life in the Igbo culture before and after colonization By James Macko
The Igbo culture is a fascinating culture
The book "Things Fall Apart" is based on the Igbo culture and ways of life.
In 1963 the Igbo numbered about 8.5 million and by 1993 had grown to more than 15 million (some even claim 30 million, although there has been no widely accepted census since 1963). They have one of the highest population densities in West Africa, ranging from 120 to more than 400 persons per square kilometer.
Age grades are initiated by youths at a certain age in their adulthood. They choose a well-respected elder as their patron to facilitate the recognition of their grade among the elders. He acts mainly as a liaison officer between both groups. In the olden days, the newly formed group had to prove themselves for maturity by defending the community against hostile neighbours or enemies. Nowadays, these tasks are substituted with addressing basic community development needs, such as building a school, electrification, water provision etc.
Igbo is the language spoken in Ala Igbo or Ani Igbo (Igboland) by the people who are collectively referred to as "Ndi Igbo"; their community is known as "Olu no Igbo" ("those in the lowlands and uplands").
Igbo-speaking peoples can be divided into five geographically based subcultures: northern Igbo, southern Igbo, western Igbo, eastern Igbo, and northeastern Igbo. Each of these five can be further divided into subgroups based on specific locations and names.
Marriage in the igbo culture is not traditional as to that of American marriage. Within the igbo culture marriages are arranged. These arranged marriages are set up through the families of the bride and groom. If a child is born out of wedlock, that child belongs to the natal lineage of the mother. WIth Igbo culture there is homosexual marriages permitted. To the culture this means permitting "female husbands" in woman-to-woman marriages, in special circumstances. Some daughters with a male status (i.e., "male daughters") do not even have to marry to procreate.
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With the colonisation in the early part of the twentieth century, the British introduced a system based on ‘indirect rule’ in the north of Nigeria, leveraging the existing northern emir hierarchies. A few years later, the colonial rule decided to introduce this system in the south as well.
The Ibo commissioned "warrant chief's" to rule the districts the land they controlled. Due to the lack of social hierarchies, the authoritative method did not work as well as it did in the north. After the independence, the role of these "district officers' was quickly transformed and adapted to the igbo's 'traditional' title society which was based on traditional worship titles.
Nowadays, each community consisting of a number of villages, wards and/or clans, can nominate their traditional ruler, also called Igwe or Eze. The Igwe has this role for life and can give titles to his community people, mostly out of recognition for their achievement and character. The title system varies from community to community, but except from different names, the hierarchy itself is in most cases the same. In most communities, the title system starts with the Nze title, given to persons in recognition of their community contribution. When the Nze titleholder reaches the elder age and remains in the village, he becomes part of the Igwe’s cabinet. Upon becoming a senior elder, the Igwe may honour him with the Özö or Ichie title, standing directly below the Igwe.
These titles and many other chieftaincy titles, each signifying certain achievements come along with privileges and symbols of authority. One could be allowed to wear a red or black cap, to hold a walking stick, an elephant tusk, a horsetail or a fan of ram or cow skin, all dependent on the local customs and the rank of title. Chieftaincy titleholders are privileged to do the “chief handshake”. This handshake starts with touching each other’s hand with the upper-side three times before shaking. If one of the persons does not recognise the other as a chief, even though he might pretend to be one, the touching stops after two times before the shaking. War heroes are a separate category of titleholders, they can wear parrot’s plumes in their hats and are the only ones allowed to dance the war dance.
