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Igbo people
The Igbo people (English: /ˈiːboʊ/ EE-boh, US also /ˈɪɡboʊ/ IG-boh; also spelled Ibo and historically also Iboe, Ebo, Eboe, Eboans, Heebo; natively Ńdị́ Ìgbò) are an ethnic group found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. Their primary origin is found in modern-day Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States, while others can be found in the Niger Delta and along the Cross River. The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.
The Igbo language is part of the Niger-Congo language family. Its regional dialects are mutually intelligible amidst the larger "Igboid" cluster. The Igbo homeland straddles the lower Niger River, east and south of the Edoid and Idomoid groups, and west of the Ibibioid (Cross River) cluster.
Before the period of British colonial rule in the 20th century, the Igbo people were largely governed by the centralized chiefdoms of Nri, Aro Confederacy, Agbor, Kingdom of Aboh and Onitsha. The Igbo people became overwhelmingly Christian during the evangelism of the missionaries in the colonial era in the twentieth century. In the wake of decolonisation, the Igbo developed a strong sense of ethnic identity. Christianity and Omenala/Odinala are the major religions, with Islamic minorities.
After ethnic tensions following the independence of Nigeria in 1960, the Igbos seceded from Nigeria and attempted to establish a new independent country called Biafra, triggering the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970). Millions of Biafran civilians died from starvation after the Nigerian military formed a blockade around Biafra, an event that led to international media promoting humanitarian aid for Biafra. Biafra was eventually defeated by Nigeria and reintegrated into the country. The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), two organizations formed after 1999, continue to struggle for an independent Igbo state.
"Igbo" as a unitary identity for all Igbo speaking people developed comparatively recently, in the context of decolonisation and the Nigerian Civil War. The various Igbo-speaking communities were historically decentralised; in the opinion of Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, Igbo identity should be placed somewhere between a "tribe" and a "nation".
Forms of the name Igbo – (formerly also spelled Heebo, Eboe, or Ibo) have been used in Western literature at least since the 18th century. Some theories give it the meaning "forest dwellers", connect it to "the ancients" (Ndi-gbo), or suggest that it simply refers to "a community of people".
The Igboid languages form a cluster within the Volta–Niger phylum, most likely grouped with Yoruboid and Edoid. The greatest differentiation within the Igboid group is between the Ekpeye, and the rest. Williamson (2002) argues that based on this pattern, proto-Igboid migration would have moved down the Niger from a more northern area in the savannah and first settled close to the delta, with a secondary center of Igbo proper more to the north, in the Awka area. Genetic studies have shown the Igbo to cluster most closely with other Niger-Congo-speaking peoples. The predominant Y-chromosomal haplogroup is E1b1a1-M2.
Pottery dated from around 3,000–2,500 BC showing similarities with later Igbo work was found at Nsukka, and Afikpo regions of Igboland in the 1970s, along with pottery and tools at nearby Ibagwa; the traditions of the Umueri clan have as their source the Anambra valley. In the 1970s, the Owerri, Okigwe, Orlu, Awgu, Udi and Awka divisions were determined to constitute "an Igbo heartland" from the linguistic and cultural evidence. In the Nsukka region of Igboland, evidence of early iron smelting has been excavated, dating to 750 BC at the site of Opi and 2,000 BC at the site of Lejja.
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Igbo people
The Igbo people (English: /ˈiːboʊ/ EE-boh, US also /ˈɪɡboʊ/ IG-boh; also spelled Ibo and historically also Iboe, Ebo, Eboe, Eboans, Heebo; natively Ńdị́ Ìgbò) are an ethnic group found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. Their primary origin is found in modern-day Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States, while others can be found in the Niger Delta and along the Cross River. The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.
The Igbo language is part of the Niger-Congo language family. Its regional dialects are mutually intelligible amidst the larger "Igboid" cluster. The Igbo homeland straddles the lower Niger River, east and south of the Edoid and Idomoid groups, and west of the Ibibioid (Cross River) cluster.
Before the period of British colonial rule in the 20th century, the Igbo people were largely governed by the centralized chiefdoms of Nri, Aro Confederacy, Agbor, Kingdom of Aboh and Onitsha. The Igbo people became overwhelmingly Christian during the evangelism of the missionaries in the colonial era in the twentieth century. In the wake of decolonisation, the Igbo developed a strong sense of ethnic identity. Christianity and Omenala/Odinala are the major religions, with Islamic minorities.
After ethnic tensions following the independence of Nigeria in 1960, the Igbos seceded from Nigeria and attempted to establish a new independent country called Biafra, triggering the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970). Millions of Biafran civilians died from starvation after the Nigerian military formed a blockade around Biafra, an event that led to international media promoting humanitarian aid for Biafra. Biafra was eventually defeated by Nigeria and reintegrated into the country. The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), two organizations formed after 1999, continue to struggle for an independent Igbo state.
"Igbo" as a unitary identity for all Igbo speaking people developed comparatively recently, in the context of decolonisation and the Nigerian Civil War. The various Igbo-speaking communities were historically decentralised; in the opinion of Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, Igbo identity should be placed somewhere between a "tribe" and a "nation".
Forms of the name Igbo – (formerly also spelled Heebo, Eboe, or Ibo) have been used in Western literature at least since the 18th century. Some theories give it the meaning "forest dwellers", connect it to "the ancients" (Ndi-gbo), or suggest that it simply refers to "a community of people".
The Igboid languages form a cluster within the Volta–Niger phylum, most likely grouped with Yoruboid and Edoid. The greatest differentiation within the Igboid group is between the Ekpeye, and the rest. Williamson (2002) argues that based on this pattern, proto-Igboid migration would have moved down the Niger from a more northern area in the savannah and first settled close to the delta, with a secondary center of Igbo proper more to the north, in the Awka area. Genetic studies have shown the Igbo to cluster most closely with other Niger-Congo-speaking peoples. The predominant Y-chromosomal haplogroup is E1b1a1-M2.
Pottery dated from around 3,000–2,500 BC showing similarities with later Igbo work was found at Nsukka, and Afikpo regions of Igboland in the 1970s, along with pottery and tools at nearby Ibagwa; the traditions of the Umueri clan have as their source the Anambra valley. In the 1970s, the Owerri, Okigwe, Orlu, Awgu, Udi and Awka divisions were determined to constitute "an Igbo heartland" from the linguistic and cultural evidence. In the Nsukka region of Igboland, evidence of early iron smelting has been excavated, dating to 750 BC at the site of Opi and 2,000 BC at the site of Lejja.