1. A Glimpse of the World
Images from Pre-Colonial and Modern Nigeria

2. Igbo People Modern Igbo Women in Traditional Dress
Igbo Woman from Colonial Times

3. Igbo Men
Igbo Men from Colonial Times
Modern Men in Traditional Dress

4. Everyday Life

5. Modern Igbo Villages
The picture has changed very little.

6. Igbo Homes
Compound
Hut with Painted Walls

7. The men build the walls, roofs, and doors . . .

8. . . .while the women mud and decorate the walls.
Museum Reconstruction
Image circa 1900

10. Traditional Foods

11. Bambara Groundnut: “Okpa” in the Igbo language

12. Groundnuts: a “Feminine Crop”

13. Yams: a “Masculine Crop.”

14. Yams were a staple food . . .

15. . . . and a staple of the economy.
The more yams a man could grow and harvest . . .
. . . the more status he accumulated.
Yam Filed
Yam Barn

16. Kola and the Kola Ceremony
Iwa Óji - Breaking the Kola Nut
Óji, (also known as Kola nut) is fruit of the kola tree native to the tropical rainforests of Africa. Although the caffeine-containing fruit of the tree is sometimes used as a beverage flavoring, it has great spiritual significance in Igbo land.

17. The breaking, blessing and sharing of Óji is an tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation. Óji is a sacred nut that brings a community together. Blessing and sharing the sacred kola nut is thought by the Igbo to promote harmony, unity, peace, prosperity, reproduction and progress amongst those who participate in the kola ceremony

18. It is the first thing which is presented to guest in every Igbo home or gathering. Óji is used to settle disputes between siblings or neighbors, it is served at marriages and burials.

19. Kola nuts can have anywhere from two to seven or more lobes.
The larger the number of lobes, the more prosperity it brings