| W.D. Robeson • Paul Robeson[1] • M.L. Bustill E.W. Blyden[2] • Blair Underwood[3] • F. Whitaker[4] |
| Total population |
|---|
| Unknown |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Throughout the entire South (especially Virginia) as well as the New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Houston municipal areas, and Puerto Rico. |
| Languages |
| Religion |
| Related ethnic groups |
Igbo Americans, or Americans of Igbo ancestry, (Igbo: Ịgbo nke Amerika) are citizens of the United States who can claim whole or significant ancestry from the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. The majority of US citizens with Igbo ancestry are descended from Igbo slaves that were forcefully shipped to the Americas for hard labor. A growing minority of people with Igbo ancestry are Nigerian citizens that have arrived in the US as economic migrants and because of issues relating to the Nigerian-Biafran War.
In the United States Igbo slaves were erroneously referred to by a couple of names corrupted from Igbo such as Ibo and Eboe. Some Igbo slaves were also referred to as 'bites', denoting their Bight of Biafra origin, their new slave names were often given to them denoting their origin in Africa such as Bonna for a slave that arrived through the port of Bonny. Their presence in the United States was met with mixed feelings by American plantation owners.
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The Igbo were affected heavily by the Atlantic slave trade in the 18th century. Igbo slaves were known for being rebellious and having a high count of suicide in defiance of slavery.[5][6][7] In the United States the Igbo were most numerous in the states of Maryland (coincidentally where there is a predominant population of recent Igbo immigrants)[8] and Virginia,[9] so much so that some historians have denominated colonial Virginia as “Igbo land.”[9]
With a total of 37,000 Africans that arrived in Virginia from Calabar in the 18th century, 30,000 were Igbo according to Douglas B. Chambers.[9] The Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia estimates around 38% of captives taken to Virginia were from the Bight of Biafra.[10] Igbo peoples constituted the majority of enslaved Africans in Maryland.[9] Chambers has been quoted saying "My research suggests that perhaps 60 percent of black Americans have at least one Igbo ancestor..."[11]
Virginia was the colony that took in the largest percentage of Igbo slaves. Researchers such as David Eltis estimate between 30—45% of the 'imported' slaves were from the Bight of Biafra, of these slaves 80% were likely Igbo. A so called conservative estimate of the amount of Igbo taken into Virginia between 1698 and 1778 is placed at 25,000. The Igbo concentration was especially high in the Tidewater and Piedmont regions of the Virginia interior.[12] One of the reasons for this high number of Igbo slaves in Virginia was the domination of the Bight of Biafra region of Africa by Bristol and Liverpool English merchants who frequently brought Bight of Biafra slaves to British colonies, Virginia being one of these colonies. The high concentration of Igbo slaves in Virginia was contributed to further by neighboring states. Planters in South Carolina and Georgia looked down on Igbo slaves because many were rebellious. Because of this the majority of Igbo slaves were taken and sold to Virginian planters.
Some possible Igbo names were also found among slave records in Virginia. Names found in records such as Anica, or Anakey, Breechy and Juba may originate respectively from the Igbo names Nneka, meaning the mother is superior, and mburichi, male members of the Kingdom of Nri and Jiugba, meaning yam barn. Some had their ethnicity added to their names such as Eboe Sarah and plain Ebo.[13] These hints of Igbo influence go along with cultural remnants pointing towards the Igbo presence in Virginia, one of which is the use of the Eboe drum in music. The Igbo presence in Virginia also brought new practices such as the cultivation of Okra, a plant whose name derives from the Igbo language. Slaves in Virginia relied on sweet potato which is argued by Douglas Chambers to be an indication of a substitute for yam, the Igbo staple crop.
The state of Kentucky, which was carved out of the Colony of Virginia had received many of Virginia's slave drivers and slaves as people started migrating westward. These migrations spread out the population of African slaves in America, including Igbo slaves. Here the Igbo population had already become heavily creoleized alongside other African ethnicity's that were taken in significant numbers to America.
African cultures were heavily suppressed in the American slave era. The plantation and slave owners made sure to suppress African cultures through intimidation and torture, stripping away slaves' names and heritage. As expected, Igbo culture faced the same oppression, however some cultural remnants of Igbo origin was found and can still be found in the United States. Most of these cultural remnants can be found in music and entertainment. Igbo culture manifested in America through the Jonkonnu festivals that once took residence in the black slave population in Virginia. This masquerade bears similarity with the masking traditions of the Okonko secret society who still operate in the Igbo hinterland. The maskers wear horns which further shows similarity to Igbo culture and the Ikenga deity. Heavily African influenced American music genres such as Jazz and Ragtime stem from a mix of African cultures that creolized in the Americas. Although these genres could be described as a mix, there are elements of American music that have specific origin and Igbo instruments, such as the 'Eboe Drum'. The Igbo opi flute is similar to the drum and fife traditions.
Americans of Igbo descent who have lived in America for quite some time, have most likely adopted to the overall culture of the States. Many Igbo do speak their native tongue, the Igbo language, but American English is also prevalent, as many Igbo American children have adopted the American way of life. For many average Igbo American families, visits back home to Igboland in Nigeria are important and a way of relaxation for many.
Igbo Americans have adopted much of American culture. Many celebrate popular U.S. holidays such as Thanksgiving and Independence Day. Igbo culture is mixed with this American culture through acculturation. Many Igbo Americans have also adopted African American culture.
Ebo Landing is located in St. Simons, Georgia. It is said that the chanting of Igbo people can still be heard at the mouth of Dunbar Creek. The creek is near Sea Island on the southeast coast of St. Simon Island. In the 1850s a group of chained enslaved Igbo people were being held on the beach. They had just arrived to America on board the slave ship, The Wanderer, which crashed when the vessel ran ashore. While being held on the beach, the slaves made a suicide pact. Instead of living the rest of their lives in chains, they ran, chained to each other, into the water and drowned. The site is supposedly haunted by their ghosts. People have reported hearing the sound of irons chattering as the slaves ran from the beach into the water.[15]
The Ebo Landing saga had influenced the slave tale of 'The Flying Negro.' This tale inspired the slave population of America and still exists in storytelling today. The story's emphasis on the Igbo emphasize the magical and mystical aura creole slaves saw African born people in, with the story ending with a group of Igbo people flying back to Africa from a slave ship.
The Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia has completed an Igbo single-family farmers compound to acknowledge the prevalence of the Igbo in 19th century Virginia.[10]
In the 2003 PBS program African American Lives, Bishop T.D. Jakes had his DNA analyzed; his Y chromosome showed that he is descended from the Igbo.[16] American actors Forest Whitaker and Blair Underwood have traced their genealogy back to the Igbo people.[17][18]
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