Nigerian History & Culture

1. Nigerian History & Culture

2. Slave Trade • 1400’s – 1807 • Africans sell other Africans • Trade for alcohol, weapons & goods • Many Igbo get rich

3. Strategy Change • Slave trade abolished in 1807 • Europeans change strategy • Use Africa for natural resources • Carve continent up into colonies • The Berlin Conference

4. Strategy Change • Great Britain claims area around Niger River

5. “Civilizing” Africa • Many Europeans see “civilizing” the Africans as a duty • Claim they are bringing religion and the modern way to justify the greed

6. 3-Prong Attack • Missionaries • Convert outcasts (osu) • Convert women • Trade • British trade palm oil in exchange for goods • Government • Bring in District Commissioners • Set up own police and courts

7. Igbo Culture • Agricultural community • Yams = men • Cassava, beans, other crops = women

8. Family Units • Multiple wives • Each family has own compound • Patriarchal Society • Men have power & women are property • Wife-beating is common

9. Democratic Government • Ruled by elders (ndichie) and men chosen to receive titles • Decisions made by clansmen • Gods • Animist: recognize a number of gods that embody the forces of nature • Oracles: priestesses whose job it is to speak for a god

10. Ancestors • Though dead, they have voices • Egwugwu: men disguised by mask and costumes that embody the spirits of the ancestors