ICC

The Igbo people are an ethnic group of people that inhabit the southern part of Nigeria.  They speak the language “Ibo” which is made up of different dialects.  They are one of the largest tribes and ethnic groups in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.   History has it that the Igbos are descendants of one of the lost tribes of Israel that migrated following their enslavement in Egypt.  

The Igbos are known for their hard work and for their craftsmanship as depicted in their carvings and blacksmithing (in Awka), farming/agriculture, trading, and education.   Our staple crops are yam for men which are annually celebrated, and cassava and cocoyam for the women.  One of our most notable Igbo sons, author, Chinua Achebe, elaborated on the importance of yam in his book Things Fall Apart.  Yam has been a crop of dignity especially for men in Igboland.  

As a result of migration and the Atlantic slave trade, you will see people of Igbo descent in countries like Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and other places throughout the world.  The Igbos made up great percentage of the slaves sent to the New World (the Americas).  The Igbos are a very intelligent and productive ethnic group, and are known for their mathematical ability as evidenced by their early use of a calendar system, banking system and strategic betting game known as Okwe. In an Igbo calendar, four days (afo, nkwo, eke, orie) makes one week, one month consists of seven weeks, and one year equals 13 months.  The new year starts with onwa Mbu (First moon). The use of these calendars is still in use in some parts of Igboland.  The Igbos settle legal and disputed matters through mediation mostly by the a group of elders or the oracles.  We also have a banking system practiced via savings and loans called Isusu.

The Igbos exhibits their cultural heritage through customs and traditions such as music, visual arts, their attire, cuisine, dance forms, use of language, and language dialects.  Their musical instruments are made up of the ogene, ekwe, udu, igba, opi, n’ja, ichaka, and ukolo.  The Igbo music style vary from Highlife, as played and recorded by artist like Chief Osita Osadebe, Olier De Coque, Sir Warrior, and  Ozoemena Nsugbe, to today’s afrobeats.  These modern Igbo musicians include the likes of PSquare (Peter and Paul Okoye), Bracket (Obumneme Ali and Nwachukwu Ozioko), and Don Jazzy (Michael Collins Ajereh).  Another important art style in the Igbo community is masking, and is often associated with Igbo traditional music and masquerading.

A great majority the Igbo people are Christians (with over half of this population being Roman Catholic) while others practice the traditional religion – Odinani  or Omenala.  There also exist a small Igbo Jewish population who are becoming increasingly present in Igboland.   Regardless of the religious group, all Igbos believe in a supreme God called Chukwu, Chineke, or Olisa as the creator of the world, everything in it, and the heavens.