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Igbo bu Igbo (Great Igbo)

Audio Arts
Original recording of Igbo bu Igbo, recorded by Northcote Thomas in Awka, December 16, 1910. (NWT 417; BL C51/2277)

An audio recording of a folksong titled 'Igbo bu Igbo' (Great Igbo), recorded by Northcote Thomas on December 16, 1910, in Awka. The performance features a female singer utilizing a high-pitched, resonant vocal technique with a repetitive, call-and-response structure. The lyrics serve as an admonition, calling on Igbo-speaking peoples and neighboring villages, such as Enugu Omekome, to adhere to the truth. The recording is a 'moonlight song' (Egwu Onwa), historically performed during communal evening music-making and dancing. The audio quality is low-fidelity, characteristic of early twentieth century wax cylinder recordings, with significant background static and white noise. The accompanying percussion consists of a resonant, hollow wooden idiophone, likely a slit drum or log drum, producing a syncopated rhythm.

Community Notes

Onyeka Nwokike

Sep 18, 2026


The lyrics of the song in Igbo are:

Igbo bụ Igbo, bịa n’ụlọ ife eziokwu, hm, eziokwu. Ana bụ ana, bịa n’ụlọ ife eziokwu, hm, eziokwu. Ogbe m dị n’Enugu, Omekome bịa n’ụlọ ife eziokwu, hm, eziokwu. Enugu Omekome, unu ana-eme nma, eziokwu. Igbo bụ Igbo, bịa n’ụlọ ife eziokwu, hm, eziokwu.


Onyeka Nwokike

Sep 18, 2026

The technical process for this recording involved a phonograph that captured sound through a horn, diaphragm, and needle, which were then etched onto wax cylinders. This obsolete technology necessitated modern digitization to make the "sound heritage" accessible, as noted in Revisiting some Awka folksongs.

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