The Ibo Society

The Ibo Society.

jjThe Ibo were the Igbo speaking people who lived in south of River Benue and east of river
Nigger in Nigeria.  i.e. they occupied  the forested  zone of S. Nigeria.  They are believed  to have settled  in their present areas just after  1000 ad
For several years lbo lived in a co-operative  peaceful  life and their main occupation  was farming,  trading,  fishing and hunting.  They  were divided  into five major cultural  groups e.g, the western  Riverine people,  the northern  Awka, the Ower, the cross river and Ogoja people.
Until the coming  of colonialism  that brought  their leadership  under the whole of Nigeria,
The Ibo had remained as segimentary  society in its existence.
The  Ibo didn't  develop  into  a centralised   society  due to a number  of reasons  e.g. there were no serious external attacks from the neighbouring  societies.  This was probably due to the fact that the Ibo were located in the hearts of Guinea forests which provided protection against the foreign  invasion. This meant that there was nothing much forcing the lbo into the centralised  kingdom  as a means of forging unity against the external attacks.
It should however  be noted that the absence  of a centralised  system in the lbo land didn't mean  lack  of government    For one  to assert  that  Africa  segmentary   societies  e.g.  Ibo lacked government  should be the rmsmterpretarion  of history.
Well the Ibo lacked  large apparatus  of formal instttutions  i.e. (Judiciary,  Treasury,  army) but  successfully   maintained   law  and order  by  observing  customs,  cultures,  norms  and traditional  laws which  created  peace  and stability  10  the whole  society.  The Ibo avoided internal wars by the use of friendly treaties and inter clan mamages.
Political   Organisation.
By the  middle  of  19th  century  the  Tho <till lived  in scattered  homesteads.   The  highest Simple political    unit  was the  village. which  consisted  of a number  of extended  families (Umu  Nna)  and  they  managed   their  own  affairs  without   any  reference   to the  higher authority.
The head of the village was called  'Okpura"  and he was usually the oldest man in the area. He was assisted  by the  elders  and other   notables  in the village.  In times  of emergency headship  of the VIllage could  go .c the strongest  man often  referred  to as the "medicine man",  The  headman  usually  carried  his "Ofe"  as a symbol  of authority.  Although  the headman  was  expected  to govern  democratically,   he was always  authoritarian.  This was because  as  the  oldest member  of  the  village,  his  commands   could  not  be  disobeyed without serious consequences,
The lbo society was made up of several patrilineal  clans. Members  of these clans settled in thousands  (If villages  e.g. the eight sons of the Nna (Chief ancestor  of the society)  formed eight  villages   Each village   was divided  into vanous  secti "'111"   IL,o\-,n as wards.  At  each level of society organ.zanon  people used to call meetings  to handle matters affecting them.
At  village  level.  the  councn    of elders  known  as  Arna-ala    and  the  village  assembly  of citizens  were  the most  important  mstitutions  in the political  organisauon  of Tho society. Adult males were free to take part in elders'  council meetings  to influence the decisions  of the assembly.
The deliberations  ied by the elders'  council  were usually  introduced  to other members  of the village at the general assembly.
During the Assembly,  members  were given chance  to air out their views and if necessary to rejec'  unpopular  decisions  earl ier made by the elders'  council,  In thewords  of Webstar and Boahen they had this to say;
"The  village  assembly  was considered  as Ibo's  main birthright,  the guarantee of his nghts,  hIS projection  against  oppression  and means whereby  the young and  oppressed  members  of the village  SOCIety   express  their  views  upon  the activities  of the elders'  council".
The ibo administration    of justice   was  also  done  democratically.    Conflicts   between individuals of different  families  were  solved  before  the whole  society  presided  over by elder  a given village. Elders were always most important in solving such conflicts. The only danger  of such democracy  was that  in case Justice was  not  instituted  properly, the affected group would  act in a mob  for their  demands  against  the accused  who had been favoured elders in given village.
This gave  no  opportunity  for the  accused  to defend  himself  or herself  amidst  such  an attack or war hence making the whole system quite dangerous .
    The age set system in Iboland  was  important  in the political  organization.  It was used to  
     Enforce the maintenance  of law and order in most of the cultural  groups of the lbo. Every    .•
 Every after a specific period young people were initiated  into an age set in which they remained   until they passed to adulthood.
Young age sets were responsible  for keeping  the village  tidy. Older ones for cleaning  the bush for farming and construction  of new market  places of and repulsing  immediately  the raiders.
The age set system  provided  a strong  bond  of unity  in Ibo villages  due  to the  fact that
member of the age set were loyal  to their  leaders  hence  leading  to political  stability in Ibo land
In some parts of the lbo land age set leaders occupied  equal position  under elders council
(Ama-ala) with the elders  this enabled  the young men to channel  their  opinions through their leaders to the council
Social Organisation.
Although the Ibo society was segmentary,  there existed the spirit oflbo   unity. This unity was
 Prompt through  several ways as, for example,  once in a week there used to be a market
gathering in the village which was attended by all categories of people in the area.
The Ibo found  it possible   to  associate   and  discuss  common   social  matters  and  other
Polical events across different" villages during the day of market because  of their common
Languages knwn as  Igbo. This language  had many dialects but the dialect  of one clan was
Always understood  by the neighbouring  clan,  for example,  the Onitsha  and Oweri people
Clearly understood  each other .
Another factor that promoted unity among  the various lbo groups was marriage.  Here Ibo men   were always encouraged  to get wives from their own village groups. This reduced the chances of  intermarriage  conflicts  since after the formation of a family between  a son and a
daughters of different villages tantamounted  to villages becoming  relatives.
A part from  the  above  noted   social   aspects   the  Ibo  social   behaviour   was  at  times conditioned  by religion. People feared to go against the interests  of Ibo gods. Crimes such
as murder  and  adultery  were  regarded  as serious  offences  against  the Ibo gods  and the community.
In this  case.  the   offender   expected   serious    punishments by  members of her community and above all by the Ibo gods. After  being punished  by the  lbo  authorities,    in his or  her community     the offender was also required   to appease   the  gods  (offer  sacrifices to  gods) for purification    and cleansing  of the past crimes
The  Ibo had  several   gods and goddesses ' e.g, there was  Aba  (goddess)    for  earth  to which many  farmers  used  to offer sacrifices so as  to  get rains  and  great  harvests.   Although   the
Ibo believed   in several   gods and goddesses.    they  believed   in existence    of a supreme   God whom  they  referred   to the Chuku by the northern   Ibo or "Chineke"    by the southern   Ibo.
The  supreme    God   was  worshipped   through  VISIble representatives      like   priests     Their importance    remained   until  the beginning  of the :20th century.
Also  to be noted  was that  the  respect  given to  the  elders  in most  parts  of the  Ibo  land  was paramount     Due to the  position of their age  in Ibo society.   they  were  usually   effective   on
Educating the young members of what was expected   in a good  social  behavior   society.
educating   the young  members   of what was expected in a good social behavior society.  The role  of    elders   indeed   educated    other   members    especially    the  young   about   their   role  as members of certain age group.                        
Economic   Organisation.
The  pre  colonial    econormc  organization     of  the  Ibo  demonstrates     that they  were   able  to adopt   the   challenges     ot  the  ern ironment   to  satisfy   the  daily   needs.    Apart   from   the exchange    of goods   and  sen  Ices among  the  Ibo  themselves  there  were   some  Ibo groups that  specialized    in trade  With  the neighbouring  communities    as well as Europeans.    Another Ibo group  were  involved  in the cultivation  of crops  as their  main  economic   activity.
By the  middle   of the  J  9th  century  the Ibo had  cleared   a large  part  of  the  forests  purposely for  agricultural    acnvmes   activities,they dealt in crops   like  yams  and  palm oil mainly    The  yarns served    as  food   while  palm   oil  was   one   of  the   important    commodities      purchased    by European   traders,
Apart   from  cultivation    of  crops.   the  Ibo  were   involved    in the  weaving    of cotton   clothes, iron  working   and  pottery    The  Arc  people   were  the  most  skilled   iron  workers   in  the  Ibo land.   They   were   fond   of  touring    Ibo  land,   settling    temporarily     in various    places   and manufacturing    iron  farm  implements,    swords   and  spears
On the  part  of  trade,   the  Aro  people   across   river  Niger   were  the  most   famous.   The  Aro were   very   important    to  the  extent   of  linking   the  Ibo  land   WIth  eastern   Niger   delta   by expanding   the  palm  oil trade   The  Aro  organized   3 major  trade  groups   from  the north  over the slaves  were  brought   to the central   market   where  they  were  sold  to the Europeans.
When   the  British   picked   interest    in  the  Bonde   palm   oil  products,    the  Aro  belped   them organise   this  trade   among   the  Ibo  people.   The  Aro  sold  the  palm  oil  at  Bonde,   which   in turn   became   the   largest   African    exporter    of  palm   oil.  ~Ithough     slave   trade   had  been abolished,    the  Aro  continued    with   it for  sometime     This   was  due  to  the  fact  that  slaves were  still  required   WIth Ibo  land  for  harvesting     collection    and  transportation     of palm  oil
products  to  the market.
A part from the Aro, another important trading group was that of lbo village of Aboli. This village acted as an important  centre  of trade in Ibo land. Traders  from Niger Delta state such as Brass came as far as Abol market from where they bought  slaves or palm oil to be sold to Europeans  at the coast.  Traders  of Abol village  played  a very  important  role as middlemen  between the interior producers and delta state buyers.
In conclusion  therefore 'by-the 2nd  half of 19th Century,  trade had transformed  Abol village into a largest Ibo political unit of the time.
Revision Questions .
Examin the political, social, economic organization of the Ibo segmentary society in west africa
The absence of organized  formal institutions  in pre-colonial  Africa did not mean lack of
maintenance  of law and order".  Discuss  the statement  with reference  to any decentralized
pre-colonial     society in Africa.