Igbo in the Atlantic World African Origins and Diasporic Destinations [Hardcover]

The Igbo are one of the most populous ethnic groups in Nigeria and are perhaps best known and celebrated in the work of Chinua Achebe. In this landmark collection on Igbo society and arts, Toyin Falola and Raphael Chijioke Njoku have compiled a detailed and innovative examination of the Igbo experience in Africa and in the diaspora. Focusing on institutions and cultural practices, the volume covers the enslavement, middle passage, and American experience of the Igbo as well as their return to Africa and aspects of Igbo language, society, and cultural arts. By employing a variety of disciplinary perspectives, this volume presents a comprehensive view of how the Igbo were integrated into the Atlantic world through the slave trade and slavery, the transformations of Igbo identities and culture, and the strategies for resistance employed by the Igbo in the New World. Moving beyond descriptions of generic African experiences, this collection includes 21 essays by prominent scholars throughout the world.

Makes a significant contribution to the sociology and historiography of the Igbo society, by documenting not only the cultural genealology, heterogeneity and dialects of this society but also their contributions to diasporic cultural formation, identity, and transmutation. This is probably the most comprehensive collection of scholarship on diverse aspects of Igbo society and culture.

Abbreviations
Preface and Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
Raphael Chijioke Njoku and Toyin Falola
SECTION I: IGBO INSTITUTIONS AND CUSTOMS AS BASELINE
2. The Kingless People: The Speech Act as Shield and Sword
Hannah Chukwu
3. Igbo Goddesses and the Priests and Male Priestesses Who Serve Them
Nwando Achebe
4. Gender Relations in Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Igbo Society
Gloria Chuku
SECTION II: THE IGBO IN THE AFRICAN DIASPORA: THE MECHANICS AND PATTERNS OF MIGRATIONS, SETTLEMENTS AND DEMOGRAPHICS
5. The Aro and the Trade of the Bight
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