Twenty Four Years of Learning

Wonders of Igbo Culture

The culture of the Igbos is rich, varied, and full of wonders. I came to know this wondrous culture during my twenty-four years living in Nigeria.

I had learned about some of the customs before ever leaving the shores of the United States. I learned more when first living in Nigeria. But when I fell in love and married an Igbo man, I came to love aspects of his culture. They became mine too.

During the civil war in Nigeria we lived in his village, one of seven villages that make up the town of Nanka. His parents and two siblings were with us. By then we had two small children. Although I knew about all of these cultural aspects, I became familiar with them in a day-to-day manner during that year.

The culture continues to grow and change. Some of the customs have all but disappeared in the years since I first went to Nigeria. Others have become symbolic but recall their original meaning. And some remain as strong as ever.

I write about seven of these in a series of blog posts (first one appearing October 7, 2015). Most of these are aspects of culture that I experienced in my husband’s village during the year I lived there. The first one has historic significance in Nigeria’s march to independence.