Principal Characters in Things Fall Apart
Akuekue – daughter of Obierika, whose marriage is negotiated
Anene – Ekwefi’s first husband
Chielo – the current priestess of the oracle
Chika – the former priestess of the oracle, during Unoka’s time
Ekwefi – Okonkwo’s second wife; mother of Ezinma
Enoch – a Christian convert who killed the sacred python and sought confrontation with Igbo
traditionalists
Ezeani – the priest of the earth goddess
Ezeudu - an important elder; the oldest man in Okonkwo’s village
Ezeugo – a powerful orator usually chosen as spokesman
Ezinma – Okonkwo’s favorite daughter
Ikemefuna – the boy from Mbaino given to Umuofia as compensation for murder
Maduka – son of Obierika, a promising young wrestler
Mr. Brown – the first white missionary based in Umuofia
Mr. Kiaga – the Igbo missionary left in charge of the fledgling church in Mbanta
Mr. Smith – the zealous white missionary who replaced Mr. Brown
Ndulue – husband who died at the same time as his wife
Nwakibie – a big man in Umuofia, who helped Okonkwo get stated planting yams
Nwoye – Okonkwo’s oldest son, who converts to Christianity and adopts the name Isaac
Obiageli – sister of Nwoye
Obierika – Okonkwo’s good friend and confidant
Ogbuefi Udo –the man whose wife was murdered by the people of Mbaino
Ojiugo – one of Okonkwo’s three wives, mother of Obiageli
Okagbue – the medicine man who finds and destroys Ezinma’s iyi-uwa
Okonkwo – the main character, a strong, proud man
Okoye – a friend of Okonkwo’s father, who tries unsuccessfully to get back the money Unoka had
borrowed
Ozoemena – wife who dies at the same time as her husband
Uchendu – Okonkwo’s uncle, the senior man of Mbanta where Okonkwo’s family lives in exile
Unoka – Okonkwo’s late father, an easygoing, rather lazy person
Glossary of Words and Phrases Used in Things Fall Apart
Afo – one of the four market days
agadi-nwayi – old woman
agbala – woman; also an insulting term for a man who has taken no title
Agbala – the name of the oracle consulted by the people of Umuofia
Amadioha – the god of thunder and lightning
Ani – the earth goddess
bride-price – or bridewealth; the gifts transferred from the groom’s family to that of the bride,
which cement the marriage and legitimize the children
chi – one’s personal god or guardian spirit
Chukwu – the supreme god
cowries – shells imported from the Indian Ocean, widely used as currency in precolonial Africa
District Commissioner – the British official in charge of a particular African district
efulefu – an empty, worthless man
egwugwu – the masked spirits, representing the ancestral spirits of the village
Eke – one of the four market days
ekwe – a wooden drum
eneke-nti-oba – a kind of bird
eze-agai-nwayi – the teeth of an old woman
foo-foo – (or fufu) pounded yam eaten as part of most meals
harmattan – a cold, dry wind that blows from the North
iba – fever
Ibo – the older spelling of ‘Igbo,’ less commonly used today
Idemile – one of the three most prestigious titles in Igboland
Ifejioku – the god of yams, the men’s crop and principal food of the Igbo
Iguedo – Okonkwo’s village, one of the nine villages that make up Umuofia
ikenga – a wooden carving that becomes imbued with a man’s personal spirit
ilo – the village common where meetings, ceremonies, and sports competitions take place
inyanga – showing off; bragging
isa-ifi – a ceremony held to determine faithfulness if a woman had been separated from her
fiancé or husband for some time and were then reunited with him
iyi-uwa – a special stone that forms the link between an ogbanje and the spirit world. The child
would eventually die if the iyi-uwa were not discovered and destroyed.
jigida – a string of waist beads
kite – a bird that appears during the dry season
kola nuts – offered to guests on special occasions
kotma – ‘court-man’ or court messenger; a corruption of the English term
kwenu – a shout of approval and greeting
maize – corn
ndichie – the elders, who meet in the council and make decisions binding the clan
nna ayi – our father
nne – mother
nno – an expression of welcome
nso-ani – sacrilege
nza – tiny bird
obi – the living quarters of the head of the family
obodo dike – the land of the brave
ochu – murder or manslaughter
obanje – a changeling; a child who repeatedly dies and returns to its mother to be reborn
Ogbuefi – an honorific used before the name of a man who has taken the ozo title
ogene – a kind of gong
ogwu – supernatural medicine
osu – an outcast; having been dedicated to a god, the osu was not allowed to mix with the
freeborn or to marry one of them
Oye – one of the four market days
ozo – one of the tiles an important Igbo man could aspire to
palm kernels – the core of the fruit of the oil palm tree, which were cracked to release oil
palm oil – used in cooking and for preparing food, also a major cash crop exported to Europe
palm wine – a fermented drink prepared from the sap of certain palm trees
plantain – a starchy kind of banana cooked as food
pottage – a stew
singlets – men’s undershirts
sisal – a kind of cactus plant with fibrous leaves
tufia – a curse or oath
udu – a type of drum made from pottery
uli – a dye used by women for drawing patterns on the skin
umuada – a family gathering of daughters, for which the female kinsfolk return to their village
of origin
Umuofia – the clan Okonkwo belonged to, made up of nine villages
umunna – a wide group of kinsmen (the masculine form of umuada)
Uri – part of the betrothal ceremony when the dowry or bridewealth is paid.