Monday, March 3, 2008
Chielo??
The people in the story believe Chielo to be possessed by Agbala, and allow her to do random things at random times without retribution (like taking Enzima in the middle of the night). Someone with this type of power could easily overstep their bounds and get away with, among many other things, thievery, extortion, and even murder. She could be persuaded or bribed by others exact vengence (something like telling the others to burn a certain field), order a hit (Ikemefuna comes to mind), create a new national holiday (could say "Today Agbala has ordered us to rest," or something), etc. She could also demand food, wine, and money as "sacrifices" (Such as when Okonkwo was fined for beating his wife in the week of peace) in order to live a more lavish life. All in all, she basically has supreme power over all that follow the religion. Do you believe that Chielo is a power-hungry poser, a psycho, really possessed by the AGBALA!!, or something else?
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2 comments:
I think Chielo abuses her powers, similar to the oracle in "300." She is most likely bribed by a rival village who seeks the end of the Umuofia. Or outsiders, such as white colonists, may be using her to eventually turn the people away from the old religion and convert to a more Western style of religion, such as Christianity. Chielo certainly does have a large amount of power, and is open to corruption by it.
I would have to disagree with Jones' statement about Chielo abusing her powers. I personally think that in the right mindset you can get just as swept up in religious fervor as those who follow you. So I wouldn't say Chielo is doing the things she does for power or attention, but that she has religious teachings ingrained so far in her own mind that she truely believes to be prophetic and powerful.
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