"As the men ate and drank palm-wine they talked about the customs of their neighbors.

            'It was only this morning,' said Obierika, ' that Okonkwo and I were talking about Abame and Aninta, where titled men climb trees and pound foo-foo for their wives.'

            'All their customs are upside down. …'

            'That is very bad,' said Obierka's eldest brother. 'But what is good in one place is bad in another place. …'       

            'The world is large,' said Okonkwo."

Ch. 8

"The land of the living was not far removed from the domain of the ancestors. There was coming and going between them, especially at festivals and also when an old man died, because he was very close to the ancestors. A man's life from birth to death was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors."

Ch. 13

"But stories were already gaining ground that the white man had not only brought religion but also a government." … "There was no question of killing a missionary here, for Mr. Kiaga, despite his madness, was quite harmless."

 

"The royal python was the most revered animal in the Mbanta and all the surrounding clans. It was addressed as 'Our Father,' and was allowed to go wherever it chose."  … "It is not our custom to fight for our gods," said one of them."

Ch. 18

"But apart from the church, the white man had also brought a government."

Ch. 20

"Mr. Brown's successor was the Reverend James Smith, and he was a different kind of man. He condemned openly Mr. Brown's policy of compromise and accommodation. He saw things as black and white. And black was evil."

Ch. 22