Cultural Conflicts in Onoura Nzekwu's Novel : A Postcolonial Perspective

Onuora Nzekwu was a Nigerian professor, writer and editor from the Igbo people, his novels are generally based on customs, traditional heritage, and religious practices prior to contact with the western world. In the novel, Nzekwu focuses on personal relationships rather than political themes like colonization and the dominance of western forces in Nigeria. This paper is exploring the Onoura Nzekwu’s novel, “Wand of Noble Wood” is a product of both western influences and the traditional culture of Nigeria. Through this novel, Nzekwu explores it’s unique cultural practices and beliefs, and customary practices of traditional African societies, specifically the Igbo community. The characters and their conversation provide a view through which the reader can interpret the complexities of African culture and the challenges faced during the colonial era. Thus the focus of the study is on Nigerian culture, tradition, clashes of culture, influence of colonial and also spiritual elements. For this purpose, this article would like to examine Nzekwu’s treatment of the colonial concerns between the east and west through the art of characterization and plot construction.