About the Eastern States

                                                 Ibo Social Structure

Details of traditional Igbo government and social structure varied from place to place throughout
the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but its characteristic nature remained the same. The
basic unit of Igbo life was the village group, and the most universal institution was the role of the
family head. This was usually the oldest man of the oldest surviving generation. His role primarily
involved settling family disputes, and because he controlled the channel of communication with
the all-important ancestors, he commanded great respect and reverence. In some areas the
government of chiefs and elders was composed of a governing age grade, in others the council of
elders was made up of the oldest members of particular families.

Titles played a major part in this society. There was a hierarchy of ascending titles that were to be
taken in order, accompanied by an ascending scale of payments. The system acted as a simple
form of social security, in that those who acquired titles paid a particular fee, and then were
entitled to share in the payments of those who later acquired titles. A series of intense rituals
were to be undertaken before acquiring a title, which was considered a symbol of character as
well as of success. A titled man’s life was dominated by numerous religious restrictions, and it
was expected that these would be strictly adhered to. A few Igbo states, such as Aboh and
Onitsha, which had a tradition of origin from elsewhere, were ruled by kings, which were regarded
as sacred and lived in ritual seclusion. However, the decisions taken by these kings were by no
means final, they were often challenged and overruled by other titled men with whom they were
required to consult. In general, however, kingship was an unfamiliar concept to the majority of
Igbos.

A political institution that was widespread but not universal was that of the age-grade. Each age-
grade was responsible for specific areas of community service, and this often promoted rivalry
between the groups. This was actually a valuable instrument of social control, in that in order to
preserve the good name of their age-group, its members became involved in disciplining and
restraining those who tended to cause trouble within the community. Secret societies were also
an instrument of social control. Their members would appear at night, masked, in the guise of
supernatural beings. Any offenders in the community would be denounced. The anonymity of the
members and their supernatural aura meant that this whole performance was taken with great
seriousness.
Usually, the kinds of decisions that had to be made in traditional Igbo societies were either judicial
or connected with relations with other groups. In a judicial case, it was the responsibility of the
lineage head to try to settle the matter before bringing it to the elders, who would hear the case in
public. A decision that affected the whole town, such as the declaration of war, would generally be
put to all the free adult males of the town. The nature of these institutions was extremely flexible -
for example, a man who had proven his skills at war in the past might be selected to lead the
people through this time of crisis, yet would be expected to relinquish this leadership once the
time of crisis was past. If the facts of a case were unclear, then in some instances the Igbo would
turn to an oracle or to divination. Igboland possessed a regional network of oracles, such as the
Agbala of Awku, or the Ibibi Ukpabe at Arochukwu. These oracles claimed to ascertain the truth of
every matter, and were dependent on visitors from every part of Igboland. They rested on
deliberate deception and were extremely expensive, far beyond the reach of the poor. However,
their good reputation did depend on the fairness of their judgements, which kept their tendency for
exploitation in check.

Perhaps it was the small scale of their political institutions that made Igboland such a good
example of what a democracy should be. Some of the first European visitors to this region were
struck by the extent to which democracy was truly practised. A combination of popular
participation and real respect for those with ability and experience, led to the smooth running of
political institutions.
On a smaller scale, Igbo families generally lived in compounds, each a small segment of the
village group. The head of the compound was usually the oldest male and within each compound
were clusters of huts belonging to different domestic groups. The head of each domestic group is
responsible for its members. In Igbo society, seniority by age regulated social placement. Married
life was the normal condition for adults, and polygamy for the men was the ideal - in fact it acted
as an important indication of status. Wives were ranked according to the order in which they
married the common husband. Another important feature of Igbo kinship apart from the
precedence given to the male, is the idea of seniority by birth. The first male and female children of
the domestic group, irrespective of the ranking of their mothers, were given special status, and
occupied very important and responsible social positions in the family.

One of the most important distinctions the Igbo make in their status system is that between Diala
and non-Diala. The Diala is a freeborn, a full citizen, whose status at birth is symbolized by the
burial of his umbilical cord, preferably at the foot of an oil palm tree. A Diala is free to attempt to
gain a title, the only barrier to social climbing being the membership fees that these institutions
demand. In contrast, the Ohu was a slave who had very few rights. However, these slaves were
more often as not absorbed into the lineage of the master they served, becoming their
companions and often marrying their daughters. An Osu was a cult-slave; they were a people
hated and despised , and to refer to a Diala or an Ohu as an Osu was the gravest of insults. The
Osu system of slavery originated from the Owerri-Okigwi region. The Diala belief is that the Osu
are descended from a people who, at the recommendation of a diviner, were dedicated to a deity,
in order that they may become his servitor. A particular village, lineage or individual that had been
experiencing illness or misfortune would “dedicate” this slave to the deity, in the belief that the
slave would then carry out the sins of the dedicator. The Osu were feared and hated because they
reminded the Diala of their guilt. Unlike slaves, they could not be absorbed into their master’s
lineage; on the other hand, they were protected by their deity from being sold or killed. The cult-
slave status of the Osu was legally abolished by the Eastern Nigerian Government in 1956.

                                                 Ibo beliefs in Spiritual

In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the belief of an afterlife and spirit world were strong
motivating factors in the daily events of an Ibo tribesman's life. These beliefs controlled his
actions and thoughts throughout the day and into the night. The Ibo believed in not only personal
spirits, but also in a supreme deity, the Creator of the world and the Ibo, as well as the minor gods
and entities of the spirit world. To the Ibo, it was customary for one to approach a great and
powerful man through his servants. Sacrifices were made to the minor gods and spirits, but when
these fail to bring about the desired result, the Ibo went to the Supreme Deity for final intervention.
The personal god, or chi, that the person worshipped was not the most important spirit
worshipped by the Ibo, but was seen as a protector spirit, somewhat like a guardian angel, of a
previous incarnation of the person, possibly a grandfather, in the case of a male child, or a
grandmother, in the case of a female child. The actual Supreme Deity, or God, of the Ibo religion
was called Chukwu, which seems to be a corruption of the Asaba word Chi-ukwu, meaning the
highest or the biggest Chi. Both Asaba and Ibo men therefore adore and worship two powers, one
the biggest and highest power - the Ruler of the Universe, and the other power through which from
Chuckwu/Chi-ukwu they derives their existence in this world, that is, their personal chi.
The importance of this relationship can be illustrated by Okonkwo's, the main character in
Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, reverence for his personal chi. He, as did the others of the tribe,
had a small shrine built near his barn, called a "medicine hut", devoted to the offerings of sacrifice
and worship to his chi. There, he also prayed on behalf of himself, his wives, and his children.
Common sacrifices included kola nut, food, and palm-wine.

One form of worship of a particular deity, not specifically Chukwu, but a minor god of some aspect
of nature, was to offer a slave, called osu, to that god. This was usually done after a series of
misfortunes or illnesses drove an individual or whole lineage to consult an oracle regarding the
cause of the trouble. If the oracle announced that it was caused by their sins, the individual or clan
could offer a slave as a scapegoat to the offended god to relieve themselves of the trouble. The
cult slaves were thus living monuments to Ibo shame, and as such, were hated and despised by
the tribe. At the same time, no one dared to harm them, because they were considered to be
protected by their god and indeed served an indispensable role as priest of the deity. In their
priestly functions, they did not gain prestige, as did the freeborn priest, and the osu were ranked
even lower than any ordinary slaves. They lived apart from other people, near the markets,
whereas ordinary slaves shared much of the same accommodations and food as their masters.
Because of their outcast status, osu were among the first converts to Christianity.

Many proverbs in Ibo culture illustrate that there is certainly one universal Supreme God, Creator
of the Universe. The proverbs also demonstrate that the same word, chi, in different contexts,
refers to three different spiritual entities: the Supreme Being, the Personal God, and Destiny. It is
possible for malevolent spirits, witches, wizards, and divinities to make conditions difficult for a
person to fulfill his Destiny. This is why an Ibo man must constantly seek the aid of his chi,
ancestral spirits, and other divinities to ensure that the unfolding of his chosen Destiny is not
thwarted by any force. This suggests that a person's Destiny is not, strictly speaking, a
predestination, but rather a blueprint which requires much effort, human and supernatural, to
bring to fruition.
The belief of a spirit world full of uncontrollable, but petitionable, entities was a powerful factor in
the life of an Ibo tribesman. This led to the developments of various forms or worship and sacrifice
that could be used to please these gods, and prevent hardships and misery, while furthering a
person's destiny.

                              Ibo Funeral Ceremonies

The Ibo tribe performs intricate burials and funeral ceremonies. The most complex performances
are for the chiefs, and there are several types of death that are considered shameful and are not
given any respect or burial at all. Few Ibo tribes do not believe in sacrifice, for many, the chiefs'
funeral ceremonies are very bloody. To start off, the chief's family washes his body directly in the
death chamber, they don't wash him in a special wash room. Next, they place the body on a high
bush table ("ojo") and cover it with cloths, strings, manilla, and young palm leaves, this to the Ibo
tribe symbolizes rebirth.
The oldest daughter of the chief then leads a succession of families and friends around the
compound, singing and dancing. Her husband, the chief's son-in-law, then lays a feather of an
eagle, slain by a blood relative of the chief, on top of the corpse, to be buried.

Right after this ritual, are the sacrifices that the chief's children must do. First to be sacrificed is a
dog because of its power of having beyond senses of humans and ability to see danger and evi
before anyone else. A dog is beheaded and the children draw a circle around the corpse with the
dripping blood. Then a cat is chosen because of its spectacular night vision in order to bring the
chief good eyesight in the underworld. Then the eagle is sacrificed to bring the chief good eyesight
in the light. Finally a parrot is sacrificed because of its clear voice. So that the chief will always be
heard in his next life.
After the set of previous sacrifices are done, another set of sacrifices are slain by the relatives on
the chief's mother's side of the family. A goat is sacrificed because of its strong feet, to carry the
chief wherever he would like to go. After the animals, the slave wives are sacrificed. First one
special slave wife (the "Aho'm") is slain and thrown into the grave and the rest must have their
arms and legs broken and are buried alive with the body. To do all these jobs, only the bravest and
strongest men are selected to perform the bold task of breaking the bones. Depending on the
chief, there may be more human sacrifices. Some families have bodies hanging from posts or
trees around the burial square. If the chief is rich enough, he would have a lot more slave wives
slain at the place where the chief bathed, ate, slept, received guests, and as a gift to the trees. At
the tree at which ale is worshipped ("ogrisi"), the slaves have their throats cut and the blood is
poured at the roots of the tree, to fertilize it.

Next, the Ibo tribe signals the ancestors of the arrival of the chief by playing drums and trumpets.
They then close the grave, but leave a small space for the last sacrifice. The strong men capture a
man from another tribe, behead him, and place his head in the small opening. The death chamber
("Obiri") of the chief's is then decorated with the skulls of the victims. The family then has a great
feast of the flesh of the animal and human sacrifices.
For the next three months, the widows must sleep in the Obiri in order to guard the ojo. After this
period, the Obiri is torn down and all of the materials and cloths are burned. The widows are
allowed to return home but they must wear mourning clothes for a year.
If an Ibo woman dies, she is buried at the home of the son. If she has no son, her body is thrown
into a bush. Children were given a burial within their parents' houses. The Ibo tribe also have "bad
deaths" including those of women who die in confinement, children who die before they have
teeth, suicides, and those who die in the sacred month. The Ibo also believe that certain people
must be put to death lest they shame the tribe. These include twin mothers, twins, children whose
upper teeth came in first, children who were born feet first, boys with only one testicle, men with
elephantiasis of the scrotum, and lepers. As a result, these bodies are thrown away in secrecy.
Created by Khoi Ta