David Horn 10/22/13 English Honors 12 The Culture of the Igbo People The Igbo people, sometimes referred

to as the Ibo people, are a tribe in Nigeria that have had a very long and interesting history. The book Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, describes how some of the traditional values of the Igbo people changed when the European settlers came. The Igbo people had a well-developed society that clashed when the European settlers came. The culture of the Igbo people has changed significantly from the traditional culture described in the novel Things Fall Apart. The Igbo people can have their roots traced back thousands of years. It is believed that the modern Igbo people only moved 100 miles north of their original location. They are located where the Niger and Benue Rivers meet. The Igbo people share a common language with their neighbors the Bini, Igala, Yoruba, and Idoma. (It is believed the Igbo people were around five to six thousands years ago). In 1870, the Igbo peoples lives changed when the European settlers came to Nigeria. In the book Things Fall Apart when the European settlers first arrived they came peacefully for a short while. The arrival of the European settler had a change on their ethnic diversity. The change on the ethnic diversity was that more white people came into the society. Many of the Igbo people started to convert to Christianity and abandon their Igbo ties. Their country changed immensely after the European settlers came. From 1966 to 1967 there was campaign of genocide against the Igbo people and other Nigerian tribes were lead by the Nigeria head of state. The year the genocide was over an attempted succession from the southeastern provinces of Nigeria named themselves Republic of

Biafra causing a civil war. Around three million people suffered from disease and sickness from the civil war. The Nigerian government also changed the counties currency so any pre-war money was not honored. The Igbo people also lost their government positions and houses. (http://nigeriavillagesquare.com/)

The traditional religion of the Igbo people was more modern than most religions of the time period. They had one main god who just watched over people named Chukwu and under Chukwu were many minor gods. There are four minor gods, Agwu Nsi, Amadioha, Ikenga, Ogbunabali. Agwu Nsi is the deity of health and divination. Agwu Nsi was the deity used by the Igbo to explain and understand good and evil, health and sickness, wealth and poverty, and fortune and misfortune. Amadioha was the deity of thunder and lightning. He is the most popular of all the deities. He is also the god of justice who would speak through his lighting and thunder. People who are judged by Amadioha would either be struck by lightning or be attacked by a swarm of bees. Amadioha is also the god of peace and unity. People prayed to him for an increase of crops, children in the home, and benevolence. He is also considered to be a creator god, who would strike a silk cotton tree with a bolt of lightning and it would split open reveling a man and women. Ikenga is a horned deity. He is a god of achievement, personal god of human endeavor, achievement, success, and victory. He also governs over industry, farming, and blacksmithing, and is celebrated every year with an annual Ikenga festival. Ikenga is also the god of time, it is said that he is a two faced god, where one face looks at the old year and the other face looks at the New Year. Ogbunabali is the

god of death, he would usually kill his victims in night. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Igbo_gods) The traditional Igbo culture had ceremonies and custom not far from modern society. The Igbo people had ceremonies for harvesting time. The festival was for the New Yam season; the yam was the most important crop to the Igbo people as it was their main source of food. In modern American society we have ceremonies for the New Year. Another cultural aspect that is similar to modern times is how if you were born poor you could move u through the ranks. Just like in modern America the Igbo were not stuck in the class you were born into. The Igbo had orders like modern government positions. Highly accomplished men were admitted into orders for people of title such as Ndi Ozo or Ndi Nze. People of these statuses were given certain insignias. To be a select member of theses the person must be highly regarded in the community and be greatest integrity, truthfulness and sanity. The slightest impeachment of character is enough to disqualify an individual from becoming a person of title. Once a person is of title they are forbidden to lie, cheat, climb a tree, covet or strip their neighbor of their belongings, or commit an abomination of a crime. The Igbo people had a system even for apprenticeships, where a family member or a member of the community would spend time with another family learning. After that period of time the older male will set the apprentice up with a business or give them money. The Apprenticeships are like modern day apprenticeships where a person can go and work at a business to gain experience. Osu are a group of people whose ancestors gave their lifes working in the temples and shrines and serving the

deities and were property of the gods. Relationships with the Osu are forbidden usually. Modern day Osu can be compared to a priest in the christen religion. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_culture#Yam)

The traditional Igbo people did not wear much clothing. Mostly only to cover their gentiles. The men wore less than the women and children usually wore less then them because they had nothing to show. The elders were the fully clothed people. Unmarried woman usually wore a wrapper with beads around their waist with other ornaments such as necklaces and beads. Married women carried their babies on their backs with a strip of clothing binded the two with a knot at her chest. Males would wear loincloths that wrapped around their waist and between their legs to be fastened at their back. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_culture#Yam) The Igbo people had a different form of government than other ethnic groups in Nigeria. They did not have a strong centralized government. Instead each village was run by the village leader or the elders. As the-Nigeria.com states All lineage including male adults in the village also participated in its political processes. The age grade and titled societies where the major instrument of government. In the book Things Fall Apart Achebe describes how the egwugwu administer justice on the clans members. The egwugwu also sheds justice on Okownkos gun going off and is banished for 7 years. After the colonial period, campaign of genocide, and the civil war the Igbo, they had some major changes to their ways, religion, beliefs, clothes, and government. After the colonial period most of the Igbo people became Christians. The Igbo people even celebrate holidays like Christmas, Easter and even Mothers day. Christmas is one of the

most important holidays for the Igbo people now. It is the time when the families come back home for two weeks and spend time together. Most cities during this time are pretty empty. Easter is a holiday that provides the Igbo people a break for festivities. On this holiday people mostly stay in the cities and visit their friends and families. On Mothers Day the Igbo people visit their mothers and she prepares a feast to eat. The modern Igbo people have made many changes after civil war. The modern Igbo people started to move into other African areas because of the civil war. The Igbo people have taken positions in government and have built factories. The cities have cars and modern appliances.

The Igbo people have changed significantly since the beginning and thrive to this day. The Colonial and civil war made major changes to the Igbo people they have become a stronger people. The culture of the Ibo people has changed a lot from the traditional culture described in the novel Things Fall Apart.

Bibliography - http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Igbo.html http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Igbo.html http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Igbo.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_culture#Yam http://nigeriavillagesquare.com/forum/history-culture/14355-origin-igbopeople.html http://www.teatime-mag.com/magazines/6-de/customs-and-culture/

http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~legneref/igbo/igbo2.htm http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Igbo_People#The_Colonial_period http://www.nairaland.com/341707/history-ndigbo-british-museum-record http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_people

http://www.the-nigeria.com/2011/10/pre-colonial-government-in-igboland.html