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Igbo Culture

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Igbo Culture
Ibo Culture
Imagine living a life with a completely different set of cultures and traditions; it is hard to do. Many people in the world today do not take the time to acknowledge the ways in which other societies live or how their cultures and traditions shape the way they are. The way in which a culture survives depends on the people’s capacity to understand and transfer it to succeeding generations.The Ibo culture has succeeded in maintaining its unique customs and traditions and is still successful to this day. The Ibo people have very unique customs and traditions.
Nigeria is composed of three major ethnic groups, the Yorubas, the Hausas, and the Ibo. The Ibo people cover most of Southeast Nigeria, also known as Iboland.The Ibo people have very unique customs and traditions. One might feel shocked at the clothing that the Ibo people wear; while the majority of the people we know may wear jeans and a t-shirt, the Ibo people prefer quite less clothing. The sun lets out a blistering heat in Africa that causes the native people to desire to dress differently. Traditionally the Ibo wore very little to nothing until they reach the age of puberty at which time the men generally wear loose fitting cotton shirts and loincloths and the women usually wore a short wrapper with beads around their waist with other ornaments such as necklaces and beads. In the book Things Fall Apart Achebe decribes a womans attire “She wore a black necklace which hung down in three coils just above her full, succulent breasts... and on her waist, four or five rows of jigida, or waist beads.”(71) The colonialism of the Ibo culture brought upon the western styled clothes such as trousers and shirts. Today the typical traditional attire of the Ibo men generally consists of an Isiagu top, which is very similar to the African Dashiki, paired with trousers and a hat. The Ibo women wear embodied puffed sleeve blouses, two wrappers, and a head scarf. Although the traditional attire has changed



Cited: Froiland, Andrew. "African Tribes - Ibo - Igbo Culture."African Tribes - Ibo - Igbo Culture.N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. <http://www.africaguide.com/culture/tribes/ibo.htm>. "Religion."Igbo.N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. <http://www.igboguide.org/HT-chapter6.htm>. Slattery, Katherine. "Religion and the Igbo People."Religion and the Igbo People.N.p., 15 Aug. 2001. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. <http://www.qub.ac.uk/imperial/nigeria/religion.htm>. Ugbala, Eze. "Igbo Net: The Kola-Nut Series:: The Position of Kola-Nut in the Cultural Life of the Igbos, the Igbo Network:: IgboNet Is the Gateway to IgboLand, Africa." Igbo Net: The Kola-Nut Series:: The Position of Kola-Nut in the Cultural Life of the Igbos, the Igbo Network:: IgboNet Is the Gateway to IgboLand, Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. <http://kaleidoscope.igbonet.com/culture/kolanutseries/ezeugbala/>. "Welcome to NzukoNdi Igbo in Sweden." - NzukoNdi Igbo in Sweden. Portia Websolutions, 20 Mar. 2010. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. <http://nzukondiigboinsweden.com/?option=com_content>.

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