The White Man on a Bike

“A stop & gossip on the road from Owerrinta to Owerri.” c. 1919-1932. MAA Cambridge.

The story of a white man dragged off a bicycle and killed while riding in the Igbo country has been told in different ways, even in Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart". The man, a doctor named Stewart, was actually killed due to mistaken identity during resistance to the British.

The incident happened in November 1905, in Mbaise, while Dr. Stewart was attempting to catch up with a convoy of colonial troops from Owere to Calabar by bicycle. He was captured and paraded through several areas and finally killed in the Afo market of Onicha Amairi, his body never found.

The Igbo Tradition of Oratory

Photo: Postcard via the Library of Congress.

There's been focus on the importance of the individual's voice in Igbo societies. The following short examples examine traditions of consensus decision-making and how they have influenced behaviour, relationships, and communication.

Consensus decision-making in Igbo society lead to the development of a particular persuasive way of speaking. Misty L. Bastian on debates between missionaries and members of Önïcha society.