Ozikoro
OzikoroArchive

Subject

Ọsụ caste system

2 records filed under this subject

Attempts to Abolish the Igbo Caste System: A Historical Overview

The elders remind us: “Ègbè bere ùgò bere, nke sị ibe ya ebèná, nkụ kwàá ya”—let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too; if one denies the other, may its wings break. Equality has always been spoken of in Igbo land, yet history shows that it has often been difficult to practice. From…

The Igbo Caste System: Origins and Traditions in History

The Igbo say: “Nwanyi mụta ite ọfụ mmiri mmiri, di ya amụta ịpụ utara aka were suru ọfụ”—when a woman learns to make watery soup, her husband learns to swallow larger morsels. In other words, society adapts to the traditions it creates. For centuries, the Igbo caste system, Ọsụ, Ụ́mụ́, Ọhụ, and Diala, shaped how…