The Igbo people, also known as Ndigbo, are a major ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, a language of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. By the turn of the 21st century, the Igbo numbered some 20 million.
Map of Nigeria showing Igbo region
Origins and Ancient History
The Igboid languages form a cluster within the Volta-Niger phylum, most likely grouped with Yoruboid and Edoid. The greatest differentiation within the Igboid group is between the Ekpeye, and the rest. Pottery dated from around 3,000-2,500 BC showing similarities with later Igbo work was found at Nsukka, and Afikpo regions of Igboland in the 1970s, along with pottery and tools at nearby Ibagwa; the traditions of the Umueri clan have as their source the Anambra valley.
Archaeological evidence suggests that Nri influence in Igboland may go back as far as the 9th century, and royal burials at the Igbo-Ukwu sites have been unearthed dating to at least the 10th century. Eri, the god-like founder of Nri, is believed to have settled the region around 948 with other related Igbo cultures following after in the 13th century. The first Eze Nri (King of Nri) Ìfikuánim followed directly after him. Each king traces his origin back to the founding ancestor, Eri. Each king is a ritual reproduction of Eri. - E. Elochukwu Uzukwu
Igbo-Ukwu is a historically significant archaeological site located in southeastern Nigeria, in what is now Anambra State. The site is renowned for its remarkable discoveries of ancient artifacts that date back to the 9th and 10th centuries AD. The archaeological findings at Igbo-Ukwu have provided valuable insights into the early history and cultural achievements of the Igbo people and their interactions with other civilizations in the region. Igbo-Ukwu has one of the oldest glass productions in West Africa.
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Traditional Political Organization
Traditional Igbo political organization was based on a democratic republican system of government. In tight knit communities, this system guaranteed its citizens equality, as opposed to a feudalist system with a king ruling over subjects. This government system was witnessed by the Portuguese who first arrived and met with the Igbo people in the 15th century.
With the exception of a few notable Igbo towns such as Onitsha, which had kings called Obi and places like the Nri Kingdom and Arochukwu, which had priest kings; Igbo communities and area governments were overwhelmingly ruled by a republican consultative assembly of the common people. Communities were usually governed and administered by a council of elders. Many Igbo towns however, were also partly governed the high council known as the Ozo society, whose titles could be both earned and inherited. Although title holders were respected because of their accomplishments and capabilities, they were not revered as kings but often performed special functions given to them by such assemblies. This way of governing was different from most other communities of Western Africa and only shared by the Ewe of Ghana.
Umunna are a form of patrilineage maintained by the Igbo. Law starts with the Umunna which is a male line of descent from a founding ancestor (who the line is sometimes named after) with groups of compounds containing closely related families headed by the eldest male member. The Umunna can be seen as the most important pillar of Igbo society. It was also a culture in which gender was re-constructed and performed according to social need; "The flexibility of Igbo gender construction meant that gender was separate from biological sex.
Mathematics in indigenous Igbo society is evident in their calendar, banking system and strategic betting game called Okwe. In their indigenous calendar, a week had four days, a month consisted of seven weeks, and 13 months made a year. Used as a ceremonial script by secret societies, the Igbo have an indigenous ideographic set of symbols called Nsibidi, whose origin is now generally attributed to the neighboring Ejagham people, though in the 1900s J. K.
A system of indentured servitude existed among the Igbo before and after the encounter with Europeans. Indentured service in Igbo areas was described by Olaudah Equiano in his memoir. It is alleged that European slave traders were fairly well informed about various African ethnicities, leading to slavers targeting certain ethnic groups that were less challenging to European dominance, which plantation owners preferred.
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Impact of Colonialism
The establishment of British colonial rule in present-day Nigeria and increased encounters between the Igbo and other ethnicities near the Niger River led to a deepening sense of a distinct Igbo ethnic identity. The establishment of British colonial rule transformed Igbo society, as portrayed in Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart. Aspects of Igbo culture such as construction of houses, education and religion changed following colonialism.
The tradition of building houses out of mud walls and thatched roofs ended as the people shifted to materials such as concrete blocks for houses and metal roofs. Roads for vehicles were built. Buildings such as hospitals and schools were erected in many parts of Igboland. Along with these changes, electricity and running water were installed in the early 20th century.
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Nigerian Civil War and Post-War Era
A series of ethnic clashes between Northern Muslims and the Igbo, and other ethnic groups of Eastern Nigeria Region living in Northern Nigeria took place between 1966 and 1967. The resultant war, which became known as the Nigerian Civil War or the Nigerian-Biafran War, lasted from 6 July 1967 until 15 January 1970, after which the federal government re-absorbed Biafra into Nigeria.
Several million Eastern Nigerians died from the pogroms against them, such as the 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom where between 10,000 and 30,000 Igbo people were killed. Many homes, schools, and hospitals were destroyed in the conflict. The federal government of Nigeria denied Igbo people access to their savings placed in Nigerian banks and provided them with little compensation. Some Igbo subgroups, such as the Ikwerre, started dissociating themselves from the larger Igbo population after the war.
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In the post-war era, Nigeria changed the names of places to non-Igbo-sounding words. However, since then, the Igbo people have rebuilt their cities by themselves without any support from the federal government of Nigeria. This led to the establishment of new factories, and industry in south-eastern Nigeria, making the Igbo people some of the wealthiest ethnic groups in Nigeria.
Traditional Igbo Architecture
Traditional Igbo architecture predominantly uses locally sourced materials such as mud, clay, wood, bamboo, thatch, and palm fronds. These materials are abundant and well-suited to the local climate. The traditional Igbo dwelling is often organized within a compound, which includes several houses for extended family members arranged around a central courtyard. The courtyard serves as a communal space for gatherings and interactions.
Igbo architecture is modular, with structures being added or expanded as family needs grow. This flexibility allows for adaptability over time. Verandas and raised platforms are common features, offering shaded outdoor spaces for relaxation, socializing, and various activities. Many Igbo houses incorporate sacred spaces, such as shrines or altars, for religious practices, ancestor veneration, and community rituals. Igbo architecture takes into account the region's climate and natural surroundings, using design elements that promote comfort and harmony with the environment.
In some Igbo communities, wooden communication towers called "ogene" or "isiokwe" are erected for signaling and communication during events or gatherings. One of the unique structures of Igbo culture were the Nsude pyramids, which was a form of step pyramid built at the town of Nsude, in modern-day Enugu, northern Igboland.
Nsude Pyramids
Ten pyramidal structures were built of clay and mud. The first base section was 60 ft (18 m) in circumference and 3 ft (0.91 m) in height. The next stack was 45 ft (14 m) in circumference. Circular stacks continued, until it reached the top. The structures were temples for the god Ala/Uto, who was believed to reside at the top. A stick was placed at the top to represent the god's residence. The structures were laid in groups of five parallel to each other.
Igbo Art and Culture
Igbo art is noted for Mbari architecture. Mbari houses of the Owerri-Igbo are large opened-sided square planned shelters. They house many life-sized, painted figures (sculpted in mud to appease the Alusi (deity) and Ala, the earth goddess, with other deities of thunder and water). Other sculptures are of officials, craftsmen, foreigners (mainly Europeans), animals, legendary creatures and ancestors. Mbari houses take years to build in what is regarded as a sacred process. When new ones are constructed, old ones are left to decay.
Everyday houses were made of mud with thatched roofs and bare earth floors with carved design doors. Some houses had elaborate designs both in the interior and exterior.
Nsibidi ideography existed among the Igbo before the 16th century but died out after it became popular among secret societies, who made Nsibidi a secret form of communication. Igbo language is difficult because of the huge number of dialects, its richness in prefixes and suffixes and its heavy intonation. Igbo is a tonal language, and there are hundreds of different Igbo dialects and Igboid languages, such as the Ikwerre and Ekpeye languages.
In 1939, Dr. Ida C. Ward led a research expedition on Igbo dialects which could possibly be used as a basis of a standard Igbo dialect, also known as Central Igbo. This dialect included that of the Owerri and Umuahia groups, including the Ohuhu dialect.
Perhaps the most popular and renowned novel that deals with the Igbo and their traditional life was the 1959 book by Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart. The novel concerns the influence of British colonial rule and Christian missionaries on a traditional Igbo community during an unspecified time in the late nineteenth or early 20th century.
The Igbo people have a musical style into which they incorporate various percussion instruments: the udu, which is essentially designed from a clay jug; an ekwe, which is formed from a hollowed log; and the ogene, a hand bell designed from forged iron. Other instruments include opi, a wind instrument similar to the flute, igba, and ichaka. Another popular musical form among the Igbo is highlife. A widely popular musical genre in West Africa, highlife is a fusion of jazz and traditional music.
Masking is one of the most common art styles in Igboland and is linked strongly with Igbo traditional music. A mask can be made of wood or fabric, along with other materials including iron and vegetation. Masks have a variety of uses, mainly in so...
Most Igbo traditionally have been subsistence farmers, their staples being yams, cassava, and taro. The other crops they grow include corn (maize), melons, okra, pumpkins, and beans. Among those still engaged in agriculture, men are chiefly responsible for yam cultivation, women for other crops. Land is owned communally by kinship groups and is made available to individuals for farming and building. Some livestock, important as a source of prestige and for use in sacrifices, is kept. The principal exports are palm oil and palm kernels. Trading, local crafts, and wage labour also are important in the Igbo economy, and a high literacy rate has helped many Igbo to become civil servants and business entrepreneurs in the decades after Nigeria gained independence. It is notable that Igbo women engage in trade and are influential in local politics.
Except for the northeastern groups, the Igbo live in rainforest country. Most Igbo occupy villages of dispersed compounds, but in some areas villages are compact. The compound is typically a cluster of huts, each of which constitutes a separate household. Before the advent of colonial administration, the largest political unit was the village group, a federation of villages averaging about 5,000 persons. Members of the group shared a common market and meeting place, a tutelary deity, and ancestral cults that supported a tradition of descent from a common ancestor or group of ancestors. Authority in the village group was vested in a council of lineage heads and influential and wealthy men. In the eastern regions these groups tended to form larger political units, including centralized kingdoms and states.
Traditional Igbo Religion
Traditional Igbo religion includes belief in a creator god (Chukwu or Chineke), an earth goddess (Ala), and numerous other deities and spirits as well as a belief in ancestors who protect their living descendants. Revelation of the will of the deities is sought by divination and oracles. Many Igbo are now Christians, some practicing a syncretic version of Christianity intermingled with indigenous beliefs.
In Political Organization in Nigeria since the Late Stone Age: A History of the Igbo People, John Oriji forcefully demonstrates that Igbo political systems have never been static-they have gone through processes of aggregation and fragmentation since the Late Stone Age (LSA). He argues that the Igbo began to live in mini-states with the genesis of agriculture, and some Igbo communities of the Lower Niger that engaged in international trade such as Igbo Ukwu (ninth and tenth centuries c.e.), and later, Onitsha, Aboh, Oguta, and Ossomari (fifteenth and sixteenth centuries c.e.), further evolved into mega-states.
However, the Aro (eighteenth and nineteenth centuries c.e.) did not achieve a mega-state structure because their trading network lacked central organs of law making and command, the network's components maintained a high degree of local autonomy, and the network proliferated political fragmentation that pitted traditional authority holders against nascent ogaranya (wealthy persons). The fast pace of social change occasioned by legitimate commerce and the New Imperialism in the nineteenth century transformed the structure of wealth and power in Igboland, intensified social stratification, and generated ogaranya who undermined traditional authority holders. This fragmentation of political authority began in the 1890s and continued into the 1970s, and literate elites emerged as de facto rulers of Igboland.
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