THE IGBO

These are some of the most popular traditional dances in Igbo land, which I implore young Igbo men and women to replicate in their various communities;


The ‘Atilogwu’ (Acrobatic Dance) was an acrobatic dance that served both as entertainment but also equivalent to today’s cheerleaders in the west. The acrobatic flips, high jumps, etc kept young men in shape and out of crime.

‘Abigbo’ and ‘Ekere-Avu’ dances (social critics) both from Mbaise community in Nigeria were used for social criticisms in an entertaining manner. Through Abigbo, people could collectively voice out criticisms on governments and powerful people in the society, which otherwise a single person could not do without being victimized.

‘Omuru-onwa’ and ‘Agbacha-Ekuru nwa ’ were both dance groups for married ladies and could be compared to today’s exercise clubs in the west. Married women and new mothers used such entertaining avenues to exercise, lose weight, shed baby fats and stay healthy through weekly rehearsals.


‘Nkwa umu-Agbogho’ (the Maiden dance) was mostly a dance group for young ladies. The breathe-taking chest and waist dance, where maidens who have come of age to marry flaunted their body in seductive manners to attract suitors. It also helped the younger girls keep mind and body busy to abstain from s-exual activities before marriage.

‘Ikpirikpi-ogu’ (War dance) was a dance of warriors usually used to welcome soldiers back from tribal wars. Today it’s purely symbolical to show the prowess and valor of a community and it’s triumph over collective challenges.

Igba Ndi Eze (A dance for the kings) . This was used to usher in kings, titled men and women either into an arena or into an occasion.

‘Ekpe’ was a type of masquerade but usually was more confined in a vicinity, where young men could boast of their valor and strength in turns.



The ‘Mmanwu’ (masquerades) were widely used to protect deities and to deliver judgments/penalties on otherwise powerful people because masquerades were untouchable, feared to be spirits. Young men enlisted into the groups to effectively act as a local police.

Ijele – Ijele was the king masquerade, beautifully adorned, accompanied by other smaller masquerades and usually comes out last in any Igbo ceremonial event.

‘Ese’ (funereal dance) – had two versions. ‘Ese-ike’ was played only on an elevated platform to celebrate the life of a well-accomplished man, while ‘Ese-Ala’ was played on the ground with an array of talking drums and xylophones to celebrate the live of a well-accomplished woman.

‘Ikoro’ was a huge wooden gong carved out of huge tree trunks. It was used to communicate to the entire community because of its deep, loud resonating sound. The ‘Ikoro’ dance itself was a very.



‘Mgba’ (Wrestling dance) was used to cheer wrestlers as young men and women competed in local championships




IGBO KWENU !!!

Family is a very important institution in the lives of Igbo people. All relationships, according to Igbo culture, emanates from the family. Every child birthed in any family begins to learn about human relationships from within the family.

Our collective view of the family unit, as people of Igbo extraction, is quite different from the views of the Western world. To Americans and Europeans, family basically implies one father, one mother, and their biological or adopted children.

But, if we observe closely what is implied when Igbo people talk about family, we’ll see that, to our people, family refers to a group of people living under one household who may or may not even be related by blood or marriage.

It is in a family setting as described above that we, Igbos, differ so much from Westerners but not-so-much from other African tribes.

In Igbo family life and structure, we have to take a look at three Kinds of family settings:

Family Setting with One Mother


This kind of family structure found in Igboland consists mainly of father, one mother, children, dependants, and relatives. Some 50 years ago, it was quite rare to find this kind of family setting among our people living in the geographical area designated as South-East Nigeria.

Family Setting with Multiple Mothers:

Polygamy is part of Igbo culture, and is well accepted and acknowledged by our people as a man’s legitimate right, if he so chooses to have multiple women as mothers in his household. One key feature of this kind of family setting is recurrent quarrels and undue competition among the mothers within the household as each mother typically cooks her own meals and maintains her offspring without undue interference from others. Which is not healthy

Extended Family Setting:

We, Igbos, are mainly known for this kind of family set-up in which father, mother/mothers, children, in-laws, from both sides, friends, and other relatives all live together as one household.
Reasons Why Igbo People Prefer the Extended Family Setting

The extended family is like a pillar of support for each member of the household as some members may be not-so-rich, widowed, orphaned etc as the case may be. The popular Igbo saying; “Igwe bu Ike” (Multitude is power) was coined to reflect the high value we place on the extended family setting.

It helps the upbringing of children as their training is not merely confined to the limits of the knowledge and experiences of their biological parents.

It reduces the financial burden and woes of the elderly members of the household as both the young and old jointly work together to make money and pay bills or put food on the table for every member of the family.

Challenges with Extended Family Setting

It makes the financial burden of a few members of the household heavier as every other member’s needs also become theirs.
It could make some members of the extended family household lazy, because some will not develop their abilities or increase their effort in life, because they have their hopes of survival hinged on the success of well-to-do members of the extended family household.

• FATHER

The father represents and speaks on behalf of the family in public forums. It is his responsibility to cultivate, grow, and develop the family wealth and resources. He serves as the family priest and spiritual leader and teacher of Igbo culture and traditions to members of his household. It is the fathers’ responsibility to lead by example, correct deviant members of the family when they go wrong, and provide for the needs of his household.

• MOTHER:

It is the mother’s responsibility to inspire and fuel the father with ideas to move the household forward towards progress and development. It is expected of her to preserve the family wealth and resources. It rests on the mother’s shoulders to set and uphold standards of morality and purity in the family. She has to make the household homely and comfortable for every member of the family including occasional visitors. Finally, it is her duty to love the father of the house, cook his meals, and maintain the cleanliness of the home.

• CHILDREN

According to Igbo culture and tradition, children and dependants are expected to serve and remain under the mentorship of father and/or mother only on the condition that they know what they are doing and are not bad influence on the children or dependants.


IGBO KWENU !!!

Marriage, birth and burial are considered the three most important family events in most cultures, and Igboland is not an exception to that.

Marriage in Igboland is not just an affair between the future husband and wife but also involves the parents, the extended family and villages.

First the groom asks his potential partner to marry him. The groom visits the bride’s residence accompanied by his father. The groom’s father will introduce himself and his son and explain the purpose of his visit.

The bride’s father welcomes the guests, invites his daughter to come and asks her if she knows the groom. Her confirmation shows that she agrees with the proposal.

Then the bride’s price settlement (Ika-Akalika) starts with the groom accompanied by his father and elders visiting the bride’s compound on another evening.

Traditional Igbo Wedding




They bring wine and kola nuts with them, which are presented to the bride’s father. After they have been served with a meal, the bride’s price is being negotiated between the fathers.

 In most cases there is only a symbolic price to be paid for the bride but in addition other prerequisites (kola nuts, goats, chicken, wine, etc.) are listed as well. Usually it takes more than one evening before the final bride’s price is settled, offering guests from both sides a glamorous feast.

Another evening is spent for the payment of the bride’s price at the bride’s compound when the groom’s family hands over the money and other agreed prerequisites.

The money and goods are counted, while relatives and friends are served drinks and food in the bride’s compound. After all is settled, the traditional wedding day is planned.

The wedding day will be at the bride’s compound, where the guests welcome the couple and invite them in front of the families.

First the bride goes around selling boiled eggs to the guests, showing to both families that she has the capability to open a shop and make money.

Then, the bride’s father fills a wooden cup (Iko) with palm wine and passes it on to the girl while the groom finds a place between the guests.

It is the custom for her to look for her husband while being distracted by the invitees. Only after she has found the groom, she offered the cup to him and he sipped the wine, the couple is married traditionally.

During this ceremony, there is also the nuptial dance where the couple dances, while guests wish the newly weds prosperity by throwing money around them or putting bills on their forehead.

 as the wedding ceremony, varies from village to village.

Birth celebration



On the eighth day, the child (male only) is prepared for circumcision, and on the twenty-eighth day, the naming ceremony is performed, each event accompanied by a feast for the relatives.

Death

in Igboland is regarded as the passing away of the person from the world existence to the spirit world. However, only after the second burial rites, it is believed that the person can reach the spirit world, as otherwise, the departed relative would still wander between earth and the spirit world. The honour of the death varies dependent on the background, title, gender, relationship with family and circumstances around the death.

The corpse is normally buried at the village in the person’s compound after it has been preceded by the wake keeping. During the funeral ceremonies, relatives and friends of the deceased pay their last respect to the dead and mourn with the bereaved in colourful ceremonies marked with singing and traditional dances. In the olden days, the wake keeping was accompanied by masquerades, traditional music and animal sacrifices.

A high-ranking chief or traditional ruler would be buried with two human heads alongside his body and would go along with the release of canon gun shots to notify the general public on the loss. Many more customs surrounded the burial rites, but the church has overtaken most of these traditions.


IGBO KWENU !!!

MARRIAGE.

Marriage is not a matter for the man and woman alone; it concerns the close kin of both. Marriage arrangements are negotiated between the families of the prospective bride and groom.

With regard to the paternity of the wife's children, they belong to the lineage of the husband. When a woman has children out of wedlock, however, they belong to her natal lineage, and not to that of the children's father.

since Igbo women are prominent in public life as an organized force in both economics and politics.

Women are fully involved in matchmaking and usually participate directly or indirectly in the actual negotiations of marital arrangements for their sons or their daughters, in cooperation with the male members of the families concerned.

Women have powerful and active behind-the-scene roles in seeking out the girls they would like their sons to marry. The approval of the mother is vital because the young bride is generally expected to live with her mother-in-law and to serve her for the first few months of marriage, until the new couple can set up an independent household.


INHERITANCE.

 The bulk of inheritance allotments are granted to the eldest son, who, at the time of the inheritance, becomes responsible for the welfare of his younger siblings. If the eldest son is a minor at the time of his father's death, a paternal uncle will take charge of the property and provide for the deceased brother's family. There is also marriage by inheritance, or levirate—a widow may become the wife of her brother-in-law. In some localities, widows may become the wives of the deceased father's sons by another wife.



IGBO KWENU !!!

CULTURAL HERITAGE

The Igbo have number of wind and stringed musical instruments. The ugene is a whistle made of baked clay, round in form, and about the size of a billiard ball. Probably the most interesting of the Igbo instruments is the ubaw-akwala, a sort of guitar. It has a triangular body formed by three pieces of soft wood sewn together. It is played by strolling singers in the evenings. Igbo singers improvise as the song proceeds and show great skill in fitting words to the song's rhythm and tune.

There is such variety among Igbo groups that it is not possible to define a general Igbo art style. Igbo art is known for various types of masquerade, masks and outfits symbolizing people, animals, or abstract conceptions. Bronze castings found in the town of igbo ukwo from the 9th century, constitute the earliest sculptures discovered in Igboland. Here, the grave of a well-established man of distinction and a ritual store, dating from the 9th century AD, contained both chased copper objects and elaborate castings of leaded bronze. Along with these bronzes were 165,000 glass beads said to have originated in Egypt, Venice and India. Some popular Igbo art styles include Uli designs. The majority of the Igbo carve and use masks, although the function of masks vary from community to community.
Igbo art is noted for Mbari architecture.
Mbari houses of the Owerri-Igbo are large opened-sided square planned shelters. They house many life-sized, painted figures (sculpted in mud to appease the Alusi (deity) and Ala, the Earth goddess, with other deities of thunder and water). Other sculptures are of officials, craftsmen, foreigners (mainly Europeans), animals, legendary creation and ancestors. Mbari houses take years to build in what is regarded as a sacred process. When new ones are constructed, old ones are left to decay. Everyday houses were made of mud and thatched roof with bare earth floors with carved design doors. Some houses had elaborate designs both in the interior and exterior. These designs could include Uli art designed by Igbo women.
One of the unique structures of Igbo culture was the Nsude pyramid at the town of Nsude, in Abaja, northern Igboland. Ten pyramidal structures were built of clay/mud. The first base section was 60 ft. in circumference and 3 ft. in height. The next stack was 45 ft. in circumference. Circular stacks continued, till it reached the top. 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.

CHIEFTAINCY TITLE

    Highly 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.

 IGBO KWENU !!!