The Igbo people also Ibo, formerly also Iboe, Ebo, Eboe, Eboans, Heebo; natively are an ethnic group native to the present-day south-central and southeastern Nigeria. Geographically, the Igbo homeland is divided into two unequal sections by the Niger River – an eastern (which is the larger of the two) and a western section.[8][9] The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.[10]
The Igbo language is divided into numerous regional dialects, and somewhat mutually intelligible with the larger "Igboid" cluster.[11] The Igbo homeland straddles the lower Niger River, east and south of the Edoid and Idomoid groups, and west of the Ibibioid (Cross River) cluster.
In rural Nigeria, Igbo people work mostly as craftsmen, farmers and traders. The most important crop is the yam.[12] Other staple crops include cassava and taro.[13] The Igbos are also highly urbanized, with some of the largest metropolitan areas, cities and towns in Igboland being Onitsha, Enugu, Aba, Owerri, Orlu, Okigwe, Port Harcourt, Asaba, Awka, Nsukka, Nnewi, Umuahia, Abakaliki, Afikpo, Agbor and Arochukwu.
Before British colonial rule in the 20th century, the Igbo were a politically fragmented group, with a number of centralized chiefdoms such as Nri, Arochukwu, Agbor and Onitsha.[14] Frederick Lugard introduced the Eze system of "Warrant Chiefs".[15] Unaffected by the Fulani War and the resulting spread of Islam in Nigeria in the 19th century, they became overwhelmingly Christian under colonization. In the wake of decolonisation, the Igbo developed a strong sense of ethnic identity.[13] During the Nigerian Civil War of 1967–1970 the Igbo territories seceded as the short-lived Republic of Biafra.[16] MASSOB, a sectarian organization formed in 1999, continues a non-violent struggle for an independent Igbo state.[17]
Small ethnic Igbo populations are found in Cameroon[18] and Equatorial Guinea,[19] as well as outside Africa. "Igbo" as an ethnic identity developed comparatively recently, in the context of decolonisation and the Nigerian Civil War. The various Igbo-speaking communities were historically fragmented and decentralised;[20] in the opinion of Chinua Achebe (2000), Igbo identity should be placed somewhere between a "tribe" and a "nation".[21] Since the defeat of the Republic of Biafra in 1970, the Igbo are sometimes classed as a "stateless nation".
History[edit] Prehistory[edit] Further information: Niger–Congo homeland The Igboid languages form a cluster within the Volta–Niger phylum, most likely grouped with Yoruboid and Edoid.[23] The greatest differentiation within the Igboid group is between the Ekpeye and the rest. Williamson (2002) argues that based on this pattern, proto-Igboid migration would have moved down the Niger from a more northern area in the savannah and first settled close to the delta, with a secondary center of Igbo proper more to the north, in the Awka area.[24]
Pottery dated at around 2500 BC showing similarities with later Igbo work was found at Nsukka in the 1970s, along with pottery and tools at nearby Ibagwa; the traditions of the Umueri clan have as their source the Anambra valley. In the 1970s the Owerri, Okigwe, Orlu, Awgu, Udi and Awka divisions were determined to constitute "an Igbo heartland" from the linguistic and cultural evidence.[25]
Genetic studies have shown the Igbo to cluster most closely with other Niger-Congo-speaking peoples.[26] The predominant Y-chromosmoal haplogroup is E-V38 (E1b1a).[27]
Nri Kingdom[edit] Main article: Kingdom of Nri
Bronze from the ninth century town of Igbo Ukwu, now at the British Museum[28] The Nri people of Igbo land have a creation myth which is one of the many creation myths that exist in various parts of Igbo land. The Nri and Aguleri people are in the territory of the Umueri clan who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure Eri.[29] Eri's origins are unclear, though he has been described as a "sky being" sent by Chukwu (God).[29][30] He has been characterized as having first given societal order to the people of Anambra.[30] The historian Elizabeth Allo Isichei says "Nri and Aguleri and part of the Umueri clan, [are] a cluster of Igbo village groups which traces its origins to a sky being called Eri."[31]
Archaeological evidence suggests that Nri hegemony in Igboland may go back as far as the 9th century,[32] and royal burials 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.[33] The first Eze Nri (King of Nri) Ìfikuánim followed directly after him. According to Igbo oral tradition, his reign started in 1043.[34] At least one historian puts Ìfikuánim's reign much later, around 1225 AD.[35]
Each king traces his origin back to the founding ancestor, Eri. Each king is a ritual reproduction of Eri. The initiation rite of a new king shows that the ritual process of becoming Ezenri (Nri priest-king) follows closely the path traced by the hero in establishing the Nri kingdom. - E. Elochukwu Uzukwu[36]
An Igbo man with facial scarifications, known as ichi, early 20th century[37] The Kingdom of Nri was a religio-polity, a sort of theocratic state, that developed in the central heartland of the Igbo region.[33] The Nri had seven types of taboos which included human (such as the birth of twins), animal (such as killing or eating of pythons),[38] object, temporal, behavioral, speech and place taboos.[39] The rules regarding these taboos were used to educate and govern Nri's subjects. This meant that, while certain Igbo may have lived under different formal administration, all followers of the Igbo religion had to abide by the rules of the faith and obey its representative on earth, the Eze Nri.[39][40]
Traditional society[edit] Traditional Igbo political organization was based on a quasi-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.[41] This government system was witnessed by the Portuguese who first arrived and met with the Igbo people in the 15th century.[42] 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 solely by a republican consultative assembly of the common people.[41] Communities were usually governed and administered by a council of elders.[43]
Three Igbo women in the early 20th century[44] Although title holders were respected because of their accomplishments and capabilities, they were never revered as kings, but often performed special functions given to them by such assemblies. This way of governing was immensely 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.[45][46][47]
Mathematics in indigenous Igbo society is evident in their calendar, banking system and strategic betting game called Okwe.[48] In their indigenous calendar, a week had four days, a month consisted of seven weeks and 13 months made a year. In the last month, an extra day was added.[49][50] This calendar is still used in indigenous Igbo villages and towns to determine market days.[51] They settled law matters via mediators, and their banking system for loans and savings, called Isusu, is also still used.[52] The Igbo new year, starting with the month ?nw? M`b? (Igbo: First Moon) occurs on the third week of February,[53] although the traditional start of the year for many Igbo communities is around springtime in ?nw? Ágw? (June).[54][55] Used as a ceremonial script by secret societies, the Igbo have an indigenous ideographic set of symbols called Nsibidi, originating from the neighboring Ejagham people.[56] Igbo people produced bronzes from as early as the 9th century, some of which have been found at the town of Igbo Ukwu, Anambra state.[28]
Igbo trade routes before 1900 A system of indentured servitude existed among the Igbo before and after the encounter with Europeans.[57][58] Indentured service in Igbo areas was described by Olaudah Equiano in his memoir. He describes the conditions of the slaves in his community of Essaka, and points out the difference between the treatment of slaves under the Igbo in Essaka, and those in the custody of Europeans in West Indies:
…but how different was their condition from that of the slaves in the West Indies! With us, they do no more work than other members of the community,… even their master;… (except that they were not permitted to eat with those… free-born;) and there was scarce any other difference between them,… Some of these slaves have… slaves under them as their own property… for their own use.[58]
The Niger coast was an area of contact between African and European traders from the years 1434–1807. The Portuguese were the first traders, then the Dutch and finally the British.[59] Prior to European contact, Igbo trade routes stretched as far as Mecca, Medina and Jeddah on the continent.[60]
Transatlantic slave trade and diaspora[edit] Main article: The Igbo in the Atlantic slave trade Bussa Bussa, Barbadian slave revolt leader of Igbo descent[61] Edward Wilmot Blyden Edward Blyden, Americo-Liberian educator, writer and politician of Igbo descent[62][63] Paul Robeson Paul Robeson, American actor and writer whose father was of Igbo descent[64] Aimé Césaire Aimé Césaire, Martiniquais poet and politician who claimed Igbo descent[65] Chambers (2002) argued that many of the slaves taken from the Bight of Biafra across the Middle Passage would have been Igbo.[66] These slaves were usually sold to Europeans by the Aro Confederacy, who kidnapped or bought slaves from Igbo villages in the hinterland.[67] Igbo slaves may have not been victims of slave-raiding wars or expeditions, but perhaps debtors or Igbos who committed within their communities alleged crimes.[68] With the goal for freedom, enslaved Igbos were known to the British colonists as being rebellious and having a high rate of suicide to escape slavery.[69][70][71] There is evidence that traders sought Igbo women.[72][73] Igbo women were paired with Coromantee (Akan) men to subdue the men because of the belief that the women were bound to their first-born sons’ birthplace.
It is alleged that European slave traders were fairly well informed about various African ethnicities, leading to slavers' targeting certain ethnic groups which plantation owners preferred. Particular desired ethnic groups consequently became fairly concentrated in certain parts of the Americas.[74] The Igbo were dispersed to colonies such as Jamaica,[5] Cuba,[5] Saint-Domingue,[5] Barbados,[75] the future United States,[76] Belize[77] and Trinidad and Tobago,[78] among others.
Elements of Igbo culture can still be found in these places. For example, in Jamaican Patois, the Igbo word unu, meaning "you" plural, is still used.[79] "Red Ibo" (or "red eboe") describes a black person with fair or "yellowish" skin. This term had originated from the reported prevalence of these skin tones among the Igbo but eastern Nigerian influences may not be strictly Igbo.[80] The word Bim, a colloquial term for Barbados, was commonly used among enslaved Barbadians (Bajans). This word is said to have derived from bém in the Igbo language meaning 'my place or people', but may have other origins (see: Barbados etymology).[81][82] A section of Belize City was named Eboe Town after its Igbo inhabitants.[83] In the United States, the Igbo were imported most commonly to the Chesapeake Bay colonies and states of Maryland and Virginia, where they constituted the largest group of Africans.[84][85] Since the late 20th century, a wave of Nigerian immigrants, mostly English and Igbo-speaking, have settled in Maryland, attracted to its strong professional job market.[86]
Colonial period[edit] Main article: Colonial Nigeria The 19th-century British colonization effort 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 Igbo proved decisive and enthusiastic in their embrace of Christianity and Western education.[87][88] Due to the incompatibility of the Igbo decentralized style of government and the centralized system including the appointment of warrant chiefs required for British indirect rule, British colonial rule was marked with open conflicts and much tension.[57] 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 Yoruba, became sharper.[89]
Colonial rule transformed Igbo society, as portrayed in Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart. British rule brought about changes in culture, such as the introduction of Warrant Chiefs as Eze (indigenous rulers) where there were no such monarchies.[90] Christian missionaries introduced aspects of European ideology into Igbo society and culture, sometimes shunning parts of the culture.[91] The rumours that the Igbo women were being assessed for taxation sparked off the 1929 Igbo Women's War in Aba (also known as the 1929 Aba Riots), a massive revolt of women never encountered before in Igbo history.[92]
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 cement blocks for houses and zinc 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. With electricity, new technology such as radios and televisions were adopted, and have become commonplace in most Igbo households.[93]
Nigerian–Biafran War[edit] Main article: Nigerian Civil War
Flag of the Republic of Biafra (1967–1970), sometimes regarded as the ethnic flag of the Igbo[22] 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.
Elements in the army had assassinated the Nigerian military head of state General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi (29 July 1966)[94] and peace negotiations failed between the military government that deposed Ironsi and the regional government of Eastern Nigeria at the Aburi Talks in Ghana in 1967.[95] These events led to a regional council of the peoples of Eastern Nigeria deciding that the region should secede and proclaim the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967.[96] Late General Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu made this declaration and became the Head of state of the new republic.[97]
The resultant war, which became known as the Nigerian Civil War or the Nigerian-Biafran War, lasted from July 6, 1967 until January 15, 1970, after which the federal government re-absorbed Biafra into Nigeria.[96][98] 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.[99][100] In their struggle, the people of Biafra earned the respect of figures such as Jean-Paul Sartre and John Lennon, who returned his British honor, MBE, partly in protest against British collusion in the Nigeria-Biafra war.[101] In July 2007 the former President of Biafra, Late General Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, renewed calls for the secession of the Biafran state as a sovereign entity.[102]