Chinua Achebe and The Igbo Cause
Chinua Achebe was born on November 15, 1930, in Ogidi in Eastern Nigeria. His family belonged to the Igbo tribe, and he was the fifth of six children. Representatives of the British government that controlled Nigeria convinced his parents, Isaiah Okafor Achebe and Janet Ileogbunam, to abandon their traditional religion and follow Christianity. Achebe was brought up as a Christian, but he remained curious about the more traditional Nigerian faiths. He was educated at a government college in Umuahia, Nigeria, and graduated from the University College at Ibadan, Nigeria, in 1954
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Read more: Chinua Achebe Biography - life, family, children, parents, story, young, book, old, information, born, college, time, year http://www.notablebiographies.com/A-An/Achebe-Chinua.html#ixzz13ExogSMg
The Igbo Village is a Reality
The Igbo Village is a Reality
Posted: wnRenderDate('Sunday, September 6, 2009 6:15 PM EST', '', true); Sep 06, 2009 6:15 PM EDT Updated: wnRenderDate('Sunday, September 20, 2009 6:09 AM EST', '', true); Sep 20, 2009 6:09 AM EDT
if (PLATFORM.EventMan) PLATFORM.EventMan.triggerEvent('WNStoryRelatedBoxdone'); The Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton is working to fill a gap that curators say has been missing in Virginia’s cultural history. This weekend dozens of Igbo people are re-visiting their roots and using their bare hands to build the museum's West African village.
With bare hands and bare feet native Igbo people from across the country got down to the dirty work at Staunton’s Frontier Culture Museum, wetting down red clay and stomping it into just the right consistency.
John Avoli of the Frontier Culture Museum said, "It dries and reaches a consistency of very, very hard it’s almost like concrete and these huts go up."
Native Igbo Ony Inye said, "We’re building bricks with the mud, kneading the mud, and forming the foundation for the walls."
The huts that are already up are the foundation of what will be an authentic Igbo village at the museum. The muddy work-in-progress represents an 18th century homestead of the Igbo people from Nigeria. Most of Virginia’s slaves were brought here from that West African culture.
Avoli stated, “This is the only one of its kind in the world. Most museums have dealt with slavery, we're not dealing with slavery; we're dealing with origins of people as they lived in Nigeria 300 years ago."
Architect / consultant Stan Ogbonna said, "People are re-living their cultural experiences in Igbo land and more so for the Igbo who were born in America, raised here, and never experienced our cultural life in Igbo land."
When the authentic village is finished in the fall there will be four separate huts. It is the only place in the western world for people with Igbo roots to experience the way their tribe lives.
Inye said, “Without knowledge of our history and who we are, what do we have to leave our children? This is in fact, more important for them. Until they can go to Nigeria this is where they can experience an Igbo village."
The Igbo village at the Frontier Culture Museum is expected to be finished this fall. Visitors will be guided through the village by people dressed in Igbo clothing. The museum would like to bring natives from Nigeria to work in the village.
if (PLATFORM.EventMan) PLATFORM.EventMan.triggerEvent('WNStoryRelatedBoxdone'); The Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton is working to fill a gap that curators say has been missing in Virginia’s cultural history. This weekend dozens of Igbo people are re-visiting their roots and using their bare hands to build the museum's West African village.
With bare hands and bare feet native Igbo people from across the country got down to the dirty work at Staunton’s Frontier Culture Museum, wetting down red clay and stomping it into just the right consistency.
John Avoli of the Frontier Culture Museum said, "It dries and reaches a consistency of very, very hard it’s almost like concrete and these huts go up."
Native Igbo Ony Inye said, "We’re building bricks with the mud, kneading the mud, and forming the foundation for the walls."
The huts that are already up are the foundation of what will be an authentic Igbo village at the museum. The muddy work-in-progress represents an 18th century homestead of the Igbo people from Nigeria. Most of Virginia’s slaves were brought here from that West African culture.
Avoli stated, “This is the only one of its kind in the world. Most museums have dealt with slavery, we're not dealing with slavery; we're dealing with origins of people as they lived in Nigeria 300 years ago."
Architect / consultant Stan Ogbonna said, "People are re-living their cultural experiences in Igbo land and more so for the Igbo who were born in America, raised here, and never experienced our cultural life in Igbo land."
When the authentic village is finished in the fall there will be four separate huts. It is the only place in the western world for people with Igbo roots to experience the way their tribe lives.
Inye said, “Without knowledge of our history and who we are, what do we have to leave our children? This is in fact, more important for them. Until they can go to Nigeria this is where they can experience an Igbo village."
The Igbo village at the Frontier Culture Museum is expected to be finished this fall. Visitors will be guided through the village by people dressed in Igbo clothing. The museum would like to bring natives from Nigeria to work in the village.