What forms of art are the Igbo known for?

The Igbo people have a wide variety of art including traditional figures, masks, artifacts, and works in metals such as bronze. Igbo artworks are believed to be dated from as early as the 9th century when the Igbo Ukwu bronze artifacts were first found.

What do Igbo masks represent?

Among the Southern Igbo, the Ekpe society, introduced from the Cross River area, uses contrasting masks to represent the maiden spirit and the elephant spirit, the latter representing ugliness and aggression and the former representing beauty and peacefulness.

What is unique about Igbos?

The Igbo are the second largest group of people living in southern Nigeria. They are socially and culturally diverse, consisting of many subgroups. Although they live in scattered groups of villages, they all speak one language. The Igbo have no common traditional story of their origins.

What does Igbo culture?

Igbo Culture (Igbo: Ọmenala ndị Igbo) 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.

What is Igbo Ukwu art?

“The inhabitants of Igbo-Ukwu had a metalworking art that flourished as early as the ninth century. Three sites have been excavated, revealing hundreds of ritual vessels and regalia castings of bronze or leaded bronze that are among the most inventive and technically accomplished bronzes ever made.

What is Nok art?

Nok art refers to huge human, animal, and other figures made out of terracotta pottery, made by the Nok culture and found throughout Nigeria.

What is the history of Igbo culture?

It is believed that the Igbo originated in an area about 100 miles north of their current location at the confluence of the Niger and Benue Rivers. They share linguistic ties with their neighbors the Bini, Igala, Yoruba, and Idoma, with the split between them probably occurring between five and six thousand years ago.

What is Igbo culture in things fall apart?

1. The Traditional Igbo Culture. Things Fall Apart is set in the 1890s and portrays the clash between Nigeria’s white colonial government and the traditional culture of the indigenous Igbo people. Achebe’s novel shatters the stereotypical European portraits of native Africans.

What is the origin of Igbo Ukwu art?

The ancient site of Igbo Ukwu is situated in the modern day homelands of Igbo peoples of southern Nigeria. Archaeological finds were first discovered at this site in 1939 when an Igbo farmer named Isaiah Anozie chanced upon several bronze objects as he was digging a cistern to hold water in the dry season.

Where was Igbo Ukwu art discovered?

Nigeria
The archaeology of Igbo-Ukwu revealed bronze artifacts dated to the 9th century A.D. which were initially discovered by Isiah Anozie in 1939 while digging a well in his compound in Igbo-Ukwu, an Igbo town in Anambra State, Nigeria.

What is Nok art known for?

Nok culture is known for its unique terracotta sculptures and its early iron working.