Mbiti
Mbiti is the only character who appears by name in the book. He also acts as the narrator and as the general storyteller. Mbiti is a Christian pastor serving in an African country, more precisely in Kenya. Christianity is identified from the beginning as being a European religion and its purpose is to analyze and present the belief systems which are particular only to the African nations. Mbiti has an extremely balanced view and he does not try to convince the reader that one religion is better than the next. Instead, Mbiti's purpose is to present different point of views and how they can safely coexist in the same geographical space.
Nature
Nature is personified in this book and is seen as being an important Goddess. Nature is seen as a mother who takes care of everyone and who watches over everyone. Any action which damages Nature, in the long run, is seen as a sin and is considered as being a direct way through which Nature is attacked by its own children.
The Europeans
The people living on the European continent are all considered in this book as being one and as such is described as a group. The Europeans are far from being painted in a positive way and in fact, they are seen as having an innate sense of superiority and prejudice which makes them disregard every other nation. Because of this, Europeans are largely seen as being the antagonists in this book and as representing the worst when it comes to humanity.
Tribal leaders
The narrator talks a lot about the tribal leaders who lead the small tribes scattered through the country. In all the cases, these men are portrayed as being old and seasoned people, who are seen akin to gods by the people in their groups. Even though they hold a massive amount of power, it is mentioned that these leaders never abuse their influence and as such should be revered and respected.
God
The term "God" is used rather loosely in the novel. It is generally used to make reference to some kind of being which has immense power and influence both over the material world and the spiritual world. As such, when the narrator mentioned the term God, he doesn't make reference only to the Christian God, but also to any other form of power people all over the world may decide to follow and respect. Because of this, the character God is used here to make a point to a group and show that this group has common characteristics.
