The Headstrong Historian

Though modern readers might know the colonial context of missionaries in Africa during the 19th century, their task to corrupt and erode the cultural identity of African citizens under the guise of the “redemption of black heathens” remained surreptitious upon their arrival (209). Initially, when the Holy Ghost Congregation settles near Nwamgba’s clan, they are seen as a means to acquire a type of power. As Ayaju explains to Nwamgba, “she wanted Azuka to learn the ways of these foreigners, since people ruled over others not because they were better people, but because they had better guns” (204). For Nwamgba, learning the language of foreigners will eventually allow Anikwenwa to acquire his inheritance. As a whole, therefore, the missionary school seems innocuous to the clan members, if a little odd for believing in a god “who had come to the world to die, and who had a son but no wife, and who was three but also one” (205).

As children like Azuka and Anikwenwa attend classes, however, they become ideal targets for the missionaries. First, they insist on baptizing the children, which requires “that Anikwenwa […] take an English name, because it was not possible to be baptized with a heathen name” (208). Though Nwamgba sees no danger in having her son renamed since “his name [is] Anikwenwa as far as she [is] concerned” (208), the loss of his Nigerian name is the first step in compromising the child’s connection to his community. Mgbeke later takes the name Agnes in the same fashion, and their daughter doesn’t have a Nigerian name at all until she claims the one her grandmother gave her for herself. Names are an important marker in the text and are a way to pass down, erase, impose, or reclaim a culture depending on who has the privilege of naming others.

After renaming, the corruption of cultural identity is furthered by the progressive adherence to the missionary school’s Christian principles and the cultivation of disdain for their community’s practices. The insistence on wearing clothes at school, for instance, is a complete reversal of the general acceptance of nakedness within the clan. Though Anikwenwa resists at first by taking “off his clothes even before they left the mission compound” (210), eventually he accepts them as they give him a sense of status among his age group. This detail highlights the way colonial ideas are often internalized by colonized people. Anikwenwa is at first encouraged by his peers’ recognition; he wants his fellow Nigerians to think highly of him. The school’s principles, however, are not just tolerated; Anikwenwa increasingly adopts them as his own when he deems his mother’s dressing style sinful since she does not cover her breasts (210). Similarly, he refuses to eat his mother’s food because “it was sacrificed to idols,” and he has to be forced into participating in his ima mmuo ceremony. Father Shanahan tells him the practice is a “heathen” custom that has to stop. Anikwenwa agrees and would have kept away were it not for his mother’s insistence. The rejection of a traditional coming-of-age spiritual ritual emphasizes the developing rift; though raised in this culture, Anikwenwa does not want to become a man in it.

When Anikwenwa becomes an adult, the corruption is complete. He becomes not only a model English-speaking Christian, but when he returns from his studies in Lagos, he also becomes a catechist. Through his work, he continues to propagate the missionary’s task of “black heathen redemption,” all the while dismissing his culture. He insists, for instance, on marrying “a good Christian wife” instead of following the community tradition of consulting “people to ask about the bride’s family” (212). He also refuses to have Mgbeke participate in any traditional marriage rites, including the confession ceremony, and he holds a church wedding that alienates his mother and community. Finally, he replicates his education for his own children, giving them English names and a Western education, creating a generational divide between his traditional past and colonized future. Effectively, Anikwenwa’s corrupted cultural identity fractures the family structure and renounces the cultural inheritance his mother wanted for him. While the consequences of this cultural corruption are long-lasting, Afamefuna shows that they are not necessarily permanent; with dedication and hard work, Indigenous cultures can be reclaimed.