Forms Of Traditional Art In The Igbo Culture

Almost every civilization or culture all at least has their own forms of traditional art, doesn’t matter if the art was influenced, taken, or created. Art includes almost everything to anything, from physical things to things you can only hear or even feel, for example: painting, music, sculptures, dance, architecture, literature, movies, plays, and much more. Art is also very important because it contains meaning and expression behind it. This all includes the Igbo culture, a civilization found in Nigeria, Africa. The Igbo culture reflects many types of traditional arts such as dances for various occasions, masks and maiden masks, various musical instruments, and architecture.
Igbo Dance

In the Igbo culture, as well as many other African cultures, consider dance as a very important aspect to what they consider traditional art. African dance, as Chinedu describes, “The rhythmic movement of the human body which takes place in space and time is one of the oldest arts” (1). Therefore dancing is one of the earliest forms of art which helped express meaning and communication. African Igbo dance is also very important because it is not just one type of art but it’s made up of many kinds of other art mediums such as costumes, language, music and instruments, and plays (Chinedu 12). Dancing is included in many ceremonies or rituals such as funerals, births, puberty rites, festivals, wars, marriages, and other celebrations that the Igbos have.
The Igbo gave names to many different things, which include different types of dance styles or groups. There were many chiefs, kings and important people throughout the Igbo culture, so they would have special dance groups just for them that were called “Igba Ndi Eze” (Chinedu 37). The Igbo dance styles are also very different compared to almost all the types of dances there is in the states. Chinedu describes that there is “a kind of wriggingling dance” called “Ogba Na Ngugu” (42). Also, a dance called “Atilogwu and Mgbaga” which is “characterized by its sharp pulsating rhythm” (43).
In funerals, the types or levels of dances depend on who has died, for example if a person of a high ranking has passed away, they will receive a noteworthy performance. This special dance is called “Nkwa jke” and as Chinedu suggests, this form of dance “is staged at the house of the deceased person, it is expected that only those who had done great things in the community and those whose relations were dead will dance to its cryptic tones” (38). This means that not all dances of the Igbo culture were viewable or danceable to everyone. In child birth ceremonies, it’s common that its dances are performed by women. Birth is a very important thing in general, because it what makes humans still exists. The way the Igbo women would move, like the dance leader is by lifting and pushing their limbs to the music while chanting in their language (Chinedu 34).
Another ceremony, dance is included in, is puberty rite, an event where boys and mostly girls change emotionally and physically from child to a young adult. Chinedu claims that “this is one of the traditions of the “Ndi Igbo” which the people respect a lot. During this big Igbo celebration, maiden dances feature very effectively and are displayed at the village squares” (35). Lastly dances are also included in fun and in not so fun events, such as festivals, one called the new yam festival, marriages, and even wars events where Igbo people would dance very seriously and uncelebratory.
Igbo Masks In the Igbo culture, another form of traditional art is masks, Igbo masks is a very important part in the Igbo peoples’ lives.

Just like dance, they are used in many occasions, like festivals, there are also hundreds to thousands types of Igbo masks. Their masks, as specified in zyama “incarnate unspecified spirits of the dead, forming a vast community of souls” (Tribal African 3). This means that the Igbo people believe in things like spirits and the afterlife, so they worshipped them by making masks. A majority of the Igbo masks have the color white on them to represent the look of a spirit, also the Igbo people would perform with costumes that completely covered their bodies (tribal African 3). Igbo people really wanted to look like and represent their worshipped spirits in a complete disguise, because they were very important to them. Also, just like dances they were shown at festivals, rituals, burials, and social

satires.
A very important type of mask that the Igbo use quite often is the maiden masks. Maiden mask are always worn and performed by men, but the mask represents qualities of young and youthful feminism and beauty (Igbo mask 1). Therefore only the Igbo men dress up as females to represent female spirits, the costumes are even detailed with added breast. For the colors mostly used over white in maiden masks, are yellow, orange, black, and red (Igbo masks 3). Maiden spirits are very important so they would of course be included in performances for highly respected people. For example, as randafricanart suggest “…maiden spirits are invoked alongside other spirits as appropriate escorts of the highly respected dead into the spirit world” (4). In the Igbo culture maiden masks are also made out to be very graceful and light hearted just like the women are idolized in their culture, so they wouldn’t be commonly used for looking down or for hatred.

Igbo Music and instruments
Traditional musical Igbo instruments are probably one of the most important aspects to the Igbo art and culture. Without it, it wouldn’t even make dances and performances, other forms of art, possible. There’s upon tons and tons of musical Igbo instruments, from perfect to imperfect, and from commonly used to rarely used. There are five different classifications for their instruments which are Iyo, Iku, Iti, Ikpo, and Ifu, but their roles are placed into 3 categories: the rhythmic, the melodic, and the rhythmo-medolic (lo-bamijoko 9). Under Iyo, rattles, shakers and clappers are used to make rattling, clacking, buzzing music.