Igbo is a language spoken by Igbo people of the Igbo ethnic group, one of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria. The group is indigenous to the Southeastern part of the country, mostly on the eastern side of the Niger River, a region considered to be one of the most densely populated regions in the whole of Africa. The Igbo people, natively called Ndi Igbo and also spelt as Ibo or Eboe, are the third largest ethnic group in Nigeria. The tribe comes after the second-placed Yoruba ethnic group from the western part of Nigeria and the leading Fulani-Hausa ethnic group from the northern part of the country. The exact population of the Igbo people is not fully known. The CIA World Factbook, however, estimates that there are about 32 million.
Igbo people are native to five main states in Nigeria. They are Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu (it’s unofficial capital), and Imo State. The Igbo’s, however, claim that their territory extends to present day Delta State to the west and Cross-River, Akwa-Ibom and Rivers State to the south. This is backed up by the presence of native Igbo speakers in these states. Prominent cities and towns where the Igbos reside include Owerri, Aba, Abakaliki, Onitsha, Afikpo, Asaba, Orlu, Agbor, Umuahia, Okigwe, Nsukka, and Port Harcourt. The Igbo people will also be found in cities outside Igboland such as Lagos, and Abuja. For many centuries, the Igbo people have always lived in peace with their neighbouring communities that consist of the Ibibio, Nupe, Ijo, Idoma, Igala, and Ekoi people.
The main language spoken by the Igbo people is the Igbo language, natively called Asusu Igbo. The language has approximately 24 million speakers, who are primarily of Igbo descent and live mostly in Nigeria but can also be found in other countries such as Equatorial Guinea where it is recognized as a minority language. There have been discussions in recent time in regards to the possible extinction of the Igbo language in about 50 years. This is thanks to the preference for the use of English, which is perceived as the language of status and opportunity by native Igbo speakers. That has, in turn, led to a declining population of monolingual Igbo speakers, the deterioration of idioms, proverbs, and other rhetorical elements of the Igbo language.
Igbo people are mostly traders, farmers, and craftsmen, with Agriculture being the most dominant activity. The main crops farmed in the region constitutes yam, taro, cassava, and fruit of the palm tree. The yam is the main staple food which is also exported to neighbouring regions. There is also an annual celebration that is held to mark the harvesting of yams. Over time, people have been turning to cultivating the fruit of the palm due to its palm oil. The palm crop is the leading cash crop in the region owing to the large quantities of palm oil that are exported outside Nigeria.
The main religion in Igboland is Christianity, with more than half of the population identifying as the Roman Catholics. A huge percentage, in recent times, has also begun to identify with Protestant/Evangelical. Other religions practised in the region include the traditional religion referred to as Odinani, Islam, and Judaism. The Igbo people are very religious. They always observe the religious rites as well as traditional rituals of passage in different stages of their lives. This will happen during childbirth, marriage, initiation, as well as burials. However, western-based religions are gradually taking over as the preferred religions instead of the traditional practices. While today many Igbo people are Christian, the traditional ancient Igbo religion is known as Odinani. In the Igbo mythology, which is part of their ancient religion, the supreme God is called Chukwu ("great spirit"); Chukwu created the world and everything in it and is associated with all things on Earth.
In 1935, G. I. Jones, an anthropoligist and colonial administrator took pictures of the Nsude pyramids, ancient Igbo pyramids, in Udi, Enugu state Nigeria with a Roloflex camera which he acquired and developed a system for immediate developing which produced negatives of such high quality that they continue to produce excellent prints six decades later. It was at this time that he built up the extraordinary photographic record of Southeastern Nigerian culture.
The pyramids, numbering 10 in number are circular and stepped and were made of clay.
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. Because it was built of clay/mud like the Deffufa of Nubia, time has taken its toll requiring periodic reconstruction.
Strikingly, these pyramids bear striking resemblance to the Step Pyramid of Saqqara, in Egypt constructed in 2648 BC and without a doubt, derive from the same cultural/religious/philosophical tradition that inspired this ancient Egyptian monument. Moreso, more striking is the similar replication of Nubian-like pyramids thousands of miles away from the Nubian area in the heart of Igboland, or vice versa, whichever comes first.
Evidence like this indicates a strong level of correlation between the ancient egyptians and the ancient Igbo. The building of the pyramids may have been done at the same time the first or second wave of Egyptian pyramids were built by the Nubians.
The Nubian dynasty of Egypt (the 25th Dynasty of Egypt) saw the first widespread construction of pyramids (many in modern Sudan) since the Middle Kingdom.
Traditionally the attire of the Igbo generally consisted of little clothing as the purpose of clothing then was to conceal private parts, although elders were fully clothed. Children were usually nude from birth till their adolescence (the time when they were considered to have something to hide) but sometimes ornaments such as beads were worn around the waist for medical reasons. Uli body art was also used to decorate both men and women in the form of lines forming patterns and shapes on the body. Women carried their babies on their backs with a strip of clothing binding the two with a knot at her chest. This baby carrying technique was and still is practiced by many people groups across Africa, including the Igbo.
This method has been modernized in the form of the child carrier. In most cases Igbo women did not cover their chest areas. Maidens usually wore a short wrapper with beads around their waist with other ornaments such as necklaces and beads. Both men and women wore wrappers. Men would wear loin cloths that wrapped around their waist and between their legs to be fastened at their back, the type of clothing appropriate for the intense heat as well as jobs such as farming. Men could also tie a wrapper over their loin cloth.
Modern Igbo traditional attire is generally made up, for men, of the Isiagu top which resembles the African Dashiki. Isiagu (or Ishi agu) is usually patterned with lions heads embroidered over the clothing, It can also be plain, (usually black). It is worn with trousers and can be worn with either a traditional title holders hat (a fez named okpu agu or agwu), or with the traditional Igbo stripped men's hat (which resembles the Bobble hat). For women, an embodied puffed sleeve blouse (influenced by European attire) along with two wrappers (usually modern Hollandis material) and a head scarf are worn.
Accomplished men and women are admitted into orders for people of title such as Ndi Ozo or Ndi Nze. These people receive insignia to show their stature. Membership is highly exclusive, and to qualify an individual need to be highly regarded and well-spoken of in the community.
0 Comments