The Igboid languages form a cluster within the Volta–Nigerphylum, most likely grouped with Yoruboidand Edoid. The greatest differentiation within the Igboid group is between the Ekpeye and the rest. Williamson (2002) argues that based on this pattern, proto-Igboid migration would have moved down the Niger from a more northern area in the savannah and first settled close to the delta, with a secondary center of Igbo proper more to the north, in the Awka area.
Pottery dated at around 2500 BCE showing similarities with later Igbo work was found at Nsukkain the 1970s, along with pottery and tools at nearby Ibagwa; the traditions of the Umuericlan have as their source the Anambra valley. In the 1970s the Owerri, Okigwe, Orlu, Awgu, Udiand Awkadivisions were determined to constitute "an Igbo heartland" from the linguistic and cultural evidence.
Genetic studies have shown the Igbo to cluster most closely with other Niger-Congo-speaking peoples. The predominant Y-chromosmoal haplogroup is E-V38 (E1b1a)

The Nri people of Igbo land have a creation myth which is one of the many creation myths that exist in various parts of Igbo land. The Nri and Aguleri people are in the territory of the Umueri clan who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure Eri. Eri's origins are unclear, though he has been described as a "sky being" sent by Chukwu(God). He has been characterized as having first given societal order to the people of Anambra. The historian Elizabeth Allo Isicheisays "Nri and Aguleri and part of the Umueri clan, [are] a cluster of Igbo village groups which traces its origins to a sky being called Eri."
Archaeological evidence suggests that Nri hegemonyin Igboland may go back as far as the 9th century, and royal burials have been unearthed dating to at least the 10th century. Eri, the god-like founder of Nri, is believed to have settled the region around 948 with other related Igbo cultures following after in the 13th century. The first Eze Nri (King of Nri) Ìfikuánim followed directly after him. According to Igbo oral tradition, his reign started in 1043. At least one historian puts Ìfikuánim's reign much later, around 1225 AD.
Each king traces his origin back to the founding ancestor, Eri. Each king is a ritual reproduction of Eri. The initiation rite of a new king shows that the ritual process of becoming Ezenri (Nri priest-king) follows closely the path traced by the hero in establishing the Nri kingdom.The Kingdom of Nri was a religio-polity, a sort of theocratic state, that developed in the central heartland of the Igbo region. The Nri had seven types of taboos which included human (such as the birth of twins), animal (such as killing or eating of pythons), object, temporal, behavioral, speech and place taboos. The rules regarding these taboos were used to educate and govern Nri's subjects. This meant that, while certain Igbo may have lived under different formal administration, all followers of the Igbo religion had to abide by the rules of the faith and obey its representative on earth, the Eze Nri.

Traditional Igbo political organization was based on a quasi-democratic republicansystem of government. In tight knit communities, this system guaranteed its citizens equality, as opposed to a feudalist system with a king ruling over subjects. This government system was witnessed by the Portuguese who first arrived and met with the Igbo people in the 15th century. With the exception of a few notable Igbo towns such as Onitsha, which had kings called Obi, and places like the Nri Kingdom and Arochukwu, which had priest-kings; Igbo communities and area governments were overwhelmingly ruled solely by a republican consultative assembly of the common people. Communities were usually governed and administered by a council of elders.
Although title holders were respected because of their accomplishments and capabilities, they were never revered as kings, but often performed special functions given to them by such assemblies. This way of governing was immensely different from most other communities of Western Africa, and only shared by the Eweof Ghana. Umunna are a form of patrilineage maintained by the Igbo. Law starts with the Umunna which is a male line of descent from a founding ancestor (who the line is sometimes named after) with groups of compounds containing closely related families headed by the eldest male member. The Umunna can be seen as the most important pillar of Igbo society.
Mathematics in indigenous Igbo society is evident in their calendar, banking system and strategic betting game called Okwe. In their indigenous calendar, a week had four days, a month consisted of seven weeks and 13 months made a year. In the last month, an extra day was added. This calendar is still used in indigenous Igbo villages and towns to determine market days. They settled law matters via mediators, and their banking system for loans and savings, called Isusu, is also still used. The Igbo new year, starting with the monthỌ́nwạ́ M̀bụ́( Igbo:First Moon) occurs on the third week of February, although the traditional start of the year for many Igbo communities is around springtime inỌ́nwạ́ Ágwụ́(June). Used as a ceremonial script by secret societies, the Igbo have an indigenous ideographic set of symbols called Nsibidi, originating from the neighboring Ejagham people. Igbo people produced bronzesfrom as early as the 9th century, some of which have been found at the town of Igbo Ukwu, Anambra state.
A system of indentured servitudeexisted among the Igbo before and after the encounter with Europeans. Indentured service in Igbo areas was described by Olaudah Equianoin his memoir. He describes the conditions of the slaves in his community of Essaka, and points out the difference between the treatment of slaves under the Igbo in Essaka, and those in the custody of Europeans in West Indies:
…but how different was their condition from that of the slaves in the West Indies! With us, they do no more work than other members of the community,… even their master;… (except that they were not permitted to eat with those… free-born; and there was scarce any other difference between them,… Some of these slaves have… slaves under them as their own property… for their own use.
The Niger coast was an area of contact between African and European traders from the years 1434–1807. The Portuguese were the first traders, then the Dutchand finally the British. Prior to European contact, Igbo trade routes stretched as far as Mecca, Medinaand Jeddahon the continent.

Chambers (2002) argued that many of the slaves taken from the Bight of Biafraacross the Middle Passagewould have been Igbo. These slaves were usually sold to Europeans by the Aro Confederacy, who kidnapped or bought slaves from Igbo villages in the hinterland. Most Igbo slaves were not victims of slave-raiding wars or expeditions, but were sometimes debtors and people who committed what their communities considered to be abominations or crimes. [68]With the goal for freedom, enslaved Igbos were known to the British colonists as being rebellious and having a high rate of suicideto escape slavery. There is evidence that traders sought Igbo women. Igbo women were paired with Coromantee (Akan) men to subdue the men because of the belief that the women were bound to their first-born sons’ birthplace.
Contrary to common belief, European slave traders were fairly well informed about various African ethnicities, leading to slavers' targeting certain ethnic groups which plantation owners preferred. Particular desired ethnic groups consequently became fairly concentrated in certain parts of the Americas. The Igbo were dispersed to colonies such as Jamaica, Cuba, Saint- Domingue, Barbados, the United States, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago, among others.
Elements of Igbo culture can still be found in these places. For example, in Jamaican Patois, the Igbo word una, meaning "you" plural, is still used. "Red Ibo" (or "red eboe" describes a black person with fair or "yellowish" skin. This term had originated from the reported prevalence of these skin tones among the Igbo but eastern Nigerian influences may not be strictly Igbo. The word Bim, a colloquial term for Barbados, was commonly used among enslaved Barbadians(Bajans). This word is said to have derived frombémin the Igbo language meaning 'my place or people', but may have other origins . A section of Belize City was named Eboe Town after its Igbo inhabitants. In the United States, the Igbo were imported most commonly to the Chesapeake Bay colonies and states of Marylandand Virginia, where they constituted the largest group of Africans. Since the late 20th century, a wave of Nigerian immigrants, mostly English and Igbo-speaking, have settled in Maryland, attracted to its strong professional job market.

The 19th-century British colonization effort in present-day Nigeria and increased encounters between the Igbo and other ethnicities near the Niger Riverled to a deepening sense of a distinct Igbo ethnic identity. The Igbo proved decisive and enthusiastic in their embrace of Christianityand Western education. Due to the incompatibility of the Igbo decentralized style of government and the centralized system including the appointment of warrant chiefs required for British indirect rule, British colonial rulewas marked with open conflicts and much tension.
Under British colonial rule, the diversity within each of Nigeria's major ethnic groups slowly decreased and distinctions between the Igbo and other large ethnic groups, such as the Hausaand the Yoruba, became sharper.
Colonial rule transformed Igbo society, as portrayed in Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart. British rule brought about changes in culture, such as the introduction of Warrant Chiefs as Eze(indigenous rulers) where there were no such monarchies. Christian missionaries introduced aspects of European ideology into Igbo society and culture, sometimes shunning parts of the culture. The rumours that the Igbo women were being assessed for taxation sparked off the 1929 Igbo Women's Warin Aba(also known as the 1929 Aba Riots), a massive revolt of women never encountered before in Igbo history.
Aspects of Igbo culture such as construction of houses, education and religion changed following colonialism. The tradition of building houses out of mud wallsand thatched roofs ended as the people shifted to materials such as cement blocks for houses and zincroofs. Roads for vehicles were built. Buildings such as hospitals and schools were erected in many parts of Igboland. Along with these changes, electricity and running waterwere installed in the early 20th century. With electricity, new technology such as radios and televisions were adopted, and have become common place in most Igbo households.

A series of ethnic clashes between Northern Muslimsand the Igbo, and other ethnic groups of Eastern Nigeria Region living in Northern Nigeria took place between 1966 and 1967. Elements in the army had assassinated the Nigerian military head of state General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi(29 July 1966) [94] and peace negotiations failed between the military government that deposed Ironsi and the regional government of Eastern Nigeriaat the AburiTalks in Ghanain 1967. These events led to a regional council of the peoples of Eastern Nigeria deciding that the region should secede and proclaim the Republic of Biafraon May 30, 1967. Late General Emeka Odumegwu- Ojukwumade this declaration and became the Head of state of the new republic. The resultant war, which became known as the Nigerian Civil Waror the Nigerian-Biafran War, lasted from July 6, 1967 until January 15, 1970, after which the federal government re-absorbed Biafra into Nigeria. Several million Eastern Nigerians died from the pogromsagainst them, such as the 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom where between 10,000 and 30,000 Igbo people were killed. In their struggle, the people of Biafra earned the respect of figures such as Jean-Paul Sartreand John Lennon, who returned his British honor, MBE, partly in protest against British collusion in the Nigeria-Biafra war. In July 2007 the former President of Biafra, Late General Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, renewed calls for the secession of the Biafran state as a sovereign entity.

The Nigerian–Biafran War left Igboland devastated. Fighting had completely destroyed many hospitals, schools, and homes. In addition to the loss of their savings, many Igbo people faced discrimination from other ethnic groups and from the new non-Igbo federal government. Some Igbo subgroups, such as the Ikwerre, started dissociating themselves from the larger Igbo population after the war. In the post-war era, people of eastern Nigeria changed the names of both people and places to non-Igbo-sounding words. For instance, the town of Igbuzowas anglicized toIbusa. Due to discrimination, many Igbo had trouble finding employment, and during the early 1970s, the Igbo became one of the poorest ethnic groups in Nigeria.
Igboland was gradually rebuilt by its citizens and over a period of twenty years and the economy prospered again due to the rise of the petroleum industry in the adjacent Niger Deltaregion. This led to the establishment of new factories in southern Nigeria. Many Igbo people eventually took government positions, although many were engaged in private business. [Since the early 21st century, there has been a wave of Nigerian Igbo immigration to other African countries, Europe, and the Americas.

BabaRamota1980:
What a trash!

Igala were the original owners of that land. Your ancestors moved in from Central Africa and settled the land.

The components of Igala admixed into your language places Igbo in Niger-Congo, not Volta. Otherwise, you wouldnt even be in the proto Niger classification at all.

Thank Igalas for giving you identity in this country. Even your redcap chiefs took the color from Igala culture.

Do i need to paste your history and roots in Congo on this page?

BabaRamota1980:
What a trash!

Igala were the original owners of that land. Your ancestors moved in from Central Africa and settled the land.

The components of Igala admixed into your language places Igbo in Niger-Congo, not Volta. Otherwise, you wouldnt even be in the proto Niger classification at all.

Thank Igalas for giving you identity in this country. Even your redcap chiefs took the color from Igala culture.

Do i need to paste your history and roots in Congo on this page?