“Kola nuts” What are they, how are they used in the novel? What do they represent or symbolize?

Chinua Achebe presents kola nuts as a type of symbolism throughout and since the beginning of “Things fall apart”. This object is very important and represents a significance in the Igbo culture by being a seed that connotatively brings “life” to the community. The value of this object is presented often in the book to emphasize the importance of it towards the Igbo culture; it was mostly used for social ceremonies as a form of greeting for visitors. On the other hand, the main character; Okonkwo also used the seeds on the medicine house, a place where he used to store symbols of  personal gods and ancestor's spirits.

In the book one is able to find a situation of frustration when Unoka breaks the Kola nut. This characters accepts the fact and the “honor” of breaking it, situation that finally leads him to pray “to their ancestors for life and health and for protections against their enemies” (p.5) This demonstrates us once again to what extent the people of the Igbo culture value this seed; breaking a kola nut is not only a privilege, but also an extremely important spiritual and religious procedure. Another example of their honor for this particular seed is shown when Ani does not accept Okwonko's offering after having beaten one of his wives during the famous week of peace and tells him “Take away your kola nut. I shall not eat in the house of a man who has not respect for our gods and ancestors” (p.22) With this in mind, we can get to the conclusion that Kola nuts are indeed an extremely important for every individual of the Igbo culture, they represent pride and tradition.