1. Igbo Culture Daunyell B. Alberto R. Jorge C. Zack H. J.J

2. Igbo Culture  Location: Southeastern Nigeria  Originated around Benue and Niger River.  Population: 8 million  Known as Igboland

3. Igbo Culture Economy:  The Igbo people are mostly farmers.  Stable crop is Yam.  Are able to export goods to their neighbors as well as import. Political Government:  Have no political Government  Are led by their elders, counsels, and titled men.

4. Mythology  The Igbos are profoundly religious. Worship many gods.  They believe that there are three levels of divine beings: the highest level is the supreme god, “Chukwu.” Underneath Chukwu are lesser gods, called “Umuagbara”, and under these are the “Ndi Ichie,” the spirits of dead people.  Believe in reincarnation. They see death as a transient phase between life and the spirit world.

5. Igbo Religion  Had gods to worship and praise.  But involvement with others led missionaries to come and preach their word.  Left some of the Igbo people confused on whether or not to follow the missionaries or their ancestral beliefs.

6. Stories/Myths  Ancient writing traditions do not exist  There stories are Orally spoken and passed down rather than written.  Stories and myths can be told through the art of dance.  Stories are told to teach a lesson, like the one in the Tortoise and the Birds.

7. Igbo Proverbs

8. “ Proverbs are the salt with which words are eaten.”  Use in everyday speech grown common over time  Major element in their oral tradition  Oral tradition leaves question to origins  One of many idioms used  Others include legends, myths, metaphors, parable, and similes  All used in context and never out of context

9. Proverbs (cont.)  Always told with as much precision to keep meaning the same  Rarely are the meanings explained  Exceptions go to young children and “social nymphets”  Adults who ask are frowned upon by peers  Meanings vary from person to person

10. Proverbs (cont.)  Problem with translations and meaning  “Ora na-azu nwa”  "It takes a village to raise a child."  “The community raises the child.“  “O na-abu a si nwata wuba ahu, o saba afo ya”  “Tell a child to wash his body, he washes his stomach”

11. Folklore  Explains things that happen in the village  Morals tied to how proverbs are used  Some mischievous characters are allowed back into society  Tortoise and the Birds  Tortoise allowed back after his great fall  Trickster character present as in other cultures  Tortoise is the trickster for the Igbo

12. Tortoise and the Birds  Moral of the story is those who treat others wrongly will get it in turn to them by others.  “Tell my wife…to bring out all the soft things in my house and cover the compound with them so that I can jump down from the sky without very danger.”( Achebe, 84)  “…When he reached Tortoise’s house he told his wife to bring out all the hard things in the house.”( Achebe, 84)

13. Igbo Art

14. Igbo Art  There is no pure Igbo art style.  Carve most of their art and use mask and other instruments.  Functions for their art can vary from village to village.  Each work of art has a special meaning or use for it.

15. Igbo Art: The spiritual mask  This particular mask belongs to the mmwo men's secret society of Nigeria  It represents dead young wives.  The face is whitened with kaolin; white is the symbolic color of death of the Igbo tribe.  The dancers did not merely represent, but were believed to be, the spirit of the dead.  During a ceremony, they disguise their voices, aiming, to induce the dead man's spirit world (ebe mno) so to avoid any harm to the survivors.

16. Igbo art: the drum  Drums are among the most important art forms in Africa, used both as a musical instrument and as a work of sculpture significant in many ceremonial functions  Slit drums, with hollow chambers and long narrow openings that resonate when struck, often take a human or animal form in which the drum becomes the body.  This massive slit drum was used primarily as a signal gong to alert, assemble or inform the population. Variations in the thickness of the walls would vary the tones when struck by heavy wooden drum sticks.

17. Igbo art: couple sculpture  These sculptures usually represented spirits, ancestors or the primordial couple, these figures were placed in shrines and treated with great respect.  Traditionally, most of the couples are two freestanding figures, conceived as a unit, and posed frontally, symmetrically, in formal postures and of equal size representing equality.

18. Igbo Art: the door  The intricately carved doors of the Igbo people of Nigeria form a third impressive group.  Carved of a sacred hardwood, iroko, served as entrance portals to an obi.  Iroko wood is associated with males, power and certain mysteries. The tree's spirit is ritually placated before felling.  The doors are distinguished by the careful chip carving into V-shaped grooves and the contrasts of plain with densely carved areas.  All Igbo doors are uniquely sculpted.

19. Igbo Food

20. Food  People eat at home or at friend’s house  Goat, cow, chicken, turkey, goose, other birds, seafood  produce such as carrots, watermelons and apples, tropical fruit  Palm oil

21. Palm Kernels  Palm oil most commonly used to cook  Palm wine used for ritualistic ceremonies, drinking

22. Yams  Yams most important, staple crop of Igbo people  Several dishes made out of yams, seeds used for trade for years

23. Type of Cuisine  Much of Igbo cuisine similar to that of Jamaica, Puerto Rico, other tropical climates.  Corn, rice, plantains, bananas  Many foods fried with the use of palm and corn oil

24. Farming and Harvesting  Harvesting is more than work, it’s a celebration  Crops such as yams, maize, peppers, peanuts, tomatoes, and squash exported to Europe  Goats, sheep, chickens, and dogs are kept by mostly everyone

25. Igbo Expression/Hobbies

26. Music  The Igbo people play a wide variety of folk instruments.  They are known for their ready adoption of foreign styles, and were an important part of Nigerian highlife.  The most widespread instrument is the 13-stringed zither, called an obo.  The Igbo also play slit drums, xylophones, flutes, lyres, udus and lutes, and more recently, imported European brass instruments.  Among the more traditional Igbo courtly music is played to maintain their royal traditions.  The ufie, or slit drum, is used to wake the chief and communicate meal times and other important information to him.  Bell ensembles are used to announce when the chief departs and returns to his village.

27. Crafts and Hobbies  The Igbo practice a number of crafts.  Some are performed by men only and others by women only.  For example, carving is a skilled occupation practiced only by men.  They produce doors and panels for houses, as well as stools, dancing masks, and boxes.  Another valued craft is that of the blacksmith.  Women’s crafts include pottery making, spinning, weaving, basketry, and glass plaiting.

28. Sports  There are two main sports that characterize Igbo athletics.  Wrestling is the most popular sport among boys and young.  There are great annual contests in every part of the Igbo country.  Soccer is the other popular sport.  It is traditionally only played by males, but females have been introduced to it through the school system.

29. Employment  Igbo economy depends on root crop farming.  Yams, cassava, and taro are the chief root crops.  There is a division of labor according to gender.  Men clear the bush and plant the yams with the help of women and children.  Following the planting season of the yams, plots are assigned to the women individually.  Each woman plants other crops in the spaces between the yams and also on the slopes of the hills.  Trading is an old occupation among the Igbo.  The marketplace has become an important source of livelihood.  Presently, an increasing number of Igbo are now engaged in wage labor.  Growing cities, expanding road construction, new industries, and oil exploration are creating many new job opportunites.

30. Social Problems  The Igbo have been seriously affected by national problems ranging from civil war to military coops.  The crime rate in Nigeria is high.  The problem is worse in larger urban centers, but rural areas are also affected.  The crime wave was aggravated by the worsening economic conditions of the 1980s.  As a result of this, drug related crime emerged as a problem.  The Igbo have so far escaped the worst of this, although marijuana use among young people has been reported.

31. Conclusion  After completing our presentation, we have come to learn many new things about the Igbo culture and its people.  The Igbo people are very artistic and creative in everything they do: from their art to the way they run their tribes, and the way they pass on their stories.

32. Bibliography  Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Evanston, Illinois:McDougal Little, 1959.  McCall,John C. Photographic Archive of Southeastern Nigerian Art and Culture. 1 December 2005