₦airaland Forum

And you have to be specific when you say "Yoruba" because, like the term "Igbo", the term "Yoruba" is used to collectively refer to a large number of peoples. Does what you're saying also apply to the Yoruba women in the Islamic parts of Yorubaland?

shymexx: Did you watch the video? I'm talking about a culture where women empowerment is part and parcel of their way-of-life. A culture where women have always been viewed as equals to men, in all aspects of their society. Yoruba women are naturally womanists - they're the keepers of the family and also part bread-winners of the family. You can go back in time, to the time of yore, to check for facts about what roles women played within the different Yoruba kingdoms. From women being part of the decision makers, to women being part of the governing council(s), to female priests, to female artisans etc..

You're asking me if I watched the video; did you read the first post? Like I said earlier, among the Igbo cultures, women were naturally viewed as equals to men for each gender had its own duties and responsibilities. Women served as priestesses (to male deities), took titles, traded goods, and actively participated in the political affairs of communities. In fact, in communities like Ohafia, lineages were actually traced maternally.

shymexx: Igbo women are late comers in that regard and the empowerment of Igbo women started in the 20th century. Heck, you can also check the history of Nigeria to confirm which group has produced most of the most powerful women in Nigeria.

How were Igbo women latecomers and which empowerment started in the 1920s?

shymexx: Laughable.

When Igbo's can produce the likes of: Madam Tinubu, Moremi, Oya, and Mrs Ransome Kuti etc. then this debate would be worth it.

Also, do Igbo's worship feminine gods? Have you got yemaya, osun etc. equivalent? Ever had a Queen Amina equivalent?

Odumchi, you're a mod - stop promoting stupidity and why the heck is this thread where it's, anyway? You lot are just too loud for no reason.

The pantheon of Igbo deities is occupied by deities of both masculine and feminine gender. But what does that have to do with the social empowerment of women?

The purpose of this thread is to discuss and compare how women are empowered indigenously in the various societies of Africa. How do the the Yoruba cultures accommodate women? What are the gender roles? Are women second to men or do they occupy a separate niche in society?

ChinenyeN: As far as I know, both species are native/present in the southern regions, but remember being told that in the northern region only has the nkwu species. Most of Igboland uses ete to climb nkwu. I've not heard of ubube, but I know in Ngwa we use something called uga to climb palm trees.

Oh, ok. Thank you. My grandmother explained to me that the nkwu species was introduced into Arochukwu and it's environs by one man from Enugu, and that originally we only had ngwo.

Also, what exactly determines if a name is feminine or masculine? I'm guessing there's a syllable rule and that names with more syllables are masculine while those with fewer syllables are feminine.

Oh okay. Thank you.

I just found out that nkwu and ngwo are two different species of palm tree. I was told that nkwu are native to northern Igboland, while ngwo are native to the south. Also, nkwu are climbed with ete (thick circular ropes) while ngwo are climbed with ubube (ladders).

Anybody else know about this?

Don't you guys ever get tired of arguing the same thing over-and-over again?

bokohalal: Some people are too funny. We all seem to think the most of our heritage. We should dissipate less energy on making categorical statement that will only cause tribal e-feuds. It could have been better if it was in a form of a question. Your assertion makes it seem you will not listen to any other view.
Anyway, to answer your question that is in bold: many other societies had powerful Queen Mothers (Benin,for instance). One even led the war against Idah. They have their own Palace and give out titles!
The ordinary Edo woman? She is the envy of every other. Think Europe and you will understand.

How is raising a debate on whether or not Igbo women traditionally possess the most power amongst other women of Nigeria prone to instigating tribal feuds? Does it mean that an intellectual topic can't be raised without fear or disagreement? Anyway, I'm interested in learning about the roles and liberties of the average Edo woman. Could you provide more information?

As for those pursuing me over my comparison of "dee" and "deede" to "mazi", you'd have to look at it from my perspective. In Arochukwu we have both "deede" and "mazi". I considered both of these terms equivalent in usage because we use both terms as honorifics. However, I am we'll aware that "deede" is used when addressing people who are in higher age-grades.

1bunne4lif: absolutely right. I'm from Arondizuogu so you'r justified.

Nwa Okigbo ibe m. Kedu?

oturugo: What does Anambra, Dellta Igbo and Enugu use in place of Mazi?.
You as an Anambra man, what do you call your uncle?.

In Ika, they have "dein" which is the equivalent "dee" and "deede".

some-girl:
Nze n' Ozor are universal titles.

I'm "southern" Igbo and have had many Nzes in my family.

To the best of my knowledge, the Ozo title is from somewhere in what is now Anambra. It spread to parts of Delta (Aniocha/Oshimilli), Enugu, and Imo (Nkwere, Orlu, Okigwe, and Owere and its environs). You can't find the Ozo title-taking tradition in Rivers, parts of Imo, Abia, or Ebonyi.

The "Ogbuefi" title on the other hand, originated from Awka (according to a documentary I watched). According to the documentary, every year there would be a festival in which males aged 80 and over would kill a cow(s) in order to demonstrate their wealth, and then be be granted the title "Ogbueshi". This same practice might have also spread along with Nze na Ozo. It's only in Igbo echichi (title-taking communities) that this title can be found. The rest of Imo, Abia, Rivers, and Ebonyi (Igbo abamaba; communities that have secret societies instead of titles) don't have this.

Besides, unlike Northern Igboland, Southern Igboland is too thickly forested to support extensive cow pastures. Therefore, such a tradition couldn't have developed or thrived.

Mazi_Omenuko: Actually, Nairaland is the first place I'm hearing the souther/northern igbo stuff. Is there any distinct boundary? Imo state is so big that the people from orlu/mgbidi are closer to the Anambrarians uli/ihiala; where's those from Okigwe and Obowo/ihitte-uboma are very close to Abians Umuahia.

I guess the North-South thing is more of a geographical thing.

All of Abia doesn't fall under Southern Igbo. Southern Igbo is basically (this is disputable) everything south of Okigwe in Imo to Ikwere in Rivers. In Abia, Southern Igbo is from Umuahia southwards; from Bende to Arochukwu and then to Afikpo and Ohoazara (in Ebonyi) is considered Cross River Igbo. Northern Igbo is from Arondizuogu all the way to the edge of Igboland around Nsuka. Northeastern Igbo is part of Ebonyi and Enugu; Western Igbo is Anioma.

Ishsoph: God! Dont even know half my state like thought i had. Where's Ututu located in Abia mbok

Ututu is a community in Arochukwu Local Government Area. When heading to Arochukwu from Umuahia, you will pass Bende, Uzuaokoli, Abam, Ohafia, and then Ututu before finally arriving at Arochukwu.

Unlike what the Western world may think, in the various Igbo societies that sit on both sides of the lower Niger, women occupy a central niche and are awarded their fair share of power and influence within the village structure.

Through various traditional social organizations that exist in the societies of the people otherwise known as the Igbo, the balance of power between men and women has been regulated and kept in harmony for centuries prior to the advent of Westerners. Unlike what is commonly believed, the intrusion of the Europeans into Igbo societies diminished the role of women more than anything else. In belieiving that the people they encountered treated women as second to men, just like they did, early European anthropologic writers described the Igbo socieites as male-run. This initial misconception ultimately resulted in the formation of a colonial political structure that failed to fully accomodate women. At the same time, the arrival of Westerners did result in some positive changes in the lives of Igbo women. In the Cross River region of Igboland, European missionaries abolished the practice of nkpe, the three year period of mourning after the death of a husband which involved shaving the head of the widow and washing hands with ashes. However, that is a story for another day. In this discussion, we will keep our focus on the political and social rights which Igbo women have traditionally enjoyed in their societies.

Unlike contemporary society, traditional Igbo society placed no limitations on the spheres in which women could excercise their influence, therefore women played active roles in the markets, in homes, and also in the inter-village relations of groups. As a result, Igbo women developed various means through which they could excercise their authority when needed, ranging from clan meetings and business ties to riots and strikes. Of these social platforms, the most powerful was the umuada (all of the female members of a particular clan or village). The umuada served as a means for the women of a particular village (even those married to foreigners) to congregate and discuss issues concering them and their general welfare. They umuada would assemble for the marriage and burial ceremonies of relations and served as a counter-balance to the male umunna organization. In various areas, the umuada institution existed as the umuokpu or the inyom.

In the economic sphere, women possessed the right to harvest cocoyam, the second most important crop in Igboland. They were also fundamental in the processing of lucrative cash crops such as palm kernels (which produced palm oil). Men would scale the towering palm trees and hack down bunches of palm kernels which their wives would process, so as to extract the palm oil which would then be sold. As a result, the cooperation of women in this process was necessary and ultimately determined a man's ability to harvest and trade palm oil.

In the domestic sphere, women tended to the children in addition to the domestic animals. It was a woman's duty to not only raise her children, but to familiarize them with the norms and practices of her husband's people. In doing this, a woman (if married from outside) would also inject her own cultural background into the larger sea of that of her husband and his people. As a result of this, raising a child to the standards of society lay flatly within the control of females. In addition to this, women tended to and took account of whatever domestic animals that might've been in the family's possession, ultimately managing the household.

Although women had limited freedom as to whom they were married off to, they served as important links between individuals and had the power to anull marriages simply by choosing to desert the homes of their husbands. In the societies of the Igbo, marriage was the easiest way to seal treaties, form relationships, and secure business alliances. When a merchant or a farmer sought to ally himself (or make himself immune from violence) with a particular people, he would marry one of their native daughters, thus becoming apart of their extended family. If the marriage failed (meaning if the wife had decided to run back to her people, for whatever reason) it would signal the death of the man's
relationship with her people. For this reason, women became key instruments in the formation of commercial, political, and military alliances.

In the political sphere, women were also capable of influencing the turn of events within the village. When faced with a stubborn male populace, women would often congregate and threaten to either stop cooking or engaging in sexual relations with their husbands until a decision in their favor had been taken. If things proved difficult, the women would congregate and "sit on" a particular man or woman whose actions went against their collective wishes. "Sitting on" a man meant surrounding his house with a mob of women armed with either palm fronds or pistils, who would sing mocking songs and disturb him until he succumbed to their wishes. On more serious occassions, women would threaten to flee their marital homes en mass, leaving everything except for young infants behind.

In certain societies, women were allowed to take titles or even enter secret societies, just like men. In the Cross River region of Igboland, women were allowed to join the Ekpe fraternity through a separate female cult known as Iyamba Ekpe. Women who were members of Iyamba Ekpe enjoyed similar political rights as the Ekpe males and were allowed to be present during meetings. In addition to this, they were safe from the dangerous Okonko masquerade and were allowed to weave the ukara cloth the males wore. Membership into the Iyamba cult allowed women to also take part in managaing the welfare of the community. In other areas of Igboland, women were allowed to take titles such as Lolo and Eze Agwo Nshi which allowed them to enjoy priviledges similar to Ozo and Nze title-takers and also recieve the ichi scars which distinguished them as significant members of society.

In conclusion, it's now quite evident that Igbo women have enjoyed a wide degree of liberty and have the capability to flex their political and social muscles when needed. The question is: are there any other groups of women in Nigerian that can boast of the same or even more? Let's open it up for debate.

I have a feeling that Central Igbo would be something along the lines of "ikwa iko na ikike". Anyway, in Aro we say "ikpe nwaanyi".

Another equivalent of "mazi" that comes to mind would be "deede" or "dee".

Thank you all for your replies. I was confused because, although I was told that "mazi" was exclusively Aro, I've come across several cases in which non-Aro (like Mazi_Omenuko) bear it, in addition to seeing it in Igbo literature.

Anyway, "mazi" is not a title of the same caliber as Nze or Ozo, because (like Chinenye mentioned) there isn't a ceremony accompanied with it and it doesn't signify achievement or accomplishment (we don't even take titles in Aro). In the same vein, it isn't limited to elders. In Aro society, "mazi" is simply a title that is used to politely identify any man whose father is no longer alive. If such a man's father were alive, he would be identified as "nwa mazi" while his father would bear "mazi". For women, the title "ada mazi" exists and is born by all women, irregardless of whether or not the father is alive.

Another thing that I've noticed is that the Aro are the only Igbo people that I know of that refer to their king as "mazi".

Iberibe bu oria.

How do you say 'to räpe' in Central Igbo?

Mazi_Omenuko: I know one Mazi in nairaland

Mazi, are you an Aro?

I was told that 'Ada Mazi', 'Nwa Mazi' and 'Nnye Mazi' are exclusively Aro titles, and I have yet to have any reason to doubt since all the people that I have met with those titles are of Aro descent. I'm interested in knowing if there are any other people(s) that bear such titles, along with that of Mazi.