Both Uses of
atone
in
Things Fall Apart
- That was why Okonkwo had been Chosen by the nine villages to carry a message of war to their enemies unless they agreed to give up a young man and a virgin to atone for the murder of Udo's wife.
p. 27.5 *atone = make up (for a wrong)
- If a clansman killed a royal python accidentally, he made sacrifices of atonement and performed an expensive burial ceremony such as was done for a great man.
p. 158.0atonement = the process of making up for a wrong
Definitions:
-
(1)
(atone) to fix or make up for a wrong -- especially a sin (even if nothing can be done to make up for the wrong other than to show regret)
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Archaically, atone could also mean to agree, to appease, or to reconcile.