My Homeland and a Vision (Biafra)

The traditional homeland of the lgbo people lies in the south-east and south south and some minor parts in North Central region of Nigeria. They are situated between the great river Niger and Cross Rivers State, with the Ibibio, Ijo, Igala, Idoma, Edo as their neighbors. The ancient scttlement at Igbo-Ukwu in eastern Nigeria was an outpost for West African's long-distance trade routes, one of which was the Trans-Saharan trade routes. The main items traded were gold, slaves, salt, cowries shells (the major unit of currency), weapons, expensive cloth, pepper, ivory, kola nuts, leather goods.

The arrival of Europeans on the coast of West Africa undermined the Saharan trade, but did not finally finish it until well into the 19th century. This also made the Igboland to flourish, primarily trading slaves but after the abolition of slave trade in 1807, turned to trading in palm products, timber, elephant tusk and spices.

The Igbos are a self-helping race who strongly believe in making themselves what they wish to be, hence the Igbo saying "Onye kwe Chi ya ekwe". They are a people rich in culture and tradition. Although generally having very similar cultures, they also show a local variation in cultures and customs.

Based on these variations the Igbo land as a nation can be divided into five main subgroups:

The Northern Igbo: - Igbo-Ukwu, Onitsha, Enugu, Nri-Awka
The Western Igbo: - Ogwashi-Ukwu, Asaba, Agbor,
The Southern Igbo: - Umuahia, Ngwa, Owerrinta,
The Eastern Igbo: - Afikpo, Arochukwu-Ohiafia, Bende
The North-Eastern Igbo: - Ogu-Ukwu, Abakaliki

After several military conquest, Igbo land now became under British colonial rule. This was a style of govermnent not very popular amongst the Igbos, hence the British were faced with a lot of protest and resistance, but Igbo land still became a British Colony.

In 1900 the area that was once administered by the British Niger Company now became the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria. Control of this area then got passed from the British Foreign Office to the Colonial Office. By 1900 - 1914 the Northern and Southern Nigeria were amalgamated. Then afterward the Eastern Region was formed and subsequently was divided into several other states

Igbos can be found in these states: Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Akwaibom, Rivers, Edo, Benue and, kogi state

Igbo pre colonial religion:

In Pre Colonial Era, Igbo people believed in Odinani. It s the common name for the traditional Igbo religious practices. The main characteristic of this religion is a monotheistic attribute. We believed in one God, but we also had a lot of spirits (Alusi or Arusi)

Igbo s traditional beliefs in some contextual meaning can resemble Christian cosmology. They believed in one God called Chineke. He was a creator of everything on the Earth. At the same time, the world was divided into Human and Spirit world. When people died, they traveled to the spirit world.

Each person has a guardian spirit which was called Chi. Chineke or Chukwu assigned these spirits to every person. The closest concept to Chi spirit is the guardian angel in Christianity. This spirit also follows the person into the world of spirits. Igbo people believed that they could speak with ancestors who lived in the spirit world.

IGBO LANDING
In May 1803 a shipload of captive West Africans, upon surviving the Middle Passage, were landed by U.S. Buy to know more........