Igbo

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A group of Igbo people in traditional attire, including beaded crowns and necklaces, stand outdoors holding flowers and a ceremonial fan, paying respects in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Four Igbo women in patterned skirts and headwraps perform a traditional dance outdoors, wearing ankle rattles and holding percussive instruments, with a crowd in the background.

An Igbo woman wearing a patterned headwrap sits at a table holding notebooks while a man writes on papers during compulsory registration in Lagos, Nigeria. Other people are visible in the background.

Map of Africa highlighting the location of Biafra, the former secessionist state in southeastern Nigeria, shown in orange within Nigeria and bordered by Cameroon to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. Surrounding countries and the continent's outline provide geographic context.

Rows of young Igbo volunteer soldiers, many shirtless, stand in formation during the Nigerian Civil War in Biafra, 1968, with more people gathered in the background.

maiden spirit mask

Ornate leaded bronze staff head from Igbo Ukwu, Nigeria, featuring intricate openwork patterns and loops adorned with colored glass and stone beads, displayed on a stand.

Igbo: References & Edit History

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Chiadikobi Nwaubani

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Article History

Type	Description	Contributor	Date
	Added media.	Teagan Wolter	Sep 01, 2026
	Added section on history of the Igbo people.	Teagan Wolter	Aug 18, 2026
	Invalidated site: Joshua Project - Igbo.	Aakanksha Gaur	May 12, 2026
	Add new Web site: eHRAF World Cultures - Igbo.	Gloria Lotha	Oct 28, 2025
	Add new Web site: CORE - The Ontological Foundation of Igbo Entrepreneurship: An Analytical Investigation (PDF).	Gloria Lotha	Aug 26, 2025
	Added cross-reference.	Teagan Wolter	Sep 25, 2024
	Add new Web site: Joshua Project - Igbo.	Aakanksha Gaur	Apr 16, 2024
	Add new Web site: CNN - Nigerias Igbo Jews: Lost tribe of Israel?	Gloria Lotha	Dec 27, 2023
	Add new Web site: Academia - History and Origin of Igbo people in Nigeria.	Gloria Lotha	Oct 16, 2023
	Add new Web site: University of California - The Igbo People - Origins and History.	Emily Rodriguez	Aug 08, 2023
	Add new Web site: Indiana University - National African Language Resource Center - Studying IGBO in the U.S.	Aakanksha Gaur	Dec 01, 2022
	Add new Web site: Globalseurity.org - Igbo.	Gloria Lotha	Aug 24, 2022
	Media revised.	Amy McKenna	May 22, 2020
	Added the Igbo name for the patrilineage system and the names of specified deities, and other changes made.	Kathleen Kuiper Chiadikobi Nwaubani	Nov 04, 2015
	Add new Web site: Minority Rights Group - Igbo in Nigeria.	Gloria Lotha	Jul 30, 2015
	Add new Web site: Arts and Life in Africa - University of Iowa Museum of Art - Igbo.	Gloria Lotha	Jul 30, 2015
	Media added.	Kathleen Kuiper	Sep 12, 2007
	Article revised.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Dec 14, 2000
	Article added to new online database.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Jul 20, 1998