Things Fall Apart: Manifestation of Oral Tradition of Igbo Community in A Post Colonial Novel

Oral Literature is orature, folklore, traditional literature delivered by word of mouth and passed from one generation to another. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is written in African English and the writer tries to keep the Cultural identity of the Igbo Community intact. The protagonist of the story, Okonkwo, is an Igbo wrestler in Umuofia. The story describes his family history, the customs and rituals of his community and their fate against British Colonialism. In “Oral Tradition in the Criticism of African Literature”, Solomon O. Iyasere states that “The modern African writer is to his indigenous oral tradition as a snail is to its shell. Even in a foreign habitat, a snail never leaves its shell behind”. Things Fall Apart witnesses a great range of oral tradition of the Igbo Community. Oral Tradition of the Igbo Community is manifested in many forms in the novel. This Paper aims to study the various forms and their importance in social, cultural and political context.