In all, the igbo political system, comprises of established ranks and positions of honour. The village administration was made up of kindreds who had patrilineal relationship called umunna. The focus would be to debunk the claims that tyrants ruler ship or dictatorial systems were in operative among the people of nigeria before the coming of the europeans. Pdf colonial and postindependence agricultural policies. Colonial and postindependence agricultural policies in eastern nigeria, 1946 1980 article pdf available november 2008 with 5,622 reads how we measure reads. Ebbe 2012, social control in precolonial igboland in nigeria, in african journal of criminology and justice studies, vol. From elizabeth isichei, igbo worlds an anthology of oral histories and historical descriptions philadelphia.
Hausafulani precolonial political system can be credited to the holy jihad fought by uthman danfodio in 1804. Learn about the yoruba precolonial administration and the hausa precolonial political system. The site is based on a traveling exhibition and bills itself as an online journey into the ancient spectacle of athletes and gods. Criminal justice in the precolonial, colonial and post. This term is suitable for describing the igbo precolonial political system because it was decentralized and based on village and direct democracy where everyone in the. Whereas the hausafulani and the yoruba, for example, operated a centralized system of. In nwando achebes recount of ahebi ugbabes life, she looks into the practice of marrying women to goddesses as a sort of human sacrifice and slavery system. Different method of cultivation were practiced, varying from shifting cultivation, mixcropping and bush fallowing18. Precolonial political systems in nigeria hausafulani political system the fulani took over the political leadership of the habe hausa states in the early 19th century. The precolonial political administration in yoruba land had a decentralized structure i. The author argues that fanons model of colonial oppression and its categories of maintenance needs are predictive of the evolution from precolonial to postcolonial society in africa. Institute for the study of human issues, 1978, 7175.
They can be found in the northern part of nigeria covering areas like kaduna, sokoto, kano, zaria, etc. British influence in the region began with the prohibition of slave trade to british subjects in 1807. Ever before the commencement of colonialism, the people of what later became known as nigeria were living under different administration or political arrangements. The colonial interlude and the igbo judicial systems. Igbo, people living chiefly in southeastern nigeria who speak igbo, a language of the benuecongo branch of the nigercongo language family. Womanwoman marriage in precolonial igboland revised. The mesoamerican ballgame the sport of life and death was voted best overall site for 2002 by museums and the web and has won a slew of other web awards. In conclusion, the precolonial political system in igboland can be said to be similar to the modern republican system of government in which the people are governed by their consent. Consequently, achebe blames the white missionaries colonial rule andor invasion for the postcolonial oppressed igbo culture. The highest political authority was the village government where the elders could only make political decisions with popular consent. Many nigerian peoples did not develop centralized monarchical states. Kisangani kansas state university, manhattan, kansas, usa keywords.
The people have evolved a complex, stable social, political and religious organization, which was in balance with their character and morals. Note that a number of the igbo words in this selection should contain diacritical marks which are not reproducible in the word. One of the major political institutions that controlled the affairs of villages was the council of elders which comprised heads of families that held staff of authority called ofo title holders these elders headed their respective extended families and the most senior member of the council of. A discourse on nigerian precolonial history simon odion ehiabhi ph. The colonial and pre colonial eras in nigeria this project is based on the goal of explaining an event in the relatively recent past by working progressively further into the past to uncover more and more information that seems to bear on the issues. This claim is demonstrated through an analysis of changes in the law during these eras. The earliest known recorded history arose in ancient egypt, and later in nubia, the sahel, the. The main political institutions among the igbos were the ohana eze the town assembly, the king or rulers, the council of elders or chiefs and the age grade.
The history of africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans andat least 200,000 years agoanatomically modern humans homo sapiens, in east africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation states. The igbo precolonial political system was described by many scholars as an acephalous political system which can be translated as a leaderless or chiefless political system. Since age and sex influenced ones position and role in igbo society, the igbo family was and still is patrilineal a family relationship which is reckoned through the father or through the male alone. Simply put, he was the errand boy of the colonial administration and the people were essentially guinea pigs 9 used by the british colonial government to try out its fanciful ideas of local governance in a society like igboland that did not have centralized authorities as was the case in the emirate system of northern nigeria.
Fishermen casting their nets the precolonial ikot abasi people also engaged in a wide range of economic activities, notably, agriculture, fishing, hunting, craftindustry and trade see physical features and natural resources. Contents definition of colonialismeffectsimpact of colonialism on nigeria definition of colonialism colonialism means a system which the europeans adopted in ruling the colonies of africa to their own benefits. There were no chiefs compared to yoruba and hausafulani pre colonial administration. Of these, the igbo were probably the most remarkable because of the size of their territory and the density of population. Hausafulani precolonial political system in nigeria. Womanwoman marriage in precolonial igboland revised october 28, 2015 december 4, 2015 cosmicyoruba 2 comments 5666 views this an edited version of a blogpost i wrote in january 20 after reading nwando achebes the female colonial king of nigeria. Precolonial political systems in nigeria hausafulani. The igbo pre colonial political system was described by many scholars as an acephalous political system which can be translated as a leaderless or chiefless political system. Igbo precolonial political administration precolonial. Africa, christianity, civilizations, colonialism, imperialism, independence, islam, sahara, transatlantic slave trade. Pre colonial political systems in nigeria hausafulani political system the fulani took over the political leadership of the habe hausa states in the early 19th century. In other words, different types of state systems and societies existed.
Igbo precolonial political system or administration. The system of government adopted is monarchical in nature popularly regarded as a highly centralized method of administration. Afro asian journal of social sciences volume 1, no. The colonial and precolonial eras in nigeria this project is based on the goal of explaining an event in the relatively recent past by working progressively further into the past to uncover more and more information that seems to bear on the issues. From the precolonial to the modern day toyin falola and tyler fleming department of history, university of texas at austin, usa. The jihad that followed this occupation was seen as a religious one as well as political. Britains african colonies with the colonial development and welfare act and. The research reveals in detail the sociopolitical and economic development that has taken place in agbogugu. Overview this portion of the webpage draws upon the research of multiple scholars of nigerian history in order to present a general overview of this regions precolonial settings. Nigeria before colonialism precolonial administration in.
A major distinguishing factor in the precolonial political organization between the igbo people of nigeria and their other ethnic neighbours was the republican nature of their administration. Colonial nigeria was the era in the history of nigeria when the region of west africa was ruled by great britain in from the midnineteenth century until 1960, when nigeria achieved independence. Agriculture was particularly important in the area because of available fertile and excellent land for the cultivation of palm trees and food crops. Usman dan fodio led the fulani jihad and took over the political leadership of. With the abolition of the international slave trade in 1805, some igbo people created new deities and mystical forces that were to help them fight the internal slavery that continued on after the. However, theprecolonial nigeria symbolises the methods or ways by which nigerians govern themselves before the advent of colonialism. As pointed out earlier, the igbo political by extension, the judicial authority was largely a fragmented one. One of the major political institutions that controlled the affairs of villages was the council of elders which comprised heads of families that held staff of authority called ofo title holders these elders headed their respective extended families and the most senior member. The impact of colonialism in nigeria could be discussed under political, economic, social, educational and religious.
O historical consciousness among traditional african. The evolution and relevance of autonomous communities in. Of course, a general overview obscures many details of historical complexity, and thus the purpose of this presentation is to offer entrance to precolonial nigerian history and. Hausafulani precolonial system of administration 2. An overview precolonial nigeria the first point to note is that the precolonial epoch was not a static era during which all social and political systems existed in a finished and final form. There were no chiefs compared to yoruba and hausafulani precolonial administration. Igboland to reach a conclusion that the early ancestors of the igbo were jews. It explores precolonial, colonial and postcolonial chieftaincy practices in igboland. The igbo may be grouped into the following main cultural divisions. If you have questions or contributions, kindly use the comment box.
Bobo averred that technology is spread by man and that man lives by technology. In igboland for instance, there was an acephalous society, which is a society without central leadership. Pre colonial political administration in igboland every village in igboland had a council of elders that carried legislative, executive and judicial powers. A major distinguishing factor in the pre colonial political organization between the igbo people of nigeria and their other ethnic neighbours was the republican nature of their administration.
The study traces its history through pre colonial, colonial and post colonial times. This act brought into british colonial administration in africa a new era of statesponsored social welfare initiatives. Nigeria igboland and the delta citystates britannica. Learn about the yoruba pre colonial administration and the hausa pre colonial political system. Precolonial political and socioeconomic history of the. Precolonial political administration in yoruba land. Thus there are ezesigwesobis as well as other honorary. However, thepre colonial nigeria symbolises the methods or ways by which nigerians govern themselves before the advent of colonialism. Leadership was distributed among members of the community, who sat in council to exercise executive, legislative and judicial powers. Britain annexed lagos in 1861 and established the oil river protectorate in 1884. Economic and social organization of rindre in precolonial time agriculture was the dominant economic activity of the rindre during the precolonial period. From the ashes of pharaohs to the berlin conference 1.
1158 1338 26 1153 248 1229 1555 935 807 1465 849 499 7 1159 104 951 176 518 1004 247 1473 43 1 1020 1118 312 1092 23 708 597 1461 1411 259 1158 1221 748 1032 400 111 432 1069