SLO# 3 Modern-Day Slavery in Igboland, Nigeria (Discovery)

Britain’s 1807 abolition of the Atlantic slave trade did not end the institution of slavery in Igboland, Nigeria. The people’s culture permitted them to have slaves, so slavery continued for generations in a caste system with Amadi people viewed as superior to Ohu and Osu people. The Osu caste system “is an ancient social belief, which ascribes an inferior status to a group of people…causing them limited social interaction with the rest of the community…” (944). The exclusion of Ohu and Osu created a divide in the region politically, socially and culturally which fueled into a system of injustice and inequality.

Igboland, in present-day Nigeria

Amadi are descendants of former masters, and they are viewed as freeborn with ancestral land rights, political rights and social dominance. Ohu are descendants of ex-slave, and they are viewed as property of freeborn with limited to no rights and many restrictions. Osu are willing slaves still inferior to Amandi, but they are not scrutinized as Ohu since they sacrifice themselves for the gods. In the beginning, Ohu people had restrictions and limited rights politically, socially and culturally such as marriage partners, religious expression and community positions such as Onyishi - eldest man of a village. Marriage between Amadi and Ohu people was frowned upon yet on occasion individuals intermarried. Since the Igboland culture was patrilineal, Amadi men and Ohu women conceived Amandi children whereas Ohu men and Amadi women conceived Ohu children, so the latter was viewed as achieving the impossible. Ohu people were not allowed to participate in some prestigious dances and masquerades. They could perform the more dangerous religious rites or practices, not worthy of a freeborn, and their religious labor was appropriate since slaves could not convert this spiritual role into secular power. Even under their gerontocratic cultural system, the oldest male Ohu descendent could not attain the important position of Onyishi since they could not represent themselves or represent Amadi, in addition, their views were not sought unless Amadi deemed it necessary.

As new forms of legislation was enacted, Ohu people sought equality through protests and riots. When a British captain appointed Ohu chiefs to the Native Court, Amadi protested by stating “that at no point in time in the history of their people had a slave presided over the affairs of the Amadi” (946). One solution to the uprising to appease both sides was to appoint three Amadi chiefs to one Ohu chief on the Native Court, but turmoil ensued with Amadi chasing the Ohu people out of their settlements further creating a divide. In 1924 and 1927, riots between Amadi and Ohu broke out. As a way to settle the dispute, Ohu were placed on settlements. With the emigration of Ohu people looking for independence and freedom from the social system, new settlements were established. Amadi encouraged the separation because they felt living on the same land with Ohu could tarnish their lineage, and the Ohu were no longer useful.

Beginning in the 1990’s, with on-going warfare, both parties established official associations. Ohu fought for equal opportunities whereas Amadi fought for continued dominance. The 1991 elections for councillorship in Lejja marked a change in the long history of the caste divisions between Amadi and Ohu. The election of an Ohu descendant over an Amadi altered class status norms. The example lead some parts of Igboland to judge people based on wisdom and worth rather than ancestral lineage. This was a gain toward bridging the gap for political and social inequality.

The struggle of Ohu continued through the 20^th century, although Ohu communities were liberated through self-governance. They still had to live with the stigma of the class divisions as it rose in the psyche of the Igboland people. In 2001, the News Agency of Nigeria reported, “…the despicable caste system is still common in many parts of Igboland, where…Ohu…are subject to indescribable social discriminations by other human being who feel that even beasts are better than those affected.” (954).

After all the legislative gains toward abolition of slavery in Igboland, the old ideas still persist. It remains a historical reality because people known by their lineal ancestry carry the past into the present, so legislation can’t change the conscience of the people who identify with their history. Although Igboland has come a long way from the 1807 abolition of the Atlantic slave trade, the Igboland communities suffer from the effects of modern-day slavery. Nearly 200 years later, the fight for political, cultural and social inclusion for the Ohu people continues.[1]

 

 

 

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[1] Apeh, Apex A., and Chukwuma C. Opata. 2009. “Social Exclusion: An Aftermath of the Abolition of Slave Trade in Northern Igboland, Nigeria”. The William and Mary Quarterly 66 (4). Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture: 939–58. http://www.jstor.org.butte.idm.oclc.org/stable/40467548.