Igbo Before Colonization

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Igbo People Before Colonization The Igbo people live in Igboland which covers most of Southeast Nigeria. They are a single ethnic group who are one of the largest in Africa. According to studies, the Igbo people have lived in Nigeria for tens of millennia. They are not united; instead they live in separate villages in small compounds. They lived totally different lifestyles than other countries did in their time. They had a different view of life and different beliefs that people today would think is weird. The Igbo have a religion, gender roles, and social structure unique to them. The Igbo religion is similar to Christianity that believes in one Supreme God called Chukwu. Chukwu means “the greater high god.” They believed that Chukwu created other minor gods which they prayed to. You see, the Igbo religion is different than Christianity because Christians would worship to God directly while the Igbo people would worship to the minor gods. There are three main minor Gods they worshipped which are Anyanwu, Igwe, and Ala. These three gods are the main gods people made sacrifices to. Anyanwu is the god of sun, Ala is the Earth goddess and Igwe is their sky god. A gender role in the Igbo society is a big thing. Men were seen as the dominant one in the family. They did all the manly stuff such as tending to the farm or providing money for their family. The women were treated differently than the men were. They weren’t treated equally at all. Their job was to stay home, cook food, and take care of their children. They also couldn’t get titles like men could. The Igbo people were divided into different villages. The head of each village was always the oldest man. Below them are people of high titles. Titles were very important to the Igbo men. If you didn’t have a title, you would be seen as weak and unreliable. Men in the village can earn up to nine titles and if you
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