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  • Exciting Online Resources for Learning about Igbo Culture

    Exciting Online Resources for Learning about Igbo Culture

    If you’re eager to learn more about Igbo culture, many online resources are available to you! Whether you’re interested in the language, history, art, music, or cuisine of the Igbo people, there are plenty of exciting avenues to explore. Here are just a few resources that we recommend: Ukpuru – This is a Tumblr blog…

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  • What is Uli/Uri Art?

    What is Uli/Uri Art?

    Uri (uli) motifs drawn by Igbo women from Arochukwu with the juice of the uri tree on paper (usually drawn on the body). 1932. Pitt Rivers Museum. Uli or Uri, a traditional lgbo art form, is a dyeing technique used to adorn the body, murals, and motifs with intricate patterns. This unique art form has…

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  • How This Tattoo Artist is Reviving Nsibidi and Uli

    How This Tattoo Artist is Reviving Nsibidi and Uli

    Reviving West African Art and Culture Through the Art of Tattooing Meet Emmanuel Uchenna Item, a 28-year-old Austrian-Nigerian tattoo artist who is using his artistic talent to help individuals reconnect with their cultural roots by incorperating traditional West African art and writing systems such as Uli into his designs. Nsibidi is one of the many…

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  • West Indian Terms of Igbo origin

    West Indian Terms of Igbo origin

    Some common words still used in Caribbean English[es] that come directly from the Igbo language or are influenced by it. Unu/Wunna ‘You [plural]’, the same in Igbo, únù, wunna may be used, in Nigerian pidgin English una is used. Soso ‘Only’, ‘single’, in Igbo orthography it’s sọsọ [saw-saw] meaning the same. [Not to be confused with English so-so, meaning average or mediocre]…

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  • The Origins of Isi Agụ: Lion or Leopard?

    The Origins of Isi Agụ: Lion or Leopard?

    Lion or Leopard? If “agụ” is leopard, and “ọdụm” is lion, then why is it not Isi ọdụm? In Igbo culture, the phrase isi agụ is translates to “head of a leopard”, an animal revered in Igbo folklore. However, the isi agụ fabric itself features the motif of a lion’s head (ọdụm), which may seem…

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