Ibo Culture

The Ibo culture can be found in Iboland in Nigeria. In this unique society, the people deal with extreme heat, which effects their clothing and lifestyle. They do not wear very much clothing but the women wrap many pieces of cloth around them. Their language is very unique to their culture in its pronunciations and words. The Ibo culture lives in a community lifestyle made up of many extended families that help to make all of the decisions for the group. However, in this society, not everyone is treated as an equal. Women are inferior in their point of view and act as servants to men in most cases and relationships.

The Ibo people have a very deep respect for and dedication to religion. They believe in their main creator, Chukwu. They also have a strong belief in spirits, which they often connect to the white man. They believe that the spirits can watch down on the humans, and if the dead had a good life can live in the next worlds, which are just like earth. There are however, some dishonorable ways to die or be killed. Some of these are mothers while giving birth, suicide, having twins, and dying during their most important and sacred month. They were in general, very religious people who trusted a lot of their lives in the hands of the gods and their faith. Some of their most important gods were: Ala, Igwe, Agwo, and Ikoro.

Relationships for the Ibo people usually revolve around money and positions. A marriage can be negotiated or arranged. The husband looking for a wife has to be able to support the woman through his crops and societal position. This culture also widely practices polygamy, so the males can marry as many people as he wishes as long as he has the means to support them. His many wives and children are all included in his immediate family. Extended families extend through parents and all their children and married in wives. These large families can include over thirty people and they all usually live in one community together.

In these extended families, one of the most important foods to the Ibo people is the yam. Though now, they consume more rice instead of yams, the yam used to be the most important ceremonial food. Most meals call for a starch and a soup. They mix vegetables and available meat into the soup most of the time. This culture mostly revolves around farming. They have been known to export some of their yams, and after farming with the palm fruits, have started exporting palm oil. Palm oil has been very profitable for them, and is used widely in their culture because it is a readily available drink. One of the most important foods can be seen in “Things Fall Apart,” the Kola Nut. This nut can be cracked open and shared to symbolize hospitality. They use this ceremony to offer the gods the Kola in order for prosperity in their land. This ceremony can only be done by men and not by women, which shows the gender barriers in the society (530).


Useful Sites:

http://www.africaguide.com/culture/tribes/ibo.htm

http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/nigeria/religion.htm

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Igbo.html

http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Igbo.html

http://www.kwenu.com/igbo/igbowebpages/Igbo.dir/Culture/culture_and_socialization.html