be today. It may have been a society that was inferior in their eyes, but Chinua Achebe shows us that it was a society that worked: "They lived happily on the yams, cocoyams, beans, and cassava that they could produce within their small villages, without having to work year round." They did not intend on expanding their tribes, but to maintain the life they had always known. What they did not produce in their own village, they could trade with neighboring villages, which believed in the same ideals as they did. When there were disruptions between villages, they would try to come to an agreement. If no agreement could be found, they would war, as would the Europeans. Their society may not have been perfect, but it was a civilized society that worked. By witnessing their way of life in this novel, the very essence of this African civilization is celebrated.
             Religion gives a devout society a set of rules that are believed to be punishable by an omnipotent non-human entity. Whether or not the religion is Christian, which believes a ritual turns bread and wine into flesh and blood, or the Ibo religion, which believes that a stillborn child is an "ogbanje" which seeks to haunt the mother, is irrelevant. Both religions have tales that are completely unbelievable without faith. To many people, stories such as Adam and Eve's exit from Eden, Moses' part of the Red Sea, and the Resurrection of Jesus are as unbelievable as the "Ibo's Oracle" or their "Evil Forest." Religion is a central theme in this novel. Although some missionaries recognized the Ibo religion, many overlooked it and considered their practices wrong. This mentality is clearly supported by the following quote by S. Baker, in reference to African achievements:
             "African savages....not to be compared to the noble
             character of the dog...There is no gratitude, pity, love,
             or self-denial; no idea of duty, no religion...."
             This was many of the missionaries' interpr...