The pre-1940s history, indigenous culture, and heritage of the Ìgbò and their neighbours.
A titled Igbo woman, Ndoni, present day Rivers State, Nigeria. The Ndoni people are part of a larger people known as Ndi Osimili, 'the people of the Niger.' They're also an Oru and Ogbasu (Ogbaru) people. Lower Niger French Catholic mission postcard, turn of the 20th century.
Unidentified women photographed by Henry Crosse with the Royal Niger Company, c.1886–1895. MAA Cambridge. It’s almost safe to assume that this is Omu Nwagboka (left), the last Omu of Onicha (Onitsha).
Omu Nwagboka was a wealthy trader who was appointed as Omu by the Obi of Onicha, Obi Anazonwu in 1884. She had her own ofo and it seems an abani (royal Benin-style staff) also. She had a son who she bought the Ozo title for and gave over ten wives.
The encroachment on women's authority (due to Victoriana and the exclusion of women from leadership) lead to her leading a women's protest which was so effective that after her death in 1888, Obi Anazonwu did not appoint another woman to the position of Omu in Onicha.
(With all these photographs, whoever this woman was, she certainly did not want to be forgotten, along with the lady who seems to be accompanying her in all these photos. See: Unidentified Women, Niger River)
The origin of the Asagba (Eze Agba?) and the Eze of Asaba and environs according to research of British colonial government anthropologist Northcote Thomas in his study of the Igbo west of the Niger River c. 1914.
Photo: "ORHENE (PRIEST) OF ONIRHE AT ASABA." – Northcote Thomas.
Kings.—Originally Asaba had a king known as Eze; the first was Ezenei, grandson of Nevisi [or Nnebuisi], then came Ezobome, the son of another grandson of Nevisi, then Ezago, Ago, Amarom, and Odili, but in the time of Amarom quarrels broke out owing to jealousy between different quarters who should have had the kingship in turn, and five or more men took the title of eze. After this the custom of taking the eze title spread, until now in the neighbouring town of Ibuzo, where the movement was also taken up, 800 men have taken the title in one year. As a result of this unsatisfactory state of things the town decided to elect a head chief, and Afadie of Ajaji was selected with the title of asabwa [Asagba, perhaps Eze Asaba nwe Agba]. The present asabwa, a man of about 60, is the grandson of Afadie, who was succeeded by his second son Adanjo, who left a son Ezogo. Ezogo did not take the title because he could not afford to make the necessary payments, and it passed to the children of a younger son. The first appointment of asabwa, therefore, dates back 100 years or more. Three kings went to Idu [Benin City?] to have their titles confirmed, the first being Ezobome, and one king, in addition, paid dues without going. This would leave an interval of one or two generations at most before the asabwa was appointed.
– Northcote Thomas (1914). "Anthropological report on the Ibo-speaking peoples of Nigeria, vol. IV: Law and Custom of the Ibo of the Asaba District, S. Nigeria." p. 10.
[Today some majority Igbo-speaking states which had a handful to no Eze now have hundreds, so history does seem to repeat itself and the handling of the Eze title pretty much shows the attitude to authority by the Igbo people.]
Photo: Twins with their mothers, Nigeria, ca.1920-1940, C.M.S. Bookshop, Lagos.
[…] multiple births (umu ejime) were considered by Igbo-speaking peoples an abomination (nso ani) […] "In the 1980s, however, I heard stories relating to grandmothers and great-grandmothers who, fearing they would bear twins, would “go to the farm” […] returning with a single child. I also heard that midwives […] would ensure, for a fee, [...] women were not embarrassed by bearing living twins. Wealthier women might thus have been able to avoid the stigma of […] twins[.]
– Misty L. Bastian (2001). "“The Demon Superstition”: Abominable Twins and Mission Culture in Onitsha History." Ethnology. pp. 18–19.
The killing of twins was common in a few societies around the world, it was also practiced in Medieval Europe.
In medieval Europe, it was believed a woman could not conceive twice (simultaneously), so twins could not be from the same father. A woman might abandon twins to protect her reputation (Shahar 1990: 122). Mothers are unable to sustain two infants, especially where both are likely to be underweight. As Gray (1994: 73) notes, "even today, with the availability of western medical services it is difficult to maintain twins."
– David F. Lancy (2015). "The Anthropology of Childhood." p. 94.
Twin killing has a ‘practical’ origin; in the pre-industrial past twins were a burden on the mother and the community, strained resources would’ve been put under more pressure, other factors like superstition kept the tradition, in some societies it was believed twins couldn’t be from one father.
The most common reason twins were killed in Granzberg's research was that the society had insufficient facilities to properly rear two children at once and still allow the mother the ability to fulfill her other responsibilities.' As Dickeman pointed out, the maternal workload was so great that raising two infants at the same time was not feasible.'
– Larry Stephen Milner (2000). "Hardness of Heart/hardness of Life: The Stain of Human Infanticide." p. 462.
In these societies, and in Igboland, twins were often not killed, sometimes one was kept or one or more were secretly fostered; in Ohafia folklore, many of the matriarchs were abandoned due to fears of twin birth. Many women did however suffer the full brunt of bearing twins.
Within the context of imperial interest, the killing of twins was evidently sensationalised for a purpose; reports taken back to Britain were carefully made to allay any anxieties the population may have had pertaining to the purpose of the British imperial mission, these news reports and journals and other published works also served to silence any anti-imperial voices among the British people.
See: The British in Ezza-Igbo country, present day Ebonyi State, 1905.Imperialism was presented as a moral altruistic mission, which included the stamping out of perceived barbarism among subjected peoples.
To give a clearer picture of the time period, as missionaries were combating twin killing in parts of southeastern, central, and southwestern Nigeria, infant mortality rates had only started to come down worldwide, surpassing 30% in areas. Infanticide was widespread even in Britain itself.
Infanticide persisted in western Europe during the Middle Ages; although in some cases it was defined as a crime, prosecutions were rare and penalties were mild. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it reached epidemic proportions in England and France: many dead infants were found in the sewers of Paris, and in England infants' corpses were found in streets, ditches, and parks and floating in the river Thames. Historians usually attribute this to oppressive social conditions—female domestic servants and factor), workers were often sexually exploited by their male employers and saw no option but to dispose of their illegitimate infants. England eventually addressed infanticide in 1922, when it passed the Infanticide Act; this was replaced by a new act in 1939 (Bourget and Labelle, 1992; Lyon, 1985).
– Margaret Abraham (2004). "Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women." Routledge. p. 1135.
In Igbo societies, children weren’t named until some time after birth, this probably originally had to do with infant mortality, which later would have been enshrined in the belief of a child becoming a full human member of the umunna (patrilineage) usually after two Igbo weeks (8 days) after which they can be circumcised and a naming ceremony could take place.
Text underneath the photos reads:
The development of our West African possessions is constantly being checked by interminable inter-tribal wars. It was with a view to settling such disputes that early in March a column of 300 men left Calabar to patrol the country on the right bank of the Upper Cross River. The greater part of it is inhabited by the Ezzas, a tribe hitherto unvisited by Europeans and living in round grass-thatched huts. The Ezzas, though at first they actively opposed the column, submitted with a good grace, and proved themselves to be an intelligent, manly race, far superior to their pagan brothers of the delta. Horses, although not bred in the country, are in great demand for the purposes of sacrifice on the death of a big chief. Large herds of anego, the native name for a species of waterbuck, and other smaller buck were met with. The country is well cultivated
– "Newly Discovered People Southern Nigeria Ezzas." The Sphere: An Illustrated Newspaper for the Home, August 19, 1905.
A bridge somewhere in the Igbo country, photographed by Gustaf Bolinder, 1930-31. Etnografiska Museet.
1699 map in French of the New Calabar River, a major centre of the slave trade. The map locates the “Ville du Nouveau Kalabar” (New Calabar or Elem Kalabari), “Ville de Bandi” (Ubani > Bonny), and "Ville de Doni" (Andoni), and some other places. Via slavevoyages.org
A young Igbo man named Okonkwo from Öka (Awka) photographed by Northcote Thomas, 1910-11. Coloured by @ukpuru 2019.
"AKenta Bob (Ibibio) in her wedding dress New Calabar [Elem Kalabari]" – Jonathan Adagogo Green, late 19th century – early 20th century. British Museum.
A European describes tactics of invasion and suppression of indigenous people in what became eastern Nigeria.
Early in November a disturbance among the tribes in Southern Nigeria was reported at Opobo, and a force of Hausas was sent to restore order. These little frays seldom attract much attention in the Press, yet they are of frequent occurrence, the condition of the country being very unsettled, even at the best of times. The particular offence this time was raiding, a common form of amusement with the natives, but on more than one occasion truculent tribes have closed the mail route and threatened to kill any white men and soldiers who appeared. When this happens somewhat stern repressive measures have to be taken; but for raiding a couple of hundred men and carriers nearly always suffice to restore order, for it is seldom that any serious opposition is encountered. Generally, however, in order to make sure of the quarry, the officer in common makes a couple of forced marches (or more, of course, if necessary) and comes upon the marauders suddenly and unexpectedly.
TREE-CLIMBING EXTRAORDINARY. | The way natives of Nigeria "shin up" a tree."
The destruction of native villages is a great factor in the punishment, but tender-hearted folk at home need not cry about “methods of barbarism!” As one of the accompanying illustrations shows, the houses in these parts are very loosely and easily put together, and the punishment does not consist so much in having the home destroyed as in having to build a new one, for niggers in Nigeria are, despite the good old proverb, as lazy as can be found anywhere, and hate work of any sort, Sometimes as many as twelve “towns" will be razed to the ground by one expedition, and yet the total of casualties will not exceed a score and a-half.
A NATIVE CLEARING. | Plenty of these are to be seen in the vicinity of the villages."
Last week news was received that a further Ju-Ju had been discovered [the Igwe ka Ala oracle] and reported at Oweri, more ancient even than the famous Long Juju which the Aro Expedition suppressed twelve months ago. The expedition reached Oma Nahah [Umunneoha] on the morning of November 17. Sharp fighting ensued, the chiefs sending back a most defiant message to a demand for a palaver. The Maxim which the force had with them did good service, but the enemy kept well out of sight. Fighting lasted altogether for nearly six hours, but only slight wounds seem to have been received by the British troops. As there did not appear to be much chance of getting food and water, the force retired, and further preparations were rapidly made for the effectual suppression of the rebels. In order that the whole tribe should be captured, it was decided that Oma Nahah should be attacked from two sides, but up to the time of writing the results of the movements of the force have not been reported.
READY TO MARCH. | Men of an expedition leaving a dismantled village."
Officers of the West African Frontier Field Force do not, unfortunately, get very much spare time for writing, or they could send home some strange stories of life in the Hinterland. The tale of the massacre of Mr. Phillip’s party at Benin and the subsequent disposal of King Duboar is now old history, but it is history which is repeating itself on a small scale every two months or so. Wholesale murder is not perhaps quite so rife as it was at that time, but life is by no means comfortably safe in certain parts, even in these enlightened days. The increase of trade, however, is rapidly improving the condition of affairs, and what was once the worst human shambles of Africa is becoming to a certain extent civilised. There can be no doubt that this is due in a great measure to the various men who have gone out there both in military and civil command of affairs, and to the wholesome fear the natives entertain for the Hausa troops.
– "Fighting in Nigeria". The Navy And Army Illustrated, January 3, 1903
