BAN 3351

The clash of cultures in Dead Mens Path

In one way or another, we all have experienced the uneasy feeling of just not
belonging to where we are. One doesnt even have to travel through countries, let alone
continents to get a taste of the unsettling phenomenon known as culture shock. Such a feeling
can occur anytime we leave our socio-cultural comfort zone, regardless of the actual distance
between our home and our destination. Michael Obi, a highly optimistic, enthusiastic, modern
thinking educator, and his wife, Nancy, experience this very feeling, as Michael gets
appointed headmaster of Ndume Central School, an institution that he sees as culturally
outdated. The short story is a chronicle of his struggles as a helplessly nave young man, who
has to learn the nature of socio-cultural heritages at first hand.
It is extremely difficult to demolish such vast differences in beliefs and perspectives of
life. The main problem, however, seems to emerge from the fact that Michael does not seem
to respect the culture of the locals at all. His plan is to change the lives of the students of
Ndume Central School, on the surface, and in the very deepest layers as well. The outdated
aesthetics of the school mean nothing to him, which can also be said about the tribal traditions
of the locals. As he learns about the weary path that leads to an old burial ground, which
seems to mean a lot to the villagers, his immediate decision is to get rid of it, even though
another teacher, with more experience behind herself, warns him about the consequences this
led to during former attempts to do so. Michael, however, does not listen: his main fear is that
the education officer, who is scheduled to visit the school, will give a bad review due to the
faint, little path, and therefore decides to get a fence built around it. Shortly after, the village
priest also tries to convince Michael about the importance of the path, he, however, remains
stubborn. He argues that the very purpose of his school is to make the locals overcome their
animistic superstitions.
The conversation that takes place between the two represents the clash of ancestral
beliefs, and modernist, rational thinking. Even if Michael is right, the harmonious life of the

local people requires the path to remain untouched. Michael, however, does not want to adapt
their culture. He wants to get rid of it completely, without any kind of compromise.
When a young woman dies as she is trying to give birth to a child, the tension between
the two sides grows even further. A diviner prescribes sacrifices to calm the spirits, who, as he
sees the situation, are upset because of the blocking of their path. The next morning Michael
finds all his work in ruins: the flowers are trampled, the hedges are torn up, and one of the
buildings is completely pulled down. As the white skinned Government Education Officer
arrives, he describes the scene as a tribal war situation, for which he partially blames the
misguided zeal of the new headmaster."
It is interesting to point out that the education officer seemed to be much less radical
than Michael in terms of banishing the villagers animistic culture. He flags Michael attempts
as misguided, meaning that he sees such radical actions to be useless, and to only be able to
make tension escalate. Michaels radicalism can be explained with the fact that while he is an
educated, modern man, it is his own cultural heritage that he sees as outdated. He feels shame
and frustration as he sees his people worship spirits that are non-existent to him, and wants
them to adapt to the modern way of life that he chose to live.
Achbes folktale-like style makes the short story an universal parabola about the
relationship of different cultures, rational thinking, and religion, with a maybe even more
universal conclusion: even if our means are good, violent ways are almost guaranteed to make
us fail in accomplishing our goals.

Borsi Blint