Community Lore

Across the rainforests of Igboland, childbirth was guided by a sophisticated system of indigenous knowledge, ritual practice, and communal care. These traditions reflected a deep understanding of maternal health, the symbolism of birth, and the spiritual significance of the placenta and umbilical cord. This article examines the procedures, beliefs, and celebrations surrounding childbirth in traditional Igbo society, revealing a worldview in which birth meant more than a biological event.

This article examines polygamy as practised in Mkpuka village, through the household of Chief Gabriel Ikpefu. Combining vivid narrative and cultural analysis, it explores how marriage, ritual authority and land tenure shaped life in the chief’s compound, where seven wives, three concubines and nearly fifty children lived. Seasonal rituals such as Ehí Ji, or Yam Day, reveal labour organisation, food distribution and the politics of favour, while the story of Chike and his brothers...