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Learn about the Igbo people, an ethnic group in Nigeria and other countries, with a rich and diverse culture, history, and language. Find out their origins, subgroups, conflicts, and achievements in this comprehensive article.
5 days ago · Learn about the Igbo people, a large ethnic group in southeastern Nigeria who speak Igbo language and have a rich cultural heritage. Explore their history, economy, religion, and social organization before and after colonialism.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
May 11, 2024 · Learn about the Igbo tribe, one of Africa's most influential ethnic groups, with over 30 million people in Nigeria and beyond. Discover their rich culture, history, language, festivals, arts, religion, and global impact.
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Pre-colonial life
Pre-colonial Igbo political organization was based on communities, devoid of kings or governing chiefs. The development of a heterarchical society, as opposed to a hetriarchical society, marks Igbo development as sharply divergent from political trends in pre-colonial West Africa. With the exception of Igbo towns such as Onitsha, which had kings called Obis, and places like Nri and Arochukwu, which had priest kings known as Ezes, most Igbo village governments were ruled solely by an assembly...
The Colonial period
The arrival of the British in the 1870s increased encounters between the Igbo and other Nigerians, leading to a deepening sense of a distinct Igbo ethnic identity. Under British colonial rule, the diversity within each of Nigeria's major ethnic groups slowly decreased and distinctions between the Igbo and other large ethnic groups, such as the Hausa and the Yorubabecame sharper.
Modern history
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, of July 1967 through January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra. The war became notorious for the starvation in some of the besieged war-bound regions, and the consequent claims of genocidemade by the Igbo people of those regions. As a consequence of the war, Igboland had been severely devastated and many hospitals, schools, an...
The Igbo are a profoundly religious people who believe in a benevolent creator, usually known as Chukwu, who created the visible universe (uwa), and is especially associated with rain, trees and other plants. According to the traditional religionof the Igbo, there is no concept of a gender type such as “man” or “woman” associated with the supreme d...
Traditionally, the Igbo have been subsistence farmers, their main staples being yam, its harvesting is a time for great celebration. Other staples are cassava, and taro. Corn (maize), melons, pumpkins, okra, and beansare also grown. Kinship groups own the land communally and make it available to individuals.
Afigbo, A.E. Igbo Language and Culture. Oxford University Press, 1975.Agawu, V. Kofi. Representing African music: postcolonial notes, queries, positions. New York: Routledge, 2003. ISBN 0415943892Davidson, Basil. West Africa before the colonial era: a history to 1850. London: Longman, 1998. ISBN 0582318521Ember, Carol R., and Melvin Ember. Encyclopedia of sex and gender: men and women in the world's cultures. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2003. ISBN 030647770XAll links retrieved February 24, 2018. 1. Art and Life in Africa Project. Igbo Information. University of Iowa. 2. Widjaja, Michael. Guide to Igboland’s Culture and Language. Igboguide.
Learn about the Igbo, one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa, who live mainly in southeastern Nigeria. Discover their origins, history, culture, religion, and challenges.
- The Igbo of Today. The Biafran War in Nigeria occurred as a result of the Ibo people in Biafra desiring to secede from Nigeria. The civil war was fought from July 6th, 1967 until January 15th, 1970.
- Notable Igbo and Their Achievements. The Ibo people were a civilized group of people, as evidenced by their cultural artifacts and traditional relationships.
- European Contact, the Slave Trade, and British Colonialism. The Portuguese were the first European to make contact with the Ibo people, doing so in the 15th Century.
- Culture and Traditional Ways of Life. The community was the central focus of Ibo life in pre-colonial Nigeria. They lived in small villages composed of mud huts with thatched roofs.
May 22, 2018 · Learn about the Igbo people, one of the biggest and most influential tribes in Nigeria, with a rich and diverse culture and history. Discover their political system, artefacts, cuisine, religion and marriage customs.
Learn about the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria and their culture, which includes music, art, mythology, yam festival, marriage and architecture. Explore the history, diversity and influences of Igbo culture through various sources and examples.
