Igbo culture Archives ~ Ozi Ikòrò

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Ichaka with cowries around it. Photo credit; Music Africa Awake Sound classification The Ichaka is made of gourd or calabash loosely covered with beads. When tapped or shaken it…

22

Jan 2026

Igbo Musical Instruments : A Lost Art : Igba

Igba (Talking/Cylinder Drum). Photo credit : Umuigbo magazine Sound classification: Igba is a membranophone, which means they produce sound from a vibrating stretched membrane. Igba (Cylinder-drum) is a piece…

20

Jan 2026

Anthropology and Ethnography Discography

Igbo Musical Instruments : A Lost Art : Enenke

antelope-nigerian-animal-min-Photo credit : https://dnbstories.com/ Sound classification Enenke is an a erophone, which means they produce sound primarily through the vibration of a column of air. These instruments include trumpet, opi…

06

Jan 2026

Anthropology and Ethnography Historical Studies

From Colonial Rails to Ceremonial Cannons: How the Re-use of Industrial Scrap Transformed Igbo Indigenous Pyrotechnics

The transformation of Igbo pyrotechnic culture from locally forged iron tubes to the sophisticated ceremonial cannons used today offers a remarkable case study in technological adaptation. With the arrival of…

02

Jan 2026

Anthropology and Ethnography Cultural Heritage Ethnohistory Historical Studies

The Impact on the “Yam Revolution”

Igbos in diaspora celebrating Iwa-Ji in Dublin, Ireland. Photo credit; Wikipedia Yam (Dioscorea rotundata and Dioscorea cayenensis) has long been one of the most important food crops in West Africa, especially…

02

Jan 2026

Anthropology and Ethnography Ethnohistory Historical Studies

The Furnace as a Fecund Mother: Rituals and Symbolism

Iron smelting furnace, nineteenth century. By National Archives of Malawi, CC BY-SA 4.0. Across various African metallurgical traditions, furnaces were never seen merely as technological devices but as deeply symbolic entities…

02

Jan 2026

Anthropology and Ethnography Cultural Heritage Ethnohistory Historical Studies

The Ancestral Chairs: Oche Ndichie and Oche Ekpenti

Throughout Igbo cultural history, carved wooden chairs have served not merely as furniture but as deeply symbolic objects connected to authority, memory, spirituality, and lineage. Among the most important of…

02

Jan 2026

Anthropology and Ethnography Cultural Heritage Ethnohistory Historical Studies

Musical Instruments: The Voice of the Wood

Across many African societies, music is not merely entertainment, it is a social language, a spiritual medium, and a form of historical documentation. Among the Igbo and other groups in…

02

Jan 2026

Anthropology and Ethnography Cultural Heritage Ethnohistory

The Awka Blacksmiths and the Carvers’ Tools

Among the Igbo of southeastern Nigeria, craftsmanship is highly specialized and deeply connected to the spiritual and economic life of the people. Two guilds, the blacksmiths of Awka and the…

29

Dec 2025

Anthropology and Ethnography Cultural Heritage Ethnohistory

The “Omu” and Women’s Influence on Wood Aesthetics in Igbo Society

In traditional Igbo society, artistic production, especially woodcarving, was historically dominated by men. Yet women exercised profound aesthetic, symbolic, and moral influence on the creative process. Central to this influence…