Arrow of God

1 About this book

In the Igbo villages of Umuaro in Eastern Nigeria in 1921, Ezeulu, old and dignified Chief Priest of the god Ulu, finds that his authority as spiritual leader is strengthened when a war which he has tried to prevent between Umuaro and a neighboring community is stopped by the British District Officer.

Feeling compelled to respect the knowledge and power of the white man, Ezeulu sends one of his young sons to learn Christianity so that he will know the secret of such strength. But this brings the conflict between old ways and new to a head as the boy, in an excess of freshly-inspired Christian enthusiasm, tries to kill a royal python, a creature most sacred in the religious traditions of Umuaro.

After this, Ezeulu's opposition to the authority of the white man becomes more pronounced, but his noble obstinacy, although it achieves a temporary victory over Captain Winterbottom, brings tragedy in the end.

• Igbo (African people)
• Nigeria in fiction
• Nigeria