to the real world.  This allows their leaders to pass judgment and make rulings with an "air" of officialness.  Since they are conduits for the gods to speak, they in essence are the gods.

All in all, a pretty good example of how non-writing societies maintain order and peace while passing on the history and tradition of the tribe.