Igbo Ethnic Groups In Nigeria

Religion is a crucial aspect of any given society because at most, it defines the people’s way of life. It defines the norms and values of a particular society. This norms and values are then regarded as cultural beliefs, African culture and religion is so diverse; there is about 3,000 ethnic and linguistic group and about 54 countries in Africa. Within this African country, Nigeria happens to stand out because it is a multi-lingual country with about 520 ethnic group and diverse traditional religions and cultures. They major ethnic groups in Nigeria includes; Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, and Edo (Naija.ng). But for the purposes of this article, the focus will be in the Igbo ethnic group of Nigeria. The Igbo ethnic group which is also a language

This is the belief in one creator God called Chineke or Chukwu. They belief in spirits and ancestors. The high God is believed to be the creator God; He does not involve himself in the daily activities of the tribe or people. They belief He could be reached through other mini deities like Amadioha who is the god of thunder. Ancestors are believed to protect the people and they are responsible for rain, harvest, health and children. Alters and shrines are normally erected for this Gods for the purposes of daily worship. A shrine is similar to the Christian church which is a place of worship. Orators, Sherman’s, priests all perform traditional rites and conduct ceremonies, they can also serve as interpreters for the gods and their job is to explain misfortunes. Just as kings are monarchies and the kingship is passed down through lineage so, is the power of the orators, Sherman and priests are passed down via lineage

The traditional Igbo name for a masquerade is mmanwu. Masquerades are known to be spirits who live among men. The masquerade has a sacred duty of cleansing the community at night and it is believed to be a taboo to see this ritual take place; this would bring misfortune and series of bad lucks to the person and his family. They Igbo people belief that masquerades are only allowed to be seen in the day time during festivals while the perform stunts and dances or whenever they want to be seen otherwise it is a taboo. But in real life Masquerades are mask won to represent either spirits or ancestors. The identity of the masquerade is kept meticulously secret. These are the festive where the display of masquerades is performed or sighted; Christmas seasons, traditional weddings, new yam celebration. (new yam celebration is a feast mostly held at the beginning of the harvest season, it is an act of sacrificing to the gods the very first harvest (yams) of the season and thanking the gods in other to have a fruitful planting season the following year). Masquerades help keep the village