What are some of the fundamental morals of the Igbo community, and how were they reflected by the material culture?Things Fall Apart

The Igbo community of Western Nigeria, as reflected in
Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart,
are:

Patriarchal: It is a
male-dominated society.  Status is defined by the male: titles taken, number of yams
farmed, wrestling throws, heads taken in war, number of wives and
sons.

Agrarian: The males work
hard to produce yams (a male crop).  The females work to produce coco-yams, cassavas,
and beans (female crops).  The men tend their fields, while the women tend to smaller
plots and the
marketplace.

Communal/Polygamous:
Each male with status has many wives, each of which has her own hut and children.  The
male lives in his own hut at the head of the compound.  Male children may live with him
once he has passed the initiations into adulthood (age
16-17).

Polytheistic: Although
debatable, the complex religion of the Igbo is seen by most Westerners as having many
gods.  The Igbo make the caveat that there is only one god, Chukwu, and he has many
servants, or lesser gods.  In light of the Holy Trinity, this should not be a stretch
for the British colonialists to understand, but they inevitably see the Igbo as
practicing polytheistic paganism.