THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF

IGBOLAND
A Captivating Guide to the Culture and History of the Igbo
People, A Tribe Blessed by God
VIVIAN CHIBUIFE
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Copyright © Vivian Chibuife 2022

 TABLE OF CONTENT

INTRODUCTION: 5

THE IGBO PEOPLE: A Cultural Journey 8

IGBOS AND THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE 15

Igbo people's ancestry 18

Nri Kingdom 20

The Atlantic slave trade. 27

The Colonial period 30

CHAPTER 1: 33

History and Culture of the Early Igbo People 33

Political and Social Organizations 39

Connecting Threads In Society 41

Council of Elders 42

Age-groups 44

CHAPTER 2: 47

Life in Igboland: The Chiefs' Council and title acquisition. 47

Female Organizations 51

Secret Societies 55
CHAPTER 3: 57

Culture and Customs of the Igbo people: 57

Igbo Wedding Traditions 57

Religion in Igboland 59

The Mysterious Twinship 68

Homicide 69

Oracles 72

CHAPTER 4: 76

The Age of Informal Empire: The Igbo People and the Europeans 76

The Missional Dimension 81

The British Annexation of Igboland: 87

The Formal Empire Period 87

Ekumeku Movement: Igbo Resistance against Colonial Rule 88

The Aro Expedition 90

Igboland under British rule 93

 INTRODUCTION:

The origins and history of Nigeria's Igbo people ( An Overview

Of The Igbo People Of African Origin)

The Igbo people are a vibrant and diverse ethnic group with a rich
and fascinating culture. Located in the southeastern region of
Nigeria, the Igbo have a population of over 30 million people, making
them one of the largest ethnic groups in the country. Known for their
strong sense of community, their artistic and musical traditions, and
their spiritual beliefs, the Igbo have a long and fascinating history. In
this book, we explore the history, customs, and beliefs of the Igbo
people, from their origins to the present day.
We begin by examining the origins and migration of the Igbo people,
tracing their movement across the region and their settlement in the
area now known as Nigeria. We then explore the unique features of
the Igbo language and culture, including their art, music, and dance.
The Igbo are known for their skills in metalworking, weaving, and
sculpture, and their artistic achievements are celebrated throughout
the world. We also delve into the spiritual beliefs of the Igbo people,
including their traditional religions and their syncretic forms of
Christianity and Islam.

Next, we examine the traditional economy of the Igbo people,

including their skills in agriculture and trade. The Igbo are
predominantly farming people, and they are known for their
knowledge of planting and harvesting crops. They are also skilled
traders, and they have a long history of commerce and
entrepreneurship. The Igbo are known for their enterprising spirit,
and they have a reputation as some of the most successful business
people in Nigeria.

In addition to their economic achievements, the Igbo people have a

rich cultural heritage. They are known for their vibrant and energetic
music and dance, and their traditional art forms are celebrated
throughout the world. The Igbo are also known for the important role
of women in their society, and we explore the contributions of Igbo
women to the cultural, economic, and spiritual life of the community.

However, the history of the Igbo people has not been without
challenges. We examine the impact of European colonization on the
Igbo people and their way of life, and the struggles they faced in the
post-colonial era. We also explore the challenges and opportunities
 THE IGBO PEOPLE: A Cultural
Journey

The Igbo ethnic group, also known as the Ibo(e), Ebo(e), Eboans, or
Heebo (Igbo: NdIgbo), is mostly found in southern Nigeria. They
speak Igbo, which encompasses several Igboid languages and
dialects; as a consequence of British colonization, most of them now
also speak English. The Hausa and Yoruba ethnic groups, together
with the Igbo, make up Nigeria's three biggest and most powerful
ethnic groupings. There are Igbo communities outside of Africa in
nations like Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea as a result of
migration and the transatlantic slave trade. Although the actual
number of Igbo people living outside of Africa is unclear, many
African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans today are descended from
them. The majority of Igbo people in rural Africa are farmers. The
yam is their most significant crop, and ceremonies are performed
yearly to mark its harvest. Other important crops are taro and
cassava.

The Igbo were a politically divided people group before British

colonization. The art forms, fashions, and religious activities varied
according to culture. According to clan, ancestry, village connection,
and dialect, several subgroups were created. Except in kingdoms
like that of the Nri, Arochukwu, and Onitsha, there weren't many
centralized chieftaincies, hereditary aristocracies, or royal norms.
Under British colonization in the 19th century, this political structure
underwent dramatic modification; Frederick Lugard established Eze
(kings) as "Warrant Chiefs" in the majority of local communities.
During colonialism, Christianity overtook other religions among the
Igbo. Things Fall Apart authored by Chinua Achebe is one of the
most well-known books that portray Igbo culture.

Igbo identity became quite prominent by the middle of the 20th

century. The Igbo-dominated Eastern Nigeria split from Nigeria to
form the independent state of Biafra as a result of several
confrontations with other Nigerian ethnic groups. Shortly after, the
Nigerian-Biafran War (6 July 1967–15 January 1970) started. The
vanquished Republic of Biafra was reincorporated into Nigeria after
the war.

A detailed map showcasing areas mapped out as Igboland in Nigeria

The Igbo people call Igboland, which occupies much of Southeast

Nigeria, home. The Niger River divides this region into the eastern
region, which is the biggest, and the midwestern region, which are
not equal in size. However, the river has not served as a barrier to
cultural cohesion; rather, it has offered a simple method of
connection in a region where several villages claim various origins.
Other tribes surround the Igbos as well (the Bini, Warri, Ijaw, Ogoni,
Igala, Tiv, Yako, and Ibibio).

Like every group of people, the Igbo are eager to learn about their
roots and rebuild how they got to be the way they are. However, little
actual research has been done on the origins of the Igbo people until
the last fifty years. They have been made more aware of the truth of
their group identity through their experiences during colonialism and
Nigeria's independence. They wish to enshrine their identity in a
reliable past.
It is thought that there is a core area of Igboland and that waves of
immigrant communities from the north and west established
themselves on the border of this core area as early as the ninth
century based on analysis of the available sources (fragmentary oral
traditions and correlation of cultural traits). The inhabitants of this
central region—Owerri, Orlu, and Okigwe—which resembles a belt—
have no history of migration from any other region. The Igbo culture
progressively homogenized as a result of recent migration from this
region, which tended to be in all directions. Around the fourteenth or
fifteenth century, other people entered the Igbo land in addition to the
migratory trend from this core area. Many of these individuals still
display traits that are distinct from those of the conventional Igbos,
such as geographic marginalization, the institution of monarchy, a
hierarchical title system, and the amosu heritage (witchcraft). For a
while, some Igbo-speaking groups said they were not Igbo, using the
name to denigrate their "less cultured" neighbors. The term is
currently used to refer to Igbo land, domestic speakers, and their
language in all three meanings.
 IGBOS AND THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE

The advent of the Portuguese in the middle of the fifteenth century

marked the beginning of Igboland's interaction with Europe. The
Niger coast served as a hub for commerce between European and
African merchants from 1434 until 1807, first for the Portuguese,
then for the Dutch, and ultimately for the English. At this point,
trading was prioritized above creating an empire, and in this
instance, the trade was mostly made up of Igbo slaves. Upon the
end of the slave trade in 1807, a new commercial age focused on
industry began (palm products, timber, elephant tusks, and spices).
The British started combining aggressive commerce with aggressive
imperialism in this era. They refused to be restricted to the seaside
because they believed the hinterland to be fertile. The Protectorate
of Southern Nigeria, which also included what had been known as
the Niger Coast Protectorate, was established in 1900 and included
the territory formerly governed by the British Niger Company. The
British Foreign Office subsequently turned over control of this region
to the Colonial Office. Igboland had been handled as a British colony
for a very long time before it had been taken over. There had been
twenty-one British military incursions into Igboland between 1900
and 1914 (the year Northern and Southern Nigeria were combined).
Igbo males were required to pay tax in 1928 for the first time in their
history; they were treated as subjects of the British empire.

In the early decades of the 20th century, opposition and cultural

protest greeted this effort to seize governmental control of Igboland.
A nativistic religious movement called the ekumeku emerged,
igniting a frenzied but fleeting messianic zeal. The 1929 Aba Riots, a
major uprising of women never previously seen in Igbo history, were
started by claims that the Igbo women were being assessed for
revenue. However, once imperialism got going, it was impossible to
halt, and Igbo culture would never be the same again.
 Igbo people's ancestry

Subtopics covered here will get in-depth discussion in the associated chapters

The Anambra valley is the source of the Umueri clan's traditions, and
in the 1970s, the Owerri, Okigwe, Orlu, and Awka divisions were
generally believed to have been "an Igbo heartland" based on
linguistic and cultural evidence. Pottery from around 4500 BCE that
shares similarities with later Igbo work were discovered at Nsukka,
along with pottery and tools at the nearby Ibagwa.

Ancient Igbo Pottery ( Igbo Ukwu Bronze)

There is evidence that the proto-Kwa populations, who originated in

the ancient Sahara grasslands and the African Great Lakes and
Mountains of the Moon in East and Central Africa, were the
forebears of the Igbo people and the majority of their neighbors.
Some Kwa people were compelled to relocate farther south, to the
region north of the junction of the Niger and Benue rivers, where
they established Nok as a result of the Sahara's dryness.

The Igala, Idoma, Yoruba, Igbo, and maybe the Tiv peoples are
descended from the Kwa ethnic, who went south of this junction.
Around 5000 BCE, the North Central uplands (Nsukka-Afikpo-Awka-
Orlu) of Igboland were the first regions where the Kwa people
settled. The Igbo subgroup presently known as the Anioma was
formed when components from the Orlu region moved south, east,
and northeast while those from the Awka area moved west over the
Niger river. The Bini, Igala, Yoruba, and Idoma peoples all speak a
language related to the Igbo.
 Nri Kingdom

The Igbo people's cultural center is said to be the city of Nri. The
Umueri clan, whose lineages may be traced back to the patriarchal
monarch figure Eri, resides in the region of Nri and Aguleri, which is
where the Igbo creation story is said to have originated. Although his
origins are unknown, Eri has been identified as a "sky creature" sent
by Chukwu (God). According to some accounts, he initially brought
Anambra's populace social order. Nri and Aguleri are members of
the Umueri clan, a collection of Igbo village groupings that may trace
its roots to a celestial creature by the name of Eri, according to
Elizabeth Allo Isichei in her book "African and Christianity"

Royal graves have been discovered that date at least to the 10th
century, and archeological evidence implies that Nri's hegemony in
Igboland may date back to the ninth century. The god-like creator of
Nri, Eri, is said to have arrived in the area in the year 948, followed
by other related Igbo civilizations in the 13th century. He was
immediately succeeded by fikuánim, the first Eze Nri (King of Nri).
His rule began in 1043, according to Igbo oral tradition. Fikuánim's
rule began considerably later, in the year 1225 AD, according to at
least one historian.

Every king may trace his lineage back to Eri, the realm's first ruler.
Every king is a ceremonial copy of Eri. The ceremony of a new king's
initiation demonstrates how the ceremonial road to becoming an
Ezenri (Nri priest-king) closely resembles the one taken by the hero
to create the Nri kingdom.
In the center core of the Igbo area, the Kingdom of Nri emerged as a
religion-polity or theocratic kingdom. The Nri possessed seven
different categories of taboos, including verbal, object, temporal,
behavioral, animal (such as eating or killing pythons), and human
(such as the birth of twins) taboos. The guidelines for these taboos
were utilized to instruct and dominate Nri's subjects. This implied that
all adherents of the Igbo religion had to comply with its precepts and
obey its earthly representative, the Eze Nri, even if different Igbo
may have lived under various nominal governments.

A semi-democratic republican form of governance served as the

foundation for the traditional Igbo political structure. In close-knit
communities, this system ensured equality for its residents as
opposed to a feudalist one where a ruler ruled over subordinates.
The Portuguese, who first came and interacted with the Igbo people
in the 15th century, observed this political structure. A republican
consultative assembly of the general populace dominated Igbo
villages and area administrations, except for a few important Igbo
cities like Onitsha, which had monarchs called Obi, and locations like
the Nri Kingdom and Arochukwu, which had priest-kings. Typically, a
council of elders oversaw the administration of the community.

Because of their achievements and skills, title holders were admired,

but they were never regarded as kings. Instead, they often carried
out specific tasks assigned to them by these assemblies. Only the
Ewe of Ghana shared this form of government with the majority of
Western African tribes.

The Igbo uphold Umunna, a patrilineal system. Law is first

established by the Umunna, a male line descended from a founding
ancestor (after whom the line is sometimes called), with groupings of
compounds made up of closely linked families led by the oldest male
member. The Umunna is regarded as the most crucial tenet of Igbo
culture.

The calendar, banking system, and the strategic gambling game

Okwe are all examples of mathematics in traditional Igbo civilization.
In their native calendar, a week had four days, a month had seven
weeks, and a year had 13 months. There was an additional day
added in the previous month. In the villages and towns of the
indigenous Igbo people, this calendar is still utilized to designate
market days. They hired mediators to handle legal disputes, and
they still use the Isusu banking system for savings and loans.

The Igbo, who descended from the nearby Ejagham people, had an
ancient ideographic system of symbols called Nsibidi that was used
as a ceremonial script by secret groups. Bronzes made by Igbo
people have been discovered in the Anambra state village of Igbo
Ukwu as early as the ninth century.

Before and after the advent of Europeans and their expertise, the
Igbo had a system of slavery. In his story, Olaudah Equiano
recounted slavery in Igbo regions. He explains the plight of the
slaves in his Essaka town and highlights how they were treated
differently from slaves held by Europeans in the West Indies:...but
how different was their situation from that of the slaves in the West
Indies! They do the same amount of labor as other members of the
community, including their master, with us; There wasn't much of a
difference between them (apart from the fact that they weren't
allowed to eat with the free-born;) Some of these slaves own and
utilize other slaves as their property.
From 1434 through 1803, the Niger coast served as a meeting place
for merchants from Africa and Europe. Portuguese, Dutch, and lastly
British settlers were the first to initiate interaction between Africans
and Europeans. Igbo trading lines reached Mecca, Medina, and
Jeddah even before the arrival of the Europeans.
 The Atlantic slave trade.

The transatlantic slave trade, which operated between the sixteenth

and late nineteenth centuries, had a significant influence on the Igbo.
The bulk of Igbo slaves came from Biafra's Bight (also known as the
Bight of Benin). This territory included parts of modern-day
Equatorial Guinea, Western Cameroon, Southeast Nigeria, and
Northern Gabon. Bonny and Calabar Town were key ports of trade in
the area for both goods and slaves. Many Igbo slaves from the Bight
of Biafra would have been there. The Aro Confederacy regularly
traded slaves captured or acquired from Igbo tribes in the interior to
Europeans. Almost 15% of slaves were taken from the Bight of
Biafra between 1650 and 1900, the third largest percentage
throughout the transatlantic slave trade era. Igbo slaves were known
for being rebellious and committing a large number of suicides to
protest their enslavement. Igbo women are in high demand for
reasons that are yet unclear.
Contrary to common belief, European slave traders possessed a
good awareness of the many African ethnic groups, which led them
to target certain ethnic groups that plantation owners preferred.
Ethnic groups have therefore reached a significant saturation
threshold in numerous places in the Americas. The Igbo were
dispersed among colonies like the United States, Belize, Trinidad &
Tobago, Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, and Barbados. These areas still have
vestiges of Igbo culture. For example, in Jamaican Patois, the Igbo
word unu, which means "you" in the plural, and the term red Ibo (or
red eboe), which refers to a black person with a light or "yellowish"
complexion, are still used. This expression is claimed to have
derived from the prevalence of certain skin tones among Igbo
people. Enslaved Barbadians often referred to Barbados as "Bim," a
slang word for the island (Bajans). The Igbo phrase bi mu, which
means "My people" and may alternatively be spelled bem, Ndi bem,
Nwanyi ibem, or Nwoke ibem, is assumed to be the origin of this
word; however, additional antecedents may exist (see: Barbados
etymology). The Igbo were most common in Maryland and Virginia,
where they remained the largest single African population in the
United States. Recent Igbo-speaking immigrants are still common in
Maryland.
 The Colonial period

The British presence in the 1870s, as well as increased contacts

between the Igbo and other ethnic groups around the Niger River,
led to a stronger sense of Igbo ethnic identity. The Igbo have shown
amazing tenacity in their ardent and unwavering adoption of
Christianity and Western education. Because the Igbo decentralized
form of administration and the centralized structure required for
British indirect authority were incompatible, British colonial power
was marked by open clashes and a significant degree of conflict.
During British colonial rule, the variation within each of Nigeria's
major ethnic groups rapidly reduced, while inequalities between the
Igbo and other significant ethnic groups, such as the Hausa and the
Yoruba, became increasingly prominent.

Colonialism had a profound impact on Igbo society, as shown in the

book Things Fall Apart. As a consequence of the British government,
Warrant Chiefs were accepted as Eze (traditional rulers) although
there had previously been no such monarchy. The spread of foreign
philosophies into Igbo society and culture was facilitated
tremendously by Christianity, which at times rejected portions of the
tradition. The 1929 Igbo Women's War in Aba (also known as the
1929 Aba Riots), a major rebellion of women never witnessed before
in Igbo history, was sparked by reports that Igbo women were being
taxed.

Living conditions altered under colonial rule. The use of mud walls
and thatched roofs became obsolete as dwellings started to be built
with cement blocks and zinc roofs. Roads were built for autos.
Structures including hospitals and schools have been built across
Igboland. Along with this transition, electricity and running water
were installed in the early twentieth century. With the introduction of
electricity, new equipment such as radios and televisions became
common in Igbo houses.
 CHAPTER 1:

History and Culture of the Early Igbo

People
With over 15 million people residing in Nigeria and another million
outside of the country, the Igbo (or Ibo) people are one of the biggest
ethnic groupings in Africa. From delta swampland along the southern
coast to tropical rain forest to open grasslands to the north, their
fanning settlements are roughly located between the Niger River in
the west and the Cross River in the east. There are several varieties
of the Igbo language since Igboland was made up of independent
cities and villages that were isolated from one another by thick
bushes. Before the 20th century, it would have been wrong to refer
to the Igbo as a single people since there were more than 200
different tribes that made up this ethnicity. Each group may have
been regarded as a separate community, spanning possibly twenty
or thirty villages, even though their traditions and languages were
connected. Traveling thirty kilometers across Igboland, an Igbo
individual could have had a hard time being understood. However,
many Igbo people traveled outside of their homes and gathered in
urban areas, workplaces, and higher education institutions during the
colonial era (1900–1960). Many came to the realization that what
they had previously believed to be various languages were dialects
of the same Igbo language and that all Igbo-speaking people shared
the same fundamental culture and sociopolitical structure. In that
regard, the idea of a single Igbo identity is a 20th-century invention.

According to an Igbo creation story, the earth's surface was once

covered in water and no people were living there. The first human
family was then established by Chukwu (God), consisting of Eze Nri,
his wife, his sons, and his daughters. The ground was underwater,
so Eze Nri and his family were perched on an anthill with nowhere to
go. Chukwu glanced down and felt sorry for them since they were
also hungry. He remarked while handing Eze Nri a piece of yam.
Consider the fact that Eze Nri and his family consumed the yam and
deemed it to be satisfactory. They were hungry again the next
morning, so Ezc Nri pleaded to God for more yam. After carefully
listening, Chukwu handed him some yam seeds and said, "Plant
these, and you will have plenty of yams." Eze Nri gratefully
welcomed the yam seeds. But the ground is covered in water, he
replied to Chukwu after taking a glance around. Chukwu gave him
the order to send for the blacksmiths of Awka, who arrived with their
bellows and blew until the area was completely dried. After that,
Chukwu instructed Eze Nri to kill his first son and daughter and bury
the yam seeds in their graves. Eze Nri complied. The graves of his
children soon began to grow yam and cocoyam tendrils. Once the
yams and cocoyams were harvested, Eze Nri distributed them to the
Igbo people.

The Igbo people's faith in a supreme deity (Chukwu) who created

everything and required obedience was established by this tale.
Additionally, it implies that religion has always played a significant
role in Igbo culture. The myth highlights the beginnings of
agriculture, the age of the family, and the significance of iron works
in the development of the Igbo people. Above all, this myth argues
that the Igbo people have lived in their current location for a very
long period, a statement that is supported by archaeology, as it
makes no mention of migrations from remote locations in contrast to
the bulk of African myths of origin.

The Igbo people of today and their forebears are believed to have
lived in the same general area for at least 2,000 years, according to
archaeological evidence. The material culture of the Igbo people of
today has many similarities with that of the inhabitants of certain
areas of Igboland approximately 1,000 bc. At Afikpo, the pottery
made now is similar to that made around 3.000 years ago. The shift
from hunting and gathering to agriculture may be seen in one of the
Afikpo sites, where the quantity and diversity of pottery steadily grew
while the number of stone tools gradually dropped.

For generations, the Igbo people have smelted and forged iron and
their oral histories are full of descriptions of the production and
usage of iron. An old iron-working community existed in Lejja, a little
village approximately ten miles south of Nsukka, where smelting was
first done using relatively basic methods in a pit or bowl furnace. The
Igbo developed their technical abilities throughout time and started to
create complex metal objects such as cooking pots, spearheads,
arrowheads, swords, hoes, knives, finger rings, bracelets, and
anklets. They were already making bronze masks and figures of the
kind that archaeologists found at Igbo-Ukwu by the first millennium of
the Christian period.
The Igbo people were able to use the forest more effectively thanks
to the widespread usage of iron implements. They cultivated yams
(their main source of food), cocoyams, bananas, and plantains with
iron tools. They were also able to harvest fruits from the towering
palm trees and turn them into edible and medicinal oils with the use
of iron tools. The longevity and efficiency of yam farming as well as
the Igbo people's success in using the oil palm have been cited as
reasons for the present high density of the Igbo population.

When the Igbo agricultural system was completely evolved, it was

based on shifting agriculture, a sort of revolving farming in which the
same fields were cultivated for several years in a row before being
left fallow to restore their fertility. While crops thrived on freshly cut
forest land, other individuals were unable or unwilling to put in the
grueling amount of labor necessary to remove virgin forests. As a
consequence, they planted their yams repeatedly on old farmlands
and had subpar yields.
 Political and Social Organizations
Igbo civilization was notable for having decentralized governmental
institutions. Igbo people lived in independent villages and towns that
were ruled by their elders. With a few rare exceptions, they grouped
themselves into patrilineages or lineage groupings based on the
lines of father-to-son succession. Blood connections were the basis
for relationships, and each individual could trace their ancestry to
one of three groups. A person first belonged to their Uno (Ulo), or
home, which was the lowest social unit. The members of this family
were a man, his wife or wives, and their offspring. The Umunna, or
lineage, was the second group and it was made up of many linked
households. Finally, several lineages came together to create obodo,
a small hamlet or town. This was the Igbo people's highest
territorially delineated power. A town or small hamlet may have the
name of its founder or the name of a prominent geographical feature
that best describes the area. It could also have a name derived from
the most significant societal context of its founding. Each home,
lineage, and the town was led by a headman, onyisi, who earned the
post by his age. It is vital to understand that the members of a
lineage were blood-related and that each lineage was a semi-
autonomous entity within a town.

The most significant lineage and house meetings took place in the
obi (meeting shed) of the most senior elders, whereas town
meetings were often conducted in the town plaza. There was little
interaction between the towns, and it was controlled by kindness,
respect for one another, and diplomacy. When they failed, wars often
started.
 Connecting Threads In Society
Despite being recognized for their extreme democracy, Igbo villages
didn't have centralized administrations. So how did they implement
democracy?

The Igbo people supported the idea of direct engagement in politics.

Their whole social and political systems were based on the concept
of overlapping relationships. The councils of elders, age groupings,
councils of chiefs, women's organizations, and secret societies were
the five most significant cross-cutting institutions. The Igbo
civilization would collapse without them because it would be bereft of
its soul. When we'll see in a moment, the twentieth century saw the
traditional Igbo communities disintegrate as the Europeans broke up
their interconnected links under colonial control.
 Council of Elders

At the elders, ndisi, or ndi ichie gatherings, things that affected

lineage members were discussed with the help of the adult lineage
members. Elders from the afflicted lineages would meet to explore
solutions to inter-lineage conflicts, with the oldest man in attendance
serving as the meeting's facilitator. The tribe respected the lineage
leader because he was the eldest surviving descendant of the
founding ancestors, which gave him power. He served as the group's
spiritual and temporal leader, the keeper of the ceremonial artifacts
that represented political power, and the curator of ancestral territory.
Even though he was the lineage's head of the judiciary, executive
branch, and religion, he would not take any action without their
consent. No action would be done until a lineage meeting had heard
both sides of an issue and reached some kind of agreement.

(He did not rule as an absolute dictator or king but as a caregiver for
his family.)
 Age-groups

Ogbo or otu, an age-group organization, was made up of men (or

women) who were around the same age. In a town where everyone
was born within a few years of one another, there were discrete age
groups for men and women. The organization was named after a
significant occurrence that occurred around the time when its
members were born. For instance, there was the age group
associated with the Biafran War (those born between 1967 and
1970), the Second World War (those born between 1939 and 1945),
and influenza (those born between 1918 and 1919) age groups
(1918-1921). Although the precise age range within an AGCG varied
from town to town, the three- and five-year intervals were by far the
most prevalent.

Societies without written records were able to recall the past

because of the age-group system. Additionally, it assisted them in
allocating specific tasks and obligations in line with the seniority
concept to the various communities. Ages 15 and younger
performed small tasks including running errands, sweeping streets
and town squares, cleaning walkways, and bringing in water. The
combat forces were made up of men in the middle age groups
(between 16 and 40). There might be up to five different age groups
in this category if five years separated one age group from the next.
Each age group served as a distinct regiment in a conflict under the
command of an older age-group commander. At the start of every
planting season, the middle-aged groups also cut down trees and
cleared the vegetation. They served as the government's executive
branch and, among other things, would capture fugitives. Young
ladies would become involved in the proper women's group after
marriage.

The senior male age groups—those 40 and over—were in charge of

handling legal concerns. They often determine when a community
should declare war, the appropriate punishment for a crime, the
beginning and finish dates of the several agricultural cycles, and the
dates of the yearly festivals. Respect was encouraged by the age-
group structure. Seniors were given preference, and juniors
anticipated the same treatment as they moved up the grade scale. A
group's members worked together, and they maintained the
childhood bonds they had formed.
 CHAPTER 2:

Life in Igboland: The Chiefs' Council and title

acquisition.

A gathering of Igbo Chiefs

The Igbo people placed a high value on individual accomplishment;

hereditary succession to positions of authority would have gone
against their ideas of leadership and equality. Some Igbo men were
able to get illustrious titles that allowed them to be recognized as
great men or chiefs. Chiefs with titles established their councils and
spoke on behalf of their people to outsiders. The majority of Igbo
men excitedly applied to join the council of chiefs, but not all were
successful.

Every Igbo Man started life as a trainee. A young kid went to the
farm with his father or uncle and helped as much as he could. As he
got older, he understood that social advancement was made
possible through marriage, riches, and the purchase of cities. A guy
could not dress in a specific manner, wear a certain color of the hat,
shake hands in a certain way, or eat a piece of kola nut before other
people unless he was inducted into a certain title. Only men with
outstanding talent and considerable fortune have ever purchased all
of the available titles because they are expensive. The holding of the
higher titles required hefty initiation fees to be paid, along with lavish
eating and dancing. In Igboland, a man who did not rise beyond the
lowest ranks was seen by his people as having no prestige. They
saw him as a boy regardless of his age. He could be forced to
perform errands for his age group. He could be referred to as
Agbala, a lady, in Awka. He was called isi igwu, which means "head
full of lice" or "Mouse breeder" in Illah. When he passed away, they
buried him inhumanely, and the time of grieving was short. It was
obvious that achieving status depended on amassing riches by
working hard. In many Igbo communities, ozo (or any of its variants:
eze, nzet alo, and ichie) was the highest title. A man must have
earned the junior titles and completed all the tasks typically expected
of junior title group members to be eligible for the ozo title. He must
have amassed sufficient cash and finished the rituals involved in the
second burial of his dad. As a result, no man could achieve a rank
that may be greater than or equal to that of his father while the latter
was still living.

According to Igbo tradition, immortality cannot be inherited; instead,

it must be attained by the title-taking act known as ichi-echichi, which
means "to secure the breath of life, to obtain immortality or godship."
The Igbo term "chi" means "invisible forces, spirits, and persona]
gods," and is the etymological source of words like "Chukwu" (God),
"ichie," which means "an immortal or a titled person," and "ndi ichie,"
which means "title holders."

Only males who successfully underwent this ritualistic death and

resurrection could acquire immortality; someone who had attained
this state was known as an ozo man. He was now a deity instead of
a regular person. Therefore, obtaining the ultimate title required
being reborn, being accepted into the otu ochichi association of
kings, and being inducted into the otu ndichie religion of the
ancestors.

The greatest rank at the secular level avoided the humiliation of

physical work. He has secured a seat on the council of chiefs, which
granted him the right to some of the livestock that was butchered in
his family and reserved for him a share of the dues paid by new
members of the title organization. High-sounding salutations like
Igwe (His Highness) and ogbu efi were used to address titled people
(he who slaughters bulls). When colonial officers deposed traditional
Igbo leaders and replaced them with British-appointed warrant chiefs
and Western-educated Africans in the 20th century, the ozo title lost
its charm.
 Female Organizations

Women Chiefs
The clubs, age-group organizations, and titled associations that Igbo
women had were designed to complement those that males had. In
the same way that males dominated certain aspects of communal
life, so did women in other aspects. Women presided over many of
the old cults and shrines because they were thought to have greater
spiritual well-being. For instance, a priestess serves as the oracle in
Chinua Achebe's book. Women were considered ndi ogafanya, or
affluent people when they accumulated fortune via commerce,
farming, or weaving. Rich ladies would marry other women and
"father" their offspring in certain neighborhoods.

Every Igbo lady started her life as an apprentice, just like an Ibo
man. A daughter helped her mother from a very early age, whether it
was at home, on the farm, or in the marketplace. As she got older,
she discovered from experience that women may rise socially
through hard labor, marriage, and participation in certain
organizations. The Omu society, led by a female official known as
Omu, was one of the most significant women's organizations. Only
ladies who had enough money to cover the cost of the initiation rites
were allowed to join this exclusive organization, thus the desire to be
a part of it served as an incentive for diligence and frugal living. In
political affairs, the Omu society members operated as a pressure
group and fined those who disrupted the calm in the marketplace.
They penalized argumentative women as well as those who violated
social taboos like those against incest and adultery. No matter how
powerful a man was, it was dangerous to incite this association's
wrath.

The leaders of the Omu society engaged in talks on the welfare of

the populace while attending council meetings of chiefs and elders.
Even though they wouldn't engage in combat personally, they may
choose when to persuade the male warrior leaders to declare war. In
the social and political structure of Igbo communities, the Omu
society and several other women's organizations served as checks
and balances.

The otu umu ada was an organization of women who were born into
a town or lineage, while the otu inyeme di was an organization of
women who were married to men from a town or lineage.
Theoretically, each married woman belonged to both organizations,
but single women belonged to otu umu ada exclusively. Women
wielded influence in the politics of both their hometowns and the
communities where they were married, in contrast to males who
engaged in the politics of their hometowns alone.

Particularly significant was the influence women had on regional

commerce. A marketplace in the Igbo way of thinking was more than
just a place to purchase and sell products; it was also a center for
ritual, politics, and social life. Because women made up the majority
of local merchants, they had a lot of influence over how local
commerce was organized. They were the only ones who could
adequately meet the requirements of individuals who gathered in the
marketplace for business and other reasons. Long-distance
merchants traveled in caravans to local marketplaces, often
accompanied by a large number of noncommercial specialists
including priests, carvers, smiths, carvers, priests, diviners, and
physicians as well as emissaries of significant oracles. Even though
males made up the majority of long-distance merchants, their
success was reliant on the meticulous control of local markets. Igbo
women's organizations supported gender equality and parity. Even if
males sometimes thought they were argumentative, their political
and social actions were tremendously beneficial.
 Secret Societies
There were secret groups for both sexes, for women alone, and
males only. The men and women who joined the secret
organizations took their pledge of secrecy extremely seriously,
therefore very little is known about them. In addition, the Igbo were
reluctant to provide anything that may undermine the functioning of
their covert organizations—many of which served as the
representatives of ancestors, oracles, and spirits. In crucial legal
cases, masked ancestors (the egwuguml or egungun) may make an
appearance and provide a judgment. Nobody questioned their
judgment at that point since no one could claim to be smarter than
the spirits or the ancestors. Even if someone occurred to identify the
voice or gait of a specific senior, no one ever revealed who was
hiding beneath the mask.
 CHAPTER 3:

Culture and Customs of the Igbo

people:
Igbo Wedding Traditions

Additionally, marriage helped to unite families, clans, and even

communities. The Igbo saw it as the foundation of their whole social
system. Marriage-related discussions were treated seriously and
included both the bride and groom's immediate families as well as
their whole lineages. Every adult man and female, according to the
Igbo, must wed and establish their households. They placed a great
priority on having offspring, and marriage was a necessary first step
in that direction. The home served as the primary unit of agricultural
output. The size of a household was important in the absence of
technology to provide adequate labor. Most spouses engaged in
polygamy after realizing that monogamy was a certain path to
poverty. If a guy didn't take action right away to expand his family, his
wife may bring other women to him.

The status of a man and his first wife were both elevated by having
other ladies in the home. She held every position a man may occupy
in the family as the head lady. Most men preferred not to participate
physically in-home discussions unless there were crises, so she
presided over them. Junior spouses appreciated the stability and
wealth that big families offered. In addition, Igbo women fiercely
defended their liberties and privileges. They reared their children,
lived in their own separate homes, and prepared their meals. They
raised crops and retained the money after selling some of them in
the market. Moreover, a dissatisfied woman was free to depart under
Igbo law and tradition.
 Religion in Igboland

Gods of Igboland: Arusi

In Igbo culture, the border that divided religious life from secular life
was as flimsy as air. The Igbo had a belief in both the afterlife and
the Supreme Being (Chukwu). Chukwu was the creator of everything
and oversaw its operations. He dwelt far out in the sky. These beliefs
were reflected in the names the Igbo gave their offspring. A newborn
could be given the names Chukwun-yelu (God gave me this lovely
gift*) or Amaogechukwu ('God's time is the finest'), for instance, or
Chukwukelu ('God is the creator).

Proverbs, myths, and incantations of the Igbo people also attested to

their faith in the presence of God. Nothing occurred by coincidence,
thus everything, even good or bad health, luck or tragedy, was
ascribed to God's will. They also held the view that to have good
health, good fortune, and a large family, one must live in harmony
with one's ancestors. Living out of harmony with the higher beings
resulted in misfortune and premature death. Since no one knew what
Chukwu looked like, the Igbo people had no symbols to represent
him. Since he was present everywhere at once, they hardly ever
maintained dedicated altars or shrines for his devotion. Every
wrongdoing was ultimately a sin against him, and they prayed
continually for forgiveness for whatever transgressions they may
have unintentionally done. The mysterious qualities of Chukwu held
great veneration for the Igbo people. Even though they were unsure
of how to approach him, they were aware that he was a spirit and
that anyone who worshiped him had to do it in spirit. As a result, they
communicated with him through the principal spirits and ancestors.

The Ekwensu, the Igbo's version of Satan, was thought to exist and
to be primarily responsible for leading people astray. Many of
Ekwensu's minions assisted him in executing his nefarious plans.
One of them was death itself, the cruel entity that would come calling
on a man on the day he was most content with his life.

Chukwu's main foe and also his devoted servant, Ekwensu

employed people to commit crimes against other people before
punishing those same individuals who had worked for him. He would
utilize the abilities Chukwu had given him to make an evildoer suffer
or pass away oddly. A guy would suffer unanticipated bad luck as
retribution for whatever wrongdoing he had done. The crime may
have eluded the neighbors' notice, but not the greater powers'
watching eyes. A sinner would continue to experience punishment
from the higher powers until he made amends for a sin that he may
not even be aware of committing. A person would go to a diviner
when they were troubled by certain unexplainable calamities, and
the diviner may advise them to appease the invisible powers. The
many propitiation ceremonies were performed out of fear of
unintentionally upsetting the higher powers. When they needed
special favors, the Igbo also went to the higher powers. A family
would consult a diviner if they want to have numerous children, and
the diviner could suggest making certain sacrifices. An essential
component of Igbo religious ceremonies was sacrificed.

The Igbo people used a variety of spirit symbols, many of which

were natural events. Some of them included the spirits of the lakes,
rivers, streams, hills, lightning, iron, farms, the ground, strength,
fertility, and witchcraft. A spirit sign may have a priest or priestess of
its own. Some professions had personal patron deities who
supported them in their work. A patron deity may be related to the
production of rain, hunting, farming, commerce, or the forging of iron.
For instance, a rainmaker may convince the rain deity to provide rain
by making the proper sacrifices, prayers, and invocations.

Rain, rivers, streams, lakes, and other natural phenomena that

support life also serve as symbols of holiness, cleanliness, coolness,
freshness, fertility, and longevity. Important deities included the water
spirits. The Igbo used water to wash away injustice and wickedness.
Important purification rites were carried out by or near rivers and
streams. Thunder and fire were considered to be the most terrifying
spirits (amadioha or akpala). The fire was a metaphor for death as
well as blazing flames, scorching heat, scorching woods, dryness,
drought, poor harvests, high fevers, and miscarriages in pregnant
women. When a society engages in excessive sin, its area may
burn, and people, animals, and plants may perish. Only licensed
physicians could restore the land's cooling.

Anything may become a worship object if it was dedicated. Even

after being consecrated, the thing would never develop godlike
characteristics or really become a god; instead, it would develop
religious properties and take on the name of the spirit it represented.
The vigor of the spirit that inhabited it would determine its level of
strength. It is possible to worship a body of water, a piece of metal, a
stone, or even a bit of bone; but, the stone or bone itself is not the
object of worship; rather, it is the spirit that it symbolizes. Many
people from the outside have assumed that the item is the deity.
Ikenga, a wooden sculpture with big horns representing a man's
might and achievement, was the most popular object of devotion.
Anybody could purchase an ikenga from the market and have a
licensed priest conjure the appropriate spirit into it, at which point the
ikenga would gain the power of the spirit it carried. It remained an
object until the requisite act of invocation was carried out. Every Igbo
home had an ikenga. A guy would never give up his ikenga,
however, he may replace one that had been lost in a fire, for
instance. Before starting any project, he would consult his ikenga,
and anytime he served palm wine at his home, he would make an
offering in honor of the ikenga.

The personal god chi of a man was of equal status. Chi was
comparable to the idea of a guardian angel in Christianity.
Throughout life, a person's chi followed them and could either be
helpful or harmful. A person with excellent chi was successful in all
they did, whereas a person with poor chi was unlucky and would toil
without bearing fruit. No matter how "excellent" a man's chi was, the
Igbo people did not think that it determined his whole course in life.
They believed that success could only be attained by hard labor and
living a moral life. With the proverb "If a person says "yes", that
person's chi says "yes," they stressed the value of perseverance. In
addition, the Igbo thought that healers and other practitioners of
divination might step in to turn a person's negative chi into a positive
one. The majority of personal sacrifices, invocations, and prayers
were meant to fend off bad luck and maintain harmony with one's
chi.

Ani, the soil goddess, great mother goddess, and spirit of fertility,
was one of the principal deities of the Igbo people at the group level.
Every family had a shrine devoted to her, as did every farm. Ani's
unique priestesses were crucial in many facets of communal life.
They ruled over all proceedings involving crimes against the soil
goddess and presided over all religious rites involving Ani. Their
participation was necessary whenever issues involving incest, birth,
death, and burial were being considered. In the heart of AnL was the
last resting place for all men and women who had lived decent lives.
However, none of the men or women who practiced witchcraft or
died a disgraceful death, even suicide, belonged in Ani's home.
Typically, their bodies were abandoned in the "bad bush" unburied.

The Igbo people's whole religious system was based on the concept
of birth, death, and reincarnation, similar to several other belief
systems. The febo had the view that once elders passed away, their
souls continued to watch over the wellbeing of the remaining lineage
members instead of dissipating forever. To honor his dead ancestors,
an elder would pour libadona before he sipped his palm wine. In
addition, he would provide a piece of kola nut in exchange for their
protection and direction. Animal sacrifices were often made by the
Igbo in honor of their deceased ancestors. If a baby girl was born
shortly after the passing of her grandmother, she may be called
Nnamdi or Nnadi ('Father is back')» If a baby boy was born soon
after the passing of his grandpa, he might have been no other
person but the deceased man reincarnated. Nnenna might be her
name.
Infants might also be reincarnated, according to Igbo belief, although
these newborns often caused their parents extra suffering. Babies
often passed away shortly after delivery only to return to the same
parents again, leading to the nickname "ogbanje," or "those that
come and leave." Up to five children may have been lost by some
mothers, and none of them would have survived to see the following
child's birth. It would need the assistance of a diviner to end this
cycle of birth and death. In Achebe's book, Eziruna's mother has
already laid to rest nine of her 10 children because she is so terrified
that Ezinia would also turn out to be a Qgbanje.
 The Mysterious Twinship
The Igbo people cast away twin newborns shortly after they were
born until the turn of the twentieth century. People nowadays are
extremely hesitant to discuss it because they are unable to explain
why, despite often praying to God (Chukwu) for numerous children,
baby twins or triplets were abandoned in the jungle to perish. But this
was not only an Igbo occurrence. Many African cultures saw the birth
of twins as quite normal and responded to it in various ways. For
instance, one or both kids would be destroyed by the San tribe of
southern Africa. The newborns would be surrendered to the leader
among the Ashanti; shortly after delivery, their parents would deposit
them in a bronze basin and transport them to the chief's palace.
However, twins born into the royal line were immediately put to death
to avoid the confusion and concision their birth may bring about over
succession and inheritance. The ibo thought that twins were a
strange and mysterious occurrence. People don't pray for floods
when they ask for rain; the birth of twins was a sign of high fertility
that needed to be controlled. The mother would perform elaborate
rituals designed to stop her from having more twins after leaving the
infants to die in the jungle. The whole community, not just the
parents of the twins, may suffer if the proper action was not taken
right away.
 Homicide
Spilling a town man or town woman's blood was a grave sin in the
eyes of the earth goddess. Criminal justice systems did, however,
differ, particularly in terms of the penalties meted out to lawbreakers.
For instance, in certain Igbo communities, a husband who murdered
his wife was hung, while a woman who killed her husband was not.
Most Igbo clans would hang a murderer. Because both women
belonged to the same man in certain cities, a woman who murdered
her co-wife was not hung.

In pre-colonial times, if someone was murdered, particular age

groups may confiscate the murderer's possessions and demolish his
home. They may keep his family members hostage if he fled until the
killer was brought in and hung. In certain places, if a murderer
managed to flee, there was a three-year or longer waiting time
before his family was required to pay a fee and give one of their
daughters to the family of the victim. These instances show how the
Igbo people detest bloodletting. Although the penalties for accidental
murder may be less severe, no killing has ever gone unpunished.
The idea that the victim's family members must be compensated was
equally crucial.

Only in times of war was killing permissible, although participants in

the conflict took every effort to minimize losses. Killing someone was
a sin against the earth goddess Ani even during times of war. The
majority of Igbo people did not tolerate or practice the practice of
cutting off the heads of one's adversaries, which was performed by
certain Igbo communities. Men had to go through extensive
purification procedures after returning from battle before they could
reunite with their families. Homicide was only one of several crimes
that were regarded as abominations, therefore. When abominable
conduct was performed, an experienced doctor needed to be called
right away to remove it. Until these rituals were finished, an offender
would continue to experience ritual turbulence together with his or
her kin group and the larger society.
 Oracles
The Igbo oracles straddled the sacred and secular worlds. Oracles
were sacred buildings that served as centers for divination as well as
judicial and oracular duties. They delivered messages from
deceased family members to the living. They clarified the cause of
death to concerned family members. They provided counsel on
ceremonial affairs and sent warnings about imminent peril to both
people and whole communities. If a society is alarmed by a high
mortality rate, an excessively high number of twin births, or a string
of unsuccessful harvests, it may consult an oracle. In legal concerns,
oracles often served as tribunals of appeal. If the disputants were
unable to agree, they may consult an oracle. An oracle could clear
him of the charge or affirm his guilt if a guy feels that he has been
falsely accused of a crime.

For kilometers around, oracles were revered and feared; one such
instance was the Aro oracle, also known to Europeans as the Long
Juju. To resolve commercial problems, merchants from many regions
turned to the Aro oracle, which was situated in a hidden grove
surrounded by dense vegetation. The Igbo people had a strict no-go
zone around oracle homes because they thought anybody who saw
one would undoubtedly perish. Only the top priestess (or priest) was
ever allowed to see the oracle's face; supplicants were never
allowed to get up close and personal. The god who resided in the
shrine was represented by the principal priestess of an oracle.
Because the energies she represented were greater than all earthly
powers, her words were definitive in all circumstances. The god the
priestess represented would be offended if someone disobeyed her
directions. The main priestess may also engage in trade or farming
in addition to her oracular work. She and her agents were given
presents of cash, food, and animals in exchange for their efforts, and
they could also have been asked to make certain sacrifices.
The Igbo thought that their oracles would provide fair judgments
about legal affairs. They had such a high degree of trust in their
oracles that they were willing to spend significant amounts of money
to consult them and accept whatever judgment they may issue. The
majority of the oracles' representatives traveled far as healers,
psychics, merchants, smiths, or carvers. They guided plaintiffs to the
oradcs they represented using their expertise of the communities
they visited.

I have so far given a rather broad overview of Igbo society before the
arrival of the Europeans. We must keep in mind that the Igbo clans
were many and independent and that due to their relative isolation
from one another and their varied relationships with adjacent states
like Benin, Iga1at Ijo, Efik, and Urhobo, there were significant
variances in their cultures and political structures. What was legal in
one place can be illegal in another. Despite these differences, the
Igbo people shared several fundamental cultural traits that
distinguished them from other West African ethnic groups. The
emergence of wage labor and the building of highways and railroads
meant that isolation ceased to be a factor in the 20th century, but
even before that, the inundation of Igboland with European
immigrants and their African workers increased external impact. The
sections that follow analyze how the arrival of Europeans
significantly altered Igbo society.
 CHAPTER 4:

The Age of Informal Empire: The Igbo People

and the Europeans

The nineteenth-century encounter of the Igbo people with the

Europeans would alter their history. Significant numbers of Igbo
people have been transported by European slave traffickers from the
Bight of Biafra to the New World. But up until 1830, no European had
entered Igboland's interior. The occurrences that resulted in the
development of a European presence in Igboland were associated
with abolitionist politics. The British, who had controlled the slave
trade, supported the campaign that finally ended it after realizing that
the slave trade was no longer compatible with their economic
interests. However, as the abolitionist argument raged, some interest
groups in Europe and America established institutions to expand
European political, economic, and cultural dominance across interior
Africa. The African Association, which supported several African
expeditions, was one of the most well-known. The British public was
reassured by expeditions led by Mungo Park, Hugh Clapperton, and
Richard and John Lander that the Niger River empties into the
Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, for more than three centuries, European
merchants conducted business in the coastal cities near the river's
mouth. These accomplishments encouraged the British government
and other private groups to send further expeditions up the Niger
River to make contact with the local Africans. Missionaries,
businessmen, and even government officials undertook these Niger
voyages.
Expeditions up the Niger River ran the danger of being wiped out by
tropical illnesses between 1832 and 18S4. The interior of West
Africa came to be known as "the grave of the white man." These
dangers weren't enough to stop the expeditions. Medical
professionals confirmed the effectiveness of quinine in reducing
malaria deaths in 1854 and other developments in science and
technology aided in the spread of Europe. The British established
trading posts in Aboh, Onitsha, and Lokoja in 1852 as a result of
growing European demand for palm oil and growing African demand
for imported European goods. Some Igbo communities invited
European traders and missionaries to come and live among them
because they were happy with the booming trade.

However, after 1875, when the palm oil industry experienced a

prolonged period of economic hardship, friendly connections started
to break down. While the cost of manufactured products was causing
trade problems between European and African merchants, palm oil
prices declined in Europe. The issue of security in Niger also gave
rise to conflict. African kings had created a system of commerce that
ensured tranquility across the continent and along the Niger River.
Passing merchants paid tolls, taxes, or tributes to the chiefs of the
different states; at first, European traders did so because they
required the leaders' protection. However, European merchants
started to refuse to pay these levies when British gunboats started
frequenting the Niger River in the 1880s, claiming that the chiefs did
not provide sufficient security. In response to the chiefs' inadequate
security, the common people organized extensive robberies,
sometimes assaulting European commercial sites and warships.
Such activities and the reaction they often sparked caused strained
relationships and led to bloodshed along the river. Many times, this
period is discussed in terms of "gunboat diplomacy."
The British government first disregarded the request for military
support from British businessmen. But in October 1879, the British
War Office gave Captain Burr permission to shell the town after
receiving a report that some Onitsha residents had assaulted British
nationals. Midstream, Captain Burr moored the battleship Pioneer
and started firing. Captain Burr led his soldiers into Onitsha after two
days of bombardment, when they "destroyed every item" they could
locate. While the Onitsha warriors fiercely defended their town, they
were no match for the British, who had superior weapons.

The British defended their course of action by arguing that since the
chiefs were unable to govern their followers, it was proper for the
British to use "moral force" to put an end to violent crimes against
their subjects. Three British warships bombarded and sank Aboh
once again in 1883 on the pretext that some Aboh residents had
assaulted a British merchant.
 The Missional Dimension
The British government could no longer ignore the misery of its
missionaries who also wanted aid after protecting its commerce with
warships. However, it was harder to protect the missionaries
because, unlike merchants, who restricted their operations to the
banks of the Niger River, Christian missionaries disseminated their
preaching further inland, upsetting the locals. Sometimes overlooked
was the contribution of Christian missionaries to the conquest of
Africa. The first foreigners to go interior in significant numbers were
missionaries, and their descriptions of their experiences stoked
imperial aspirations. Such missionaries were crucial in establishing
British rule over the Igbo people.

Agents of the Church Missionary Society (CMS), a division of the

Anglican Church, were the first Christians to operate in Igboland. In
addition to establishing missions in Alenso, Asaba, and other nearby
communities, the CMS also created a mission in Onitsha. Then,
within a forty-mile range of Onitsha and Asaba, they added other
stations. In the same area, the worst confrontations between the
Igbo people and the Europeans occurred, providing the setting for
Achebe's famous book "Things Fall Apart."

The Holy Ghost Fathers and the priests of the Societe des Missions
Africaines joined the CMS missionaries in the Onitsha and Asaba
regions shortly after (SMA). While the SMA operated in the region
west of the Niger River, the Holy Ghost Fathers operated in Igboland
to the east of the river. Both banks of the river were serviced by the
CMS. Reverend Samuel Ajayi Crowtfier of the CMS, Father Joseph
Shanahan of the Holy Ghost Fathers, and Father Carlo Zappa of the
SMA were the three most notable missionaries of that era. It's
noteworthy that many of the most successful CMS missionaries were
Africans. Igbo Rev. John Qirisropher Taylor was born in Sierra Leone
to parents who had been emancipated from slavery. The future
bishop, Rev. Crowther, was once a slave of Yoruba descent. For its
missionary activity, the Roman Catholic Church, on the other hand,
solely depended on European priests.

Because the Igbo religion is calm and the Igbo themselves accept
other people's religious beliefs, the Igbo had chosen a conciliatory
approach in their early interactions with the missionaries. Usually,
the Igbo carefully listened to the Christians before expecting the
missionaries to give equal consideration to their points of view. Some
Igbo saw the missionaries as fundamentally harmless and scoffed at
the dim-witted priests who socialized with misfits while profitably
engaging in preaching.

However, to convert the people to Christianity, missionaries were

prepared to completely dismantle the whole system of Igbo traditions
and beliefs. Igbo society, in Bishop Crowther's opinion, is wicked,
and the conflict between light and darkness permeates his ministry.
Father Zappa called it "foolish" for people to follow the faith of their
ancestors. Father Shanahan characterized his work as an uphill
struggle against an impenetrable brick wall of failure. Most
missionaries created horrifying portraits of Igbo society to be
transmitted back to Europe where they incited merchants and
governments to discriminate against the Igbo.
The British stormed several Igbo settlements on the pretext that the
missionaries had been harassed whereas the missionaries had
anticipated British colonial forces to defend them, despite apparent
provocation. For colonial forces on retaliatory expeditions, some
foreign missionaries gave strategic knowledge about the areas
where they served. The presence of British soldiers encouraged
missionaries to step up their assault on Igbo traditions. The new
converts themselves developed a bolder, implacable demeanor.

The Igbo were slow to understand that the missionaries were more
perilous than they seemed. In Obosi, the chiefs confronted Bishop
Crowther and denounced the Christians' propensity to disregard the
idols of their predecessors, kill and consume holy snakes and fish,
and destroy shrines and other places of worship. The chiefs insisted
that persons who converted to Christianity confess their wrongdoings
against Igbo gods, make reparations for the harm, and make a
commitment never to do them again. They killed numerous
Christians in Alenso, burnt down churches, and drove out the
Christians in lllah and other southern settlements. The Igbo people
retaliated, feeling trapped between obstinate missionaries and
reckless colonial ambition.

The soldiers of the British Royal Company reacted to these violent

actions with even more brutality, creating a vicious cycle that is now
clear to discern. The Royal Niger Company consented to fight native
populations that posed a danger to Christians while providing them
with governmental protection. For instance, Company soldiers
stormed Asa ba in 1888 and burned half of it after receiving
accusations from missionaries that the inhabitants still engaged in
human sacrifice.
Even with early support and government endorsement, the earliest
Christian missionaries in Igboland made modest headway. They had
come into a strong conservative community that was ready to protect
its traditions.
 The British Annexation of Igboland:

The Formal Empire Period

Following an increase in British meddling in Igbo matters, the true

British takeover of Igboland started in January 1900. Onitsha and
Aboh's bombardments in 1879 and 1883, respectively, had been
permitted to save British commerce, while Asaba's destruction in
1888 was done to defend Christians. The British imperial
administration did not officially conquer Igboland until 1900 when it
was constituted a protectorate.
 Ekumeku Movement: Igbo Resistance
against Colonial Rule

Some Igbo villages opposed the annexation by the British and

supported this by preparing for battle. Many Western Igbo
communities had experienced economic, military, and political
deterioration even before colonial control was established as a
consequence of the combined actions of British businessmen,
imperial agents, and Christian missionaries. This might very well
explain why Western Igboland saw the first and most intense military
confrontations. The Bcumcku movement served as a cover for many
of these conflicts.

The Ekumeku movement was started in 1898 by Western Igbo

communities as a response to the breakdown of their society and the
expansion of British imperialism. The Ekumeku battles were not an
abrupt eruption of violence, but rather the culmination of a protracted
era of political unrest brought on by British political, economic, and
cultural aspirations in the Niger. The movement, which was
organized under the direction of a union of titled chiefs, defeated
British military pressure by forming "a far-flung alliance." Young men
from secret organizations and local dubbs made up the Ekumeku
warriors. They adopted guerilla warfare and quiet as their primary
military tactics. Only those who had taken the secrecy oath may sign
up for duty. They convened in secret locations, calling each other
utilizing coded signals. They chose many targets and attacked them
all at once, terrifying the European and Christian populations.
Because of the distinctive method they carried out their acts in
silence, they acquired the moniker "the Silent Ones." In 1914, the
Western Igbo insurgency was ultimately put down.
 The Aro Expedition

Resistance Movements East of the Niger River In Eastern Igboland,

British activities started in 1901. The Aro expedition of 1901–2002
was the most well-recorded of these activities. The Aro were
excellent businessmen and merchants who had long supplied the
hinterland populations with imported commodities from Europe.
Because of their knowledge of business and the importance the Aro
oracle had in the local court systems, they were well-liked and
respected by their neighbors. The Aro trade leaders were driven by
these financial concerns to amalgamate many Igbo communities and
fund a war of resistance against Britain.

The villages with whom the Aro conducted business had been
decimated by British activity in the Cross River estuary and the Niger
Delta. For instance, the British invasion severely damaged the
reputation and commerce of the dead Efik leaders of the Cross River
valley. British armed soldiers exiled King Jaja of Opobo to the West
Indies while treacherously destroying Brass in the Niger Delta. After
then, Opobo, a thriving commercial city-state, fell into a fall from
which it never recovered. The erasure of the indigenous
entrepreneurial classes in southeast Nigeria may be directly linked to
British intrusions. Further military action was sparked by Nigerian
communities' resistance to accepting the British goal to subjugate
African economic interests to European objectives, as had occurred
during the Atlantic slave trade period.
The British pushed further into the interior to fight the Aro in 1901
after defeating the villages around the Niger Delta and Cross River
estuary. They punished nearby Igbo villages after destroying the
Long Juju oracle. Surprisingly, neither the feared A bam warriors nor
the Aro offered the British the most opposition. Up until after World
War I, other Igbo villages battled the colonial army in a protracted
conflict.
 Igboland under British rule

British leaders understood that governing the Igbo people would be

more challenging than just conquering them. The most interesting
problem was how to control the many Igba towns and villages that
did not recognize any centralized administrations. In contrast, the
British mostly preserved the pre-existing Sokoto Caliphate's
organizational structure in the Muslim portions of Northern Nigeria.
They just increased the emirs' power and authority and then ruled
through them. However, Igbo political systems were fragmented and
modest in scope; British officials preferred the well-known echelons
of kingdoms and empires because they could better understand and
accept their familiarity.

A system of African courts was quickly established by authorities

after the British occupation of Igboland. They wanted to replace
existing indigenous institutions with a new set of appointed officials
they termed "warrant chiefs" since the only authority they had come
from a colonial legal instrument called the warrant. Bylaws were
formed and local affairs were overseen by these warrant chiefs and
the British resident commissioners. These individuals were how the
colonial authority planned to consolidate the independent political
institutions of the Igbo. They oversaw the local police and punished
anybody who opposed the colonial rule.

Igbo society saw significant transformations as a result of the

warrant chief system and native courts. The statutes establishing
them disregarded conventional judicial structures. Cases that ought
to have been determined by lineage and village elders—such as
Okonkwo's manslaughter sentence in Achebe's novel—were now
adjudicated by outsiders. Even while the district officials in charge of
these local courts had legal training in English, they had little to no
understanding of native laws and practices. Because of this, many of
their judgments ran counter to Igbo notions of fairness.

The Igbo people rebelled against the native court and warrant chief
institutions, but their actions only brought punitive expeditions. When
the British introduced direct taxes into the untaxed southern Nigerian
provinces in the late 1920s, the problem reached a boiling point. This
approach gave rise to the infamous Aba women's riots of 1929 as
well as anti-tax riots in 1927–1928. The colonial administration was
finally forced to restructure the native authority government in the
1930s and 1940s as a result of these numerous demonstrations,
which resulted in a better native administration system. British
authorities ultimately realized that they could not rely on the poorly
rested and mostly illiterate warrant chiefs and their tiny army of court
clerks and messengers to collect taxes and carry out a variety of
administrative and judicial duties. The new administrative structure,
which was more closely tied to local political institutions, was in place
until 1952 when it was replaced by a regional government system
that laid the way for constitutional change and helped Nigerians
become ready for political independence. The Igbo people joined
other Nigerians in celebrating national freedom in October I960.
The pre-modern Igbo communities shared characteristics with other
groups of people who also lived under harsh conditions. Their main
concerns were having a healthy and crime-free lifestyle, living in
harmony with invisible greater powers, living in peace with one
another and their neighbors, having a large family and plenty of
grandkids, and producing adequate food. Some observers could
assert that the Igbo techniques were rudimentary, but they would
forget that the techniques used by other cultures were also primitive.
We must keep in mind that the present versions of England, France,
and Russia are quite distinct from their pre-modern counterparts, just
as the modern versions of Igboland are entirely distinct from pre-
modern Igboland. Avoiding misleading parallels between premodern
African cultures and contemporary European and American society
is advised for the cautious reader.

Nevertheless, it is pretty amazing how quickly the Igbo people gave

in to European culture despite their loyalty to their traditions. The
British's quick destruction of a civilization that had taken thousands
of years to develop (1857–1960) demonstrates that European
colonization was a formidable force for change. Even more
perplexing is how quickly Christianity and Western education
upended the Igbo people. In the end, even the chiefs and local
authorities who had planned and funded the resistance campaigns
turned to Christianity and assisted the missionaries in establishing
churches and schools.

The Igbo were quick to see the significance of Western education in

the new colonial framework, which may be one reason for this fast
rush to embrace Western civilization. The Igbo people were and still
are often highly quick to embrace change, which is a second reason.
The third is that when the connections that had tied the communities
fell apart, the Igbo sought new ones in Western education and
Christianity. As a consequence, there are presently an extremely
large number of Christian and Western-educated Africans living in
Igboland. The Igbo are as eager to join their schools and churches
as their ancestors were to join the traditional age groups, town clubs,
and title associations. Igbo people could scarcely read or write a
century ago.

Igbo doctors practice medicine in hospitals all over the world, while
its scientists, engineers, attorneys, and other professionals provide
valuable services on every continent. Igbo academics have
significant faculty posts in universities in Africa, Europe, and
America. The Igbo people have undoubtedly advanced economically.
It is unclear whether they will continue to trade away their culture in
exchange for economic advancement or succumb to Western
civilization entirely.
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