Ch.+3+Igbo+Social+Structure+-+Lee

= ﻿ IGBO SOCIAL STRUCTURE = = Lee Beckman = = Period 2 =

 IGBO LEADERSHIP **An Obi is the name for one who is the head of the family in the Igbo community. **  **﻿ ****Eze means chief, and this person represents the majority of the state. The Nze (or Ndichi) are the members of the Eze’s (or Obi’s)cabinet. Their main job is to is to assist the Eze or Obi in keeping law and order within the community. **  **In the kingdom of Obi there was a place for the female-counterpart ruler, the Omu. Both the Obi and the Omu worked together for the betterment of their subjects. One the colonial government came in however, the Omu was dropped from the throne. **   TYPE OF SOCIETY  **All igbo society centers around bloodline. The family is the center of one’s upbringing, and the extended family is a very important part of society. This extended family’s become a kind of small village government. **  **In the Igbo structure, elders are respected and honored. They often become a leader or a village head, and sometimes even the village priest. They are approached for advice during good, as well as bad times. **   FAMILY AND SOCIAL LIFE **Men and women are forbidden to marry within their own patrilineage. This eliminated marriage and offspring between cousins, which becomes a problem in many cultures and systems parallel to that of the igbos. **

 **Traditional Igbo social life is based on membership in kinship groups and parallel but complementary dual-sex associations, which are of great importance to the integration of society. This means that the two wives of a man live in parallel, or simmilar households. They are not in same house, yet they help each other and communicate with one another. The associations take several forms, including age grades, men's societies, women's societies, and prestige-title societies. **



Each of the two wives the male marries is given a separate area within the larger structure in which they receive a hut for personal use and a surrounding area where their grown sons and daughters-in-law will eventually set up their own huts. The husband may have a separate hut, which is primarily used as a reception area, but he normally sleeps in one of his wives rooms according to a scheduled rotation.



Today women in Igbo land can be named chieftain not for administrative purposes, but for the roles the play in the community and in the market. media type="youtube" key="QbcKJg5eltE?fs=1" height="236" width="200" align="center"

Igbo Gospel Music by Dan Ike (Battle Axe)

//Works Cited// //Abacha//. 2006. Photograph. Series: Nenwe 1.0, Nigeria.

"Igbo Marriage." //University of Manitoba//. Web. 08 Nov. 2010. <[].>

Onyemaechi, Uzoma. "Igbo Politcal Systems." //Umunna Cultural Association of Indianapolis - Founded in July, 1994.(IRS Certified 501 (c)(3) Association - July 2000)//. Web. 08 Nov. 2010. [].

Schwimmer, Brian. //Igbo Household Segmentation//. 2002. Photograph. University of Manitoba.

"Sociopolitical Organization - Igbo." //Countries and Their Cultures//. Web. 08 Nov. 2010. <[organization.html%7Chttp://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Igbo-Sociopolitical-%20Organization.html.|http://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Igbo-Sociopolitical- organization.html|http://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Igbo-Sociopolitical- Organization.html.]>