Igbo Tribe

Culture/History
The protagonist in Things Fall Apart, Okonwko, is a member of the Igbo tribe. The Igbo tribe, or called Ibo tribe, is located in Southeastern Nigeria with a population of eight million. Their land is divided into two unequal parts; the larger eastern region, and the western region. Though it may seem like a division of the tribe, it is actually an easy source of communication between distant villages.

The first contact between Igboland and Europe, started with the Portuguese in the mid-fifteenth century. Soon after, the Dutch and the English soon found Igboland. These three countries began to take the Igbo people as slaves and then used them in the slave trades. Eventually in 1807, slave trade was abolished, so Igboland became important, not for the people, but because of the goods that could be taken from it. Elephant tusks, spices, timbers, and palm products all became massively popular within the trade across Europe.

In 1929, due to the rumor that Igbo women would receive assessed taxation the Aba riots began. It was a short-lived riot, the first in Igbo history. But the power of the imperials could not be stopped, leaving Igboland changed forever.

Art
Because of the diversity and size of the Igbo tribe, it is very difficult to pick one main style of art used by all. It is however, very common to carve and decorate masks, but the reasons of use for these masks vary from village to village. Because there are so many variations of Igbo art, it is nearly impossible to say which village created certain pieces of art. But the majority of the tribes create pottery, small statues representing the gods or deceased ancestors. Also, much jewelry was made by the Igbo people, mainly spiral shaped bracelets and necklaces.

Religion
With the same reasons as for art, it is not possible to choose one religious belief by the tribe as a whole due to the hundreds of different dialects used by the villages. Before the Christian missions and Europeans came to influence religion, the majority of Igbo villages focused on praising their ancestry. Many believed that in order to succeed in life, they must thank the ones who have come before them. Also, most villages had some sort of Mmo, which is a secret organization for men that allowed them to please the spirits in many unknown ways.

One view of the Igbo is the belief that Chukwu created the visible universe, uwa. Also, that the universe is divided into two parts; the natural level, or human world, and the spiritual world, like the sun, sky, and earth. Through taboos, the Igbo create a category of relations with nature and specific animals, such as pythons, crocodiles, tigers, turtles/tortoises, and fish.

The living, the dead, and the unborn form part of a continuum. Enshrined ancestors are those who lived good lives and were given a proper burial by the village. These ancestors live in one of the worlds of the dead that mirrors the world of the living. The living also pays amends to their dead relatives by offering sacrifices, (usually animals).

http://www.stfrancis.edu/en/student/achebe/chinua/igbo.htm

http://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Igbo-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html