The Igbo have no common traditional story of their origins. The Igbo people are descended from waves of immigrants from the north and the west who arrived in the fourteenth or fifteenth century. Three of these are the Nri, Nzam, and Anam.
Igbo is one of the languages that the field of linguistics designates as Kwa, a sub-group of Niger Congo group of languages. The Igbo language perhaps emerged among the native speakers over 6,000 years ago. (Armstrong, 1964) To date, there is not comprehensive or reliable historical information on whether the language was first spoken elsewhere before the people entered the region where they have lived during the modern period. The Igbo people can be found in the area between Igala, the Cross River and Niger delta cities of Nigeria. The people are divided into five major cultural groups, the western or Riverine, Northern or Awka, Owerri, Cross River, and Ogoja Igbo. These cultural groups were considered by the colonial powers to be the ‘tribes’ of the Igbo society (Equiano, 1960).
The cultural groups include Awka, Nri, Ihiala, Owerri, Agbor, Ebu, Enugu, Eziko, Afikpo, Azumimi, and Asaba. These Igbo peoples share similar linguistic, socio-political, economic, and religious activities. However, each cultural group in Igbo society has its own distinctive customs, traditions, and institutions that distinguish them from one another.
Igbo is one of the languages that the field of linguistics designates as Kwa, a sub-group of Niger Congo group of languages. The Igbo language perhaps emerged among the native speakers over 6,000 years ago. (Armstrong, 1964) To date, there is not comprehensive or reliable historical information on whether the language was first spoken elsewhere before the people entered the region where they have lived during the modern period. The Igbo people can be found in the area between Igala, the Cross River and Niger delta cities of Nigeria. The people are divided into five major cultural groups, the western or Riverine, Northern or Awka, Owerri, Cross River, and Ogoja Igbo. These cultural groups were considered by the colonial powers to be the ‘tribes’ of the Igbo society (Equiano, 1960).
The cultural groups include Awka, Nri, Ihiala, Owerri, Agbor, Ebu, Enugu, Eziko, Afikpo, Azumimi, and Asaba. These Igbo peoples share similar linguistic, socio-political, economic, and religious activities. However, each cultural group in Igbo society has its own distinctive customs, traditions, and institutions that distinguish them from one another.
The Igbo practice a number of crafts, some performed by men only and some by women. 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 grass plaiting.
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