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Ichie
Ichi was a form of facial ritual scarification worn by mainly men of the Igbo people of Nigeria. The scarification indicated that the wearer had passed through initial initiation into the aristocratic ''Nze na Ozo'' society, thus marking the wearer as nobility. Echoes of this tradition are found in the contemporary derivative word Ichie, which denotes a member of a class of titled chieftains amongst the Igbo. History The scarification was found among men in the Awka-Nri areas and among a few women in the Awgwu and Nkanu areas. Its wearers were authorized to perform ritual cleansing of abominations and to confer titles on people. People with facial marks were regarded as Nri men and were less likely to be taken as slaves. Other parts of Igbo land may have started wearing Ichi as a result of this. There are two styles; the Nri style worn in the Awka-Nri areas, and the Agbaja style worn in the Awgwu and Nkanu areas. In the Nri style, the carved line ran from the center of the fore ...
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Igbo Ichi Marks
Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and historically also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', / / ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. Their primary origin is fo ..., an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (other) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a town in the Nigerian state of Anambra * Ijebu Igbo, a town in the Nigerian state of Ogun * Igbo bu Igbo {{Disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...
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Scarification
Scarification involves scratching, etching, burning/ branding, or superficially cutting designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modification or body art. The body modification can take roughly 6–12 months to heal. In the process of body scarification, scars are purposely formed by cutting or branding the skin by various methods (sometimes using further sequential aggravating wound-healing methods at timed intervals, like irritation). Scarification is sometimes called '' cicatrization''. History Scarification has been traditionally practiced by darker skinned cultures, possibly because it is usually more visible on darker skinned people than tattoos. It was common in indigenous cultures of Africa (especially in the west), Melanesia, and Australia. Some indigenous cultures in North America also practiced scarification, including the ancient Maya. Africa In Africa, European colonial governments and European Christian missionaries criminalized and sti ...
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Igbo People
The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and historically also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', / / ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. Their primary origin is found in modern-day Abia State, Abia, Anambra State, Anambra, Ebonyi State, Ebonyi, Enugu State, Enugu, and Imo States, while others can be found in the Niger Delta and along the Cross River. The Igbo people are one of the largest List of ethnic groups of Africa, ethnic groups in Africa. The Igbo language is part of the Niger–Congo languages, Niger-Congo language family. Its regional dialects are mutually intelligible amidst the larger "Igboid languages, Igboid" cluster. The Igbo homeland straddles the lower Niger River, east and south of the Edoid languages, Edoid and Idomoid languages, Idomoid groups, and west of the Lower Cross River languages, Ibibioid (Cross River) cluster. Before the period of Colonial Nigeria, British colonial rul ...
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Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, a population of more than 230 million, it is the List of African countries by population, most populous country in Africa, and the List of countries and dependencies by population, world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in Niger–Nigeria border, the north, Chad in Chad–Nigeria border, the northeast, Cameroon in Cameroon–Nigeria border, the east, and Benin in Benin–Nigeria border, the west. Nigeria is a Federation, federal republic comprising 36 States of Nigeria, states and the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Federal Capital Territory, where its capital, Abuja, is located. The List of Nigerian cities by population, largest city in Nigeria by population is Lagos, one of the largest List of largest cities, metr ...
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Nze Na Ozo
The Nze na Ozo society, otherwise known as the Agbalanze society, is the highest and most important spiritual, Odinani, religious and social grouping in the Igbo people, Igbo society of Southeast Nigeria. History Initiation into the aristocratic Nze na Ozo society marks the person as nobility. To become ''Ozo'' implies that the title holder is now an ''Nze'', implying a living spirit and an ancestor. One then becomes the moral conscience of the community and is seen to be a fair adjudicator in cases of disputes within the community. In times of crisis, most Igbo communities will rely on Ozo members for leadership. Generally, in most Igbo communities, only holders of Ichi (scarification), Ichi title may become candidates for ''Ozo'' title. Anthropologists have seen cases of women with Ichi scarification, although only men are amongst the ''Ozo,'' a title which accords the individual extreme prestige, power, and influence in the community. Taking ''Ozo'' title is extremely expensiv ...
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Nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristics associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles or simply formal functions (e.g., precedence), and vary by country and by era. Membership in the nobility, including rights and responsibilities, is typically hereditary and patrilineal. Membership in the nobility has historically been granted by a monarch or government, and acquisition of sufficient power, wealth, ownerships, or royal favour has occasionally enabled commoners to ascend into the nobility. There are often a variety of ranks within the noble class. Legal recognition of nobility has been much more common in monarchies, but nobility also existed in such regimes as the Dutch Republic (1581–1795), the Republic ...
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Nigerian Chieftaincy
The Nigerian Chieftaincy is the chieftaincy system that is native to Nigeria. Consisting of everything from the country's monarchs to its titled family elders, the chieftaincy as a whole is one of the oldest continuously existing institutions in Nigeria and is legally recognized by its government. History Nigerian pre-colonial states tended to be organized as city-states. The empires that did exist, like the Kanem-Borno empire, the Oyo empire, the Benin empire and the Sokoto caliphate, were essentially coalitions of these individual city-states. Due to this, a great deal of local power was concentrated in the hands of rulers that remained almost permanently in their capitals. These rulers had sacred functions - a number of them were even considered to be sacred themselves - and therefore often lived in seclusion as a result. Their nobles, both hereditary and otherwise, typically also had functions that were tied to the religious traditions of the kingdoms that they ser ...
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Awgu
Awgu is a Local Government Area (LGA) in Enugu State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is situated in Awgu Town, Enugu, Awgu Town, it is also the headquarters of Roman Catholic Diocese of Awgu, Awgu Catholic Diocese -the Catholic Cathedral is said to resemble a spaceship when viewed with Google Earth. The town is also the Orientation Training Centre for National Youth Service corps members posted to Enugu State hosted on the Crown land of Awgu Town(the hilltop land). Geographically, Awgu LGA is located approximately between latitudes 06 00’ and 06 19’ North of the Equator and longitudes 07 23’ and 07 35’ East of the Greenwich Meridian. Awgu LGA is bounded in the north by Udi, Enugu, Udi and Nkanu West LGAs, in the west by Oji River LGA, Aninri LGA and Ivo LGA of Ebonyi State in the East, and shares borders with Umunneochi L.G.A of Abia State in the south. Awgu LGA boasts of Mgbowo as the community with the highest number of Professors with over 80 professors in Mgbowo alone. And ...
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Nri-Igbo
Nri is an Igbo city-state in Anambra State, Nigeria. It was the seat of a powerful and imperial state who was influenced much by the territories inhabited by the Igbo of Awka and Onitsha to the east;south; Nsukka and Asaba. Today, Nri claims to be the heart and origin of the Igbos, but it is historically dated that Igbo Ukwu, formally known as Igbo, and Igbo Nkwo is the true origin and beginning of the Igbos. History The Nri clan existed from as far back as the 9th century. Nri (the founder of Nri clan) and Aguleri were two of the sons of Eri (founder of Aguleri) and had migrated to the present day Nri from the Anambra (Omambala) river valley (Eriaka) in Aguleri in Northern Igboland Igbo land ( Standard ) is a cultural and common linguistic region in southeastern Nigeria which is the indigenous homeland of the Igbo people. Geographically, it is divided into two sections, eastern (the larger of the two) and western. Its popu .... Nri was said to have inherited spirit ...
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Kingdom Of Nri
The Kingdom of Nri () was a medieval polity located in what is now Nigeria. The kingdom existed as a sphere of religious and political influence over a significant part of what is known today as Igboland prior to expansion, and was administered by a priest-king called an ''Eze Nri''. The ''Eze Nri'' managed trade and diplomacy on behalf of the Nri people, a subgroup of the Igbo language, Igbo-speaking people, and possessed divine authority in religious matters. The kingdom was a haven for all those who had been rejected in their communities and also a place where slaves were set free from their bondage. Nri expanded through converts gaining neighboring communities' allegiance, not by force. Nri's royal founder, Eri (divine king), Eri, is said to be a 'sky being' that came down to earth and then established civilization. One of the better-known remnants of the Nri civilization is manifested in the Igbo ukwu artifacts. Nri's culture permanently influenced the Northern and Western ...
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Yoruba Tribal Marks
The Yoruba tribal marks are scarifications which are specific identification and beautification marks designed on the face or body of the Yoruba people. The tribal marks are part of the Yoruba culture and are usually inscribed on the body by burning or cutting of the skin during childhood. The primary function of the tribal marks is for identification of a person's tribe, family or patrilineal heritage. Other secondary functions of the marks are symbols of beauty, Yoruba creativity and keeping mischievous children alive (ilà Àbíkú). This practice was popular among Yoruba people of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. During the trans-Atlantic slave trade, tribal identification and facial stripes became important. Some repatriated slaves later reunited with their communities by looking at facial stripes. However, the use of tribal marks is fading in Yoruba land due to colonialism and modernization. Background In traditional Yoruba societies, every child is born into a patrilineal clan c ...
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Igbo Culture
Igbo culture () are the customs, practices and traditions of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. It consists of ancient practices as well as new concepts added into the Igbo culture either by cultural evolution or by outside influence. These customs and traditions include the Igbo people's visual art, music and dance forms, as well as their attire, cuisine and language dialects. Because of their various subgroups, the variety of their culture is heightened further. Music The Igbo people have a melodic and symphonic musical style. Instruments include opi otherwise known as Oja a wind instrument similar to the flute, igba, and ichaka. Another popular musical form among Igbo people is highlife, which is a fusion of jazz and traditional music and widely popular in West Africa. The modern Igbo highlife is seen in the works of Prince Nico Mbarga, Dr Sir Warrior, Oliver De Coque, Bright Chimezie, Celestine Ukwu and Chief Osita Osadebe, who are some of the greatest Igbo ...
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