Ichi (scarification)
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Ichi (scarification)
Ichi was facial ritual scarification worn by mainly men of the Igbo people of Nigeria. The scarification indicated that the wearer had passed through initial initiation into the aristocratic ''Nze na Ozo'' society, thus marking the wearer as nobility. Echoes of this tradition are found in the contemporary derivative word Ichie, which denotes a member of a class of Nigerian chieftaincy, titled chieftains amongst the Igbo. History The scarification was found among men in the Awka-Nri areas and among a few women in the Awgu, Awgwu and Nkanu areas. Its wearers were authorized to perform ritual cleansing of abominations and to confer titles on people. People with facial marks were regarded as Nri-Igbo, Nri men and were less likely to be taken as slaves. Other parts of Igbo land may have started wearing Ichi as a result of this. There are two styles; the Kingdom of Nri, Nri style worn in the Awka-Nri areas, and the Agbaja style worn in the Awgwu and Nkanu areas. In the Nri style, the car ...
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Igbo Ichi Marks
Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (other) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a town in the Nigerian state of Anambra * Ijebu Igbo Ijebu Igbo (Yoruba: Ìjẹ̀bú-Igbó) is a town in Ogun State, Nigeria. It is approximately a 15-minute drive north of Ijebu Ode. Ijebu Igbo, also written as Ijebu-Igbo, is the headquarters of Ijebu North Local Government Authority of Ogun State ..., a town in the Nigerian state of Ogun * Igbo bu Igbo {{Disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...
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Scarification
Scarification involves scratching, etching, burning/branding, or superficially cutting designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modification or body art. The body modification can take roughly 6–12 months to heal. In the process of body scarification, scars are purposely formed by cutting or branding the skin by various methods (sometimes using further sequential aggravating wound-healing methods at timed intervals, like irritation). Scarification is sometimes called '' cicatrization'' (from the French equivalent). History Africa Scarification, which is also known as cicatrization in European works, is sometimes included within the category of tattooing, due to both practices creating marks with pigment underneath and textures or pigments on the surface of the skin. In Africa, European colonial governments and European Christian missionaries criminalized and stigmatized the cultural practices of tattooing and scarification; consequently, the practices ...
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Igbo People
The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', * * * ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A sizable Igbo population is also found in Delta and Rivers States. Large ethnic Igbo populations are found in Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea, as well as outside Africa. There has been much speculation about the origins of the Igbo people, which are largely unknown. Geographically, the Igbo homeland is divided into two unequal sections by the Niger River—an eastern (which is the larger of the two) and a western section. The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. The Igbo language is part of the Niger-Congo language family. Its regional dialects are somewhat mutually intelligible amidst the larger "Igboid" cluster. The Igbo homeland straddles the lower Niger River, east and south of the Edoid and Idomoid gr ...
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Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea to the south in the Atlantic Ocean. It covers an area of , and with a population of over 225 million, it is the most populous country in Africa, and the world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Nigeria is a federal republic comprising of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Abuja, is located. The largest city in Nigeria is Lagos, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and the second-largest in Africa. Nigeria has been home to several indigenous pre-colonial states and kingdoms since the second millennium BC, with the Nok civilization in the 15th century BC, marking the first ...
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Nze Na Ozo
The Nze na Ozo society (pronounced ''Nzeh nah Orzoh''), is the highest and most important spiritual religious and social grouping in the Igbo society of Southeast Nigeria. Initiation into the aristocratic Nze na Ozo society marks the person as nobility. To become ''Ozo'' implies that the title holder is now an ‘''Nze''’ implying living spirit and an ancestor. One then becomes the moral conscience of the community and is seen to be a fair adjudicator in cases of disputes within the community. In times of crisis, most Igbo communities will rely on Ozo members for leadership. Generally, in most Igbo communities, only holders of Ichi title may become candidates for ''Ozo'' title. Anthropologists have seen cases of women with Ichi scarification, although only men are amongst the ''Ozo,'' a title which accords the individual extreme prestige, power, and influence in the community. Taking ''Ozo'' title is extremely expensive with the lower grades costing in excess of US$25,000 in ...
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Nigerian Chieftaincy
The Nigerian Chieftaincy is the chieftaincy system that is native to Nigeria. Consisting of everything from the country's monarchs to its titled family elders, the chieftaincy as a whole is one of the oldest continuously existing institutions in Nigeria and is legally recognized by its government. History Nigerian pre-colonial states tended to be organized as city-states. The empires that did exist, like the Kanem-Borno empire, the Oyo empire, the Benin empire and the Sokoto caliphate, were essentially coalitions of these individual city-states. Due to this, a great deal of local power was concentrated in the hands of rulers that remained almost permanently in their capitals. These rulers had sacred functions - a number of them were even considered to be sacred themselves - and therefore often lived in seclusion as a result. Their nobles, both hereditary and otherwise, typically also had functions that were tied to the religious traditions of the kingdoms that they s ...
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Awgu
Awgu is the Headquarters of Awgu Local Government Area (LGA) in Enugu State, Nigeria and the Headquarters of Awgu Catholic Diocese. The Catholic Cathedral is said to resemble a space ship when viewed with Google Earth. The town is also the Orientation Training Centre for National Youth Service corps members posted to Enugu State. Geographically, Awgu LGA is located approximately between latitudes 06 00’ and 06 19’ North of the Equator and longitudes 07 23’ and 07 35’ East of the Greenwich Meridian. Awgu LGA is bounded in the north by Udi and Nkanu West LGAs, in the west by Oji River LGA , Aninri LGA and Ivo LGA of Ebonyi State in the East and share border with umunneochi L.G.A of Abia State in the south. The name of the Traditional ruler is Egbeleli. The market is known as Orie Awgu. History The present Awgu LGA was created out of the greater Awgu Local government area which included Aninri and Oji River local government areas. It has a population of 390,681, according ...
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Nri-Igbo
Nri is an Igbo city-state in Anambra State, Biafra. It was the seat of a powerful and imperial state who was influenced much by the territories inhabited by the Igbo of Awka and Onitsha to the east; the Efik, the Ibibio, to the south; Nsukka and Asaba, and the Anioma to the west. Today, Nri claims to be the heart and origin of the Igbos, but it is historically dated that Igbo Ukwu, formally known as Igbo, and Igbo Nkwo is the true origin and beginning of the Igbos. History The Nri clan existed from as far back as the 9th century. Nri (the founder of Nri clan) and Aguleri were two of the sons of Eri (founder of Aguleri) and had migrated to the present day Nri from the Anambra (Omambala) river valley (Eriaka) in Aguleri in Northern Igboland. Nri was said to have inherited spiritual powers from his father. The Nri people belong to the Umueri clans who trace their origins to Eri. Mythological Origin In the Nri mythology, Nri sent by Chukwu to make peace (settle disputes and cle ...
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Kingdom Of Nri
The Kingdom of Nri () was a medieval polity located in what is now Nigeria. The kingdom existed as a sphere of religious and political influence over a third of Igboland, and was administered by a priest-king called an ''Eze Nri''. The ''Eze Nri'' managed trade and diplomacy on behalf of the Nri people, a subgroup of the Igbo-speaking people, and possessed divine authority in religious matters. The kingdom was a haven for all those who had been rejected in their communities and also a place where slaves were set free from their bondage. Nri expanded through converts gaining neighboring communities' allegiance, not by force. Nri's royal founder, Eri, is said to be a 'sky being' that came down to earth and then established civilization. One of the better-known remnants of the Nri civilization is manifested in the igbo ukwu artifacts. Nri's culture permanently influenced the Northern and Western Igbo, especially through religion and taboos. The kingdom appears to have passed its pe ...
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Yoruba Tribal Marks
The Yoruba tribal marks are scarifications which are specific identification and beautification marks designed on the face or body of the Yoruba people. The tribal marks are part of the Yoruba culture and are usually inscribed on the body by burning or cutting of the skin during childhood. The primary function of the tribal marks is for identification of a person's tribe, family or patrilineal heritage. Other secondary functions of the marks are symbols of beauty, Yoruba creativity and keeping mischievous children alive (ila Abiku). This practice was popular among Yoruba people of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. During the trans-Atlantic slave trade, tribal identification and facial stripes became important. Some repatriated slaves later reunited with their communities by looking at facial stripes. However, the use of tribal marks is fading in Yoruba land due to colonialism and modernization. Background In traditional Yoruba societies, every child is born into a patrilineal clan call ...
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Igbo Culture
Igbo culture () are the customs, practices and traditions of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. It consists of ancient practices as well as new concepts added into the Igbo culture either by cultural evolution or by outside influence. These customs and traditions include the Igbo people's visual art, music and dance forms, as well as their attire, cuisine and language dialects. Because of their various subgroups, the variety of their culture is heightened further. Music The Igbo peoples have a melodic and symphonic musical style, which they designed from forged iron. Other instruments include opi otherwise known as 'Oja'' a wind instrument similar to the flute, igba, and ichaka. Another popular musical form among Igbo people is highlife, which is a fusion of jazz and traditional music and widely popular in West Africa. The modern Igbo highlife is seen in the works of Prince Nico Mbarga Dr Sir Warrior, Oliver De Coque, Bright Chimezie, Celestine Ukwu and Chief Os ...
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