A Cultural View of The Igbo People

As a Nigerian, I am aware that there are well over 230 ethnic groups and over 200 tribes in Nigeria. You can say that is an heterogenous society. Nonetheless, Nigeria is super blessed with people, kingdoms, villages towns, settlements and clans. All these coined together in some areas to form a tribe. 

A tribe could be described as a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader. Google

Tribes In Eastern Nigeria

The region known as eastern Nigeria is bordered by the River Niger from where the nation is cut into another phase. This place is known to be the home of many tribes and popular among them is the Igbo tribe. This tribe has the highest population in the region. Hence there are many other major and minor tribes. Ibibio, Efik, Kalabari, Ogoni, Abiriba to mention a few. 

Some of these minor groups were said to break away from clusters of the mother tribes to form a new identity with similar dialects. 

Eastern Nigeria is the home of farmers and hunters. Many involved in the occupation they practised because of the prevalent natural endowment in the area. Farmers are attached to areas where lands are the only natural resources available. Fishermen also, where you have the presence of bodies of water too. 

The Igbo People

I am an Igbo man. It is believed that our ancestors are the progenitors and earliest dwellers of the eastern part of Nigeria. 

Oral tradition of origin has it that the earliest men of the Igbo tribe have migrated from Israel to settle in the hinterland of eastern Nigeria. 

Some of the migrants dwell around the great River Niger and trade with men from the midwest and other parts of what is today known as Nigeria. 

The people live in family clans, usually made up of a man, his wife (ives) and children. In some cases, polygamous marriages are welcome to expand the scope of the family. But usually, only men who have the economic power could delve into such kinds of marriages. 

Traditional Titles and Administrative Structure

No doubt, titles do not come cheaply among the Igbo people. A man who have shown prowess in farming or hunting is awarded an Offor or Ozo title. 

Among the Igbo people,  there is no visible political structure for which the people are compelled to live by. The people have an acephalous kind of structure. They live a sedentary life. There are no kings. This means that the oldest man in a family is the head of the family. And this so-called oldest man only has customary control over his immediate family. 

Marriage and Inter-Marriage

One big event that occurs among the people is marriage. Marriage is carried out in such a way that the couple still have a link back home. First, there is a tradition that must be observed before one can said to be married.

First of all, the family must know the history of the other family that intends to marry their daughter. They want ro find.out if there is a case of violence in marriage, hereditary ailment and so on in the other family. 

After this has been cleared, now the proceedings can begin. 

The groom and his kinsmen would visit the lady's family to seek consent to marry their daughter. Of course, they would make the visit empty-handed. A keg of palm wine and kola nut are part of what the groom's family will be visiting with. 

When the marriage is consummated, the groom is expected to pay a list of items which makes up the bride's price. Usually, the list is made up of items for different segments of the bride's family. The youth, the women, the men, the bride's father and mother. 

Igbo Festivals

The Igbo people till this day still live in their traditional styles, where certain cultural practices still evolve. For example, the famous Iriji or yam festival takes place every yam when yam tiger's are harvested and must be offered to the ancestors before a typical Igbo man would begin to eat it. 

During the festival, community leaders roast yam tubers and serve them with other local delicacies or sauce as the case may be. 

Image source

Masquerade dance is also prominent among the Igbo people. The history behind these masquerade differ from.community to the other. In some communities, the masquerade plays a role of security while in other places, it plays the role of age-grade system.

Societies Among The Igbo People

The acephalous system is broken in age groups, allowing children turned adults to have a society of their age brackets together as a union. The main function of this group is to clear the road leading to the community and ensuring that these routes are safe for people plying it to trade with their people or travelling. 

Males are initiated into adulthood over time as they age. The initiation is done in such a way that the family supports the initiate to become a full fledged member of the society where he could speak and be heard. 

At this point, you will not be in any doubt that the Igbo tribe is a very popular tribe in Nigeria. The Igbo people have been known to be very industrious. 

In some parlance, people have agreed that the Igbo people are the most widely travelled people in the world. 

Any part of the world where an Igbo man does not exist, then it is true that such places never existed yet. 

Lead image is mine

First Published Here