Traditional Igbo Women

In the Ibo tribe, women and children were seen as inferior compared to men in the eyes of society. Women have weddings arranged by their parents. After getting married, the women are considered to be the property of the husband. The main purpose of women in the Ibo society was staying home and taking care of the home and children. It was very important for a woman to give birth to a child, preferably a boy so that

Although women are mistreated, the Igbo society assigns important roles to the women. Women are the ones who paint the egwugwu house, the house to the most powerful and most secret cult in the clan. “Many colored patterns and drawings done by specially chosen women at regular intervals” (88).

Many themes of traditional Igbo life and culture have played a major part in the development of the book.it is greatly expressed How gender roles factor into the Igbo life and are very important, especially the roles of women. In the Igbo society the women is seen to be weaker than the Men however, they play very important part in the running and growth of the community. Prior to colonializing Igbo women have very little power or voice in decisions, however there is a sudden change is the role of women. Women’s job as providers of the home is still important however they play a larger role in the production and selling of the crops they produce. We even made aware of the women’s roles when were are introduced to Okonkwo and the treatment of his wives. Igbo women’s importance stems from their ability giving birth, maintaining the family and house and being a good candidate for marriage.

Men have a dominant power over women in the Ibo society. For instant, “At the end they decided, as everybody knew they would, that the girl should go to Ogbuefi Udo to replace his murdered wife”(Achebe 10). If a man killed the wife of another man in a different clan then a virgin, a women whose life

In the Ibo culture, when a woman was to be married, the family of her suitor would come and inspect her to be sure she was beautiful and ripe enough to be a part of their family. A woman did not have any value other than her beauty and her abilities to cook and bear children. In a conversation between Okonkwo and his friend Obierika, they spoke of two other villages where their ''customs are all upside down'' and ''titled men climb trees and pound foo-foo for their wives'' (73).

In the 19th century Southeast Nigeria, if a woman was born to a lineage, she was associated with otu umu ada. Meanwhile, if a woman married a man born to a lineage, she was associated with otu inyeme. Usually married Igbo women were apart of both associations, whereas unmarried only belonged to otu inyeme. (2source)

Knowing that, we can tell that Igbo culture gender roles have changed over the course of

The principles of Igbo give much specific information on who the Igbo people are and helps the reader understand more about them. In the article Igbo Political Systems by Uzoma Onyemaechi it states, “The Igbo social structure is defined by the bloodline... The family is the center or the nucleus into which the he child compound is formed.” In other words, this shows that the Igbo people rely a lot on family since it is defined by their bloodline. Also, a common law of theirs is that in an Igbo community, elders are respected and honored (Onyemaechi).

Gender roles in the Igbo community In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, gender roles are distinctly different; there is masculine and feminine tasks in the Igbo culture that everyone grew up to understand. Woman were bred to be caretakers, while men were bred to be the head of the house and lead everyone in it. During this time in Nigerian culture men were valued more than women. Men were looked at as a sign of strength and honor, in contrast, women were not as powerful or influential in the Nigerian community.

culture, they only serve to be wed and bear children. When women are growing up one of the

The Igbo tribe marriage process differs from family to family, but significant similarities appear consistently with each union. However, opinions on the concept of arranged marriage vary throughout the tribe. The parents of the bride and groom play a large part in every stage of marriage. In 1992, a study was conducted in a small, Igbo village in Nigeria. In this survey of 250 Igbo people, it was discovered that 55.2% of the participants’ parents chose their spouses for them. The remaining 44.8% selected their own significant other, but with parental approval. However, out of the 250 Igbos interviewed, only 14 of them were for arranged marriage (Okonio 343). In the slightly more common situation, parents “spy” out eligible women for their son based on desirable qualities

The husband and father of the children would be the one to answer that question. According to Ifi Amadiume’s article Igbo “women are fully involved in matchmaking and usually participate directly or indirectly in the actual negotiations of marital arrangements for their sons and daughters.” (Amadiume). The Nigerian tribe “Igbo” actually has some sort of respect and trust for their women in their society. They even go to the extent of giving them the role of matchmaker.

Women who are mothers take the responsibility to care for the children. In tribal culture, women undertake the mission of educating the children through storytelling. One example is Ezinma’s mother, Ekwefi, who tells her

The spiritual level includes the spirit Anyanwu who represents the sun, the spirit Igwe who represents the sky, Andala who represents the earth, and other water spirits and forest spirits. Through items called taboos, the Igbo forge mediatory category of relations with nature and certain animals such as pythons, crocodiles, tigers, tortoises, and fish. The Igbo, sometimes referred to as Ibo, are one of the largest single ethnic groups in Africa. Most Igbo speakers are based in southeastern Nigeria, constituting about 17 percent of the population; they can also be found in significant numbers in Cameroon and other African countries. It is believed the Igbo originated in an area about 100 miles north of their current location at the confluence of the Niger and Benue Rivers.The Igbo share linguistic ties with their neighbors the Bini, Igala, Yoruba, and Idoma, with whom it is believed they were closely related until five to six thousand years ago. The first Igbo in the region may have moved onto the Awka-Orlu plateau between four and five thousand years ago. This Igbo site provides simple and easy-to-read insights into Igbo language and Igbo culture. Not only does the guide describe the wide variety of the traditions in this part of Nigeria, attention is also paid to normal day-to-day facets of life in the town and villages. The site contains a complete guide on Igbo language, highlighted in sample conversations (including native audio clips), includes an Igbo English dictionary and explains the basic Igbo grammar

To begin with, women are treated horribly, they are abused and have no voice at first glance, they basically are slaves who are bought for a bargained price from the woman’s family and then taken to live with her new husband, but throughout the book there are many roles an Ibo woman has. The ordinary woman in the village is treated with a lower respect than men are, but there are some women that are both feared and extremely powerful. Also, Ani their earth goddess is a woman that is greatly revered by the whole village who plays a large part in their daily lives. They say that a man goes to his fatherland during good times, but he goes to his motherland when he is sad and suffering, this shows that the mother is also there to help and comfort