The Epic of Sundiata has much to say about fate and destiny:Things Fall Apart often refers to the concept of the Chi. Discuss how both works deal with the idea of fate and Destiny. Do you believe in the concept of fate or destiny?

Fate and Destiny

The Epic of Sundiata is meaningless without the concepts of fate and destiny . When the Mandinka king receives the divine hunter at the royal court , and the hunter predicts that the king 's marriage to an ugly woman would grant him a mighty king for a son the Mandinka king must honor the prophecy . It is for this reason that the king , before his death gives to Sundiata - his son born of an ugly woman - a griot . When Sundiata is older , he too believes in the importance of harnessing

powers of a supernatural nature (Niane . Prophecies are , of course made through supernatural powers . Seeing that the kings of the Mandinka people believe in supernatural powers , their subjects must also be believers in the same . Moreover , fate and destiny appear real to the Mandinka people , which is the reason why the prophecy is honored by the king . But , even if most of the Mandinka people do not believe in supernatural powers , the belief system of the king is expected to be superior to that of his people

Belief in prophecy entails that one 's fate is determined , and there is nothing that one can do to change his or her destiny . Prophets are believed because they know the fate and destiny of others . By informing people about their respective fates and destinies , they save their people from being misled . At the same time , however , the concepts of fate and destiny entail that the Mandinka king would have married an ugly woman , with or without the prophecy of the hunter . The king would have had Sundiata , too , regardless of the prophecy . The only useful part about the prophecy was that the king gifted Sundiata with a griot because he knew that Sundiata would be a mighty king in the future

Just as the Epic of Sundiata cannot be understood without reference to fate or destiny , Things Fall Apart focuses on a hero and his community , unable to change circumstances in the face of destiny Things Fall Apart makes repeated references to chi , a concept that refers to a personal deity that is available to all people to guide them to fulfill their individual destinies . It is impossible for a human being to struggle against the chi , or his or her spirit force . This is the reason why Okonkwo , a courageous and intelligent individual , cannot change his circumstances or that of his community even as things fall apart for everybody except the colonialists (Achebe . In other words the human being is powerless against the decisions of the chi or his or her personal deity who establishes the fate and destiny of every soul The personal deity of all people has determined that Okonkwo and his people would suffer , and there is nothing they can do about it (Achebe . Okonkwo is a distinguished leader of a village in Nigeria . He is rich , powerful , brave as well as wise . He has worked hard to achieve his high status in his village . Thus...