Igbo Jamaican
Encyclopedia
Igbo people in Jamaica are citizens of the Caribbean
island-nation of Jamaica
that are a whole or a significant part descended from the Igbo people
of what is now Nigeria
. Most of the Igbo people arrived to Jamaica by force on slave ships and taken to plantations to work as slaves and have therefore been fully assimilated. The Igbo were documented by the British plantation owners along with other ethnicities brought to Jamaica to work as slaves. The Igbo constituted a large portion of the African population of the island in the era of the slave trade; through the banning of African traditions by European plantation owners, many on the island have lost their African identities with their ancestors adopting a creole identity. There is no official count of the amount of Jamaicans with Igbo ancestry after the abolishment of the slave trade, but there are accounts and slave documents that have listed populations of certain African ethnic groups, including the Igbo, on plantations.
The Igbo culture was an important part to forging a Jamaican culture. Igbo influence on the island can be seen till this day in language, dance, music, folklore, cuisine, religion and mannerisms. Aspect of Igbo culture are visible through such things as the Obeah
spirituality practised throughout the West Indies. Many words in Jamaican Patois are from the Igbo language
. In Jamaica the Igbo were referred to by the black population and plantation owners by different names such as Eboe, Ebo, Red Ibo and other words such as 'Guinea man' used to describe African born people. Many Igbo women were involved in slave revolts.
on the West African coast, Igbo people were taken in relatively high numbers to Jamaica as slaves. Ports from which the majority of these enslaved people were taken from included Bonny
and Calabar
, two port towns that are now in eastern Nigeria. These ports were dominated by slave ships arriving from Bristol
and Liverpool
who delivered these slaves to British colonies that included Jamaica. The bulk of Igbo slaves arrived relatively late after 1750. The 18th century in the Atlantic slave trade
saw the amount of enslaved Africans of Igbo descent rise by a large amount, the heaviest forced migrations between 1790 and 1807. Jamaica, after Virginia
, was the second most common destination for slaves arriving from the Bight of Biafra. Therefore Igbo slaves, as they formed the majority of the people on this bight, became common in the British colony of Jamaica.
Igbo were spread on plantations all around Jamaica, with a higher concentration on the island's western side, specifically the areas around Montego Bay
and Savanna-la-Mar
. Consequently the amount of Igbo influence was concentrated in the parishes
of Western Jamaica; the region also witnessed a number of revolts that were attributed to people of Igbo origin. Matthew Lewis, who spent time in Jamaica in the years of 1815 to 1817 studied the way his slaves organised themselves by ethnicity when he noted, for example, that at one time he 'went down to the negro-houses to hear the whole body of Eboes lodge a complaint against one of the book-keepers'. Olaudah Equiano
, a prominent member of the movement of the abolition for the slave trade, was an African born Igbo ex-slave that on his life's journey in the Americas as a slave and free man, documented in his 1789 journal
, was hired by a Dr. Charles Irving and recruited slaves for his 1776 Mosquito Shore scheme in Jamaica for which Equiano hired Igbo slaves which he called "My own countrymen". Equiano was especially useful to Irving for his knowledge of the Igbo language
, using Equiano as a tool to maintain social order amongst his Igbo slaves in Jamaica.
Most of the time Igbo slaves resorted to resistance rather than revolt and had maintained "unwritten rules of the plantation" of which plantation owners were forced to abide by. Igbo influence in Jamaica is apparent in the introduction of Obeah
folk magic of Igbo origin; there have been accounts of 'Eboe' slaves being 'obeahed' by each other. Other influences can be seen in the Jonkonnu festival and in Jamaican patois. In Maroon
music culture were songs derived from specific African ethnic groups, among these were songs called 'Ibo' which had a distinct style. In Jamaica, Igbo slaves were considered suicidal. Suicide was resorted to by Igbo slaves not only for rebellion, but in the belief that after their death they will return back to Africa. In a publication of a 1791 issue of Massachusetts Magazine
, an anti-slavery poem was published called Monimba which depicted a fictional pregnant Igbo slave that committed suicide on a slave ship destined for Jamaica. The poem illustrates the stereotype of Igbo slaves in the Americas. Igbo slaves were also distinguished by the 'yellowish' skin tones which was observed that a lot of them had which prompted the word 'red eboe' to be used to describe people with light skin tones and African features. Igbo people were hardly reported to have been maroons. Igbo women were paired with Coromantee (Akan
) men so as to subdue the latter due to the idea that Igbo women were bound to their first born sons' birth place.
Archibald Monteith, born Aneaso, was an Igbo slave taken to Jamaica after being tricked by an African slaver. Anaeso wrote a journal about his life from when he was kidnapped from Igboland
to when he became a Christian convert.
After the slavery era, Igbo people also arrived on the island as indentured servants between the years of 1840 and 1864 along with a majority Congo
and 'Nago' (Yoruba
) servants. Since the 19th century most of the citizens of Jamaica of African descent have been assimilated into the wider Jamaican society and have largely dropped ethnic associations from Africa.
, 57 'Nagoes and Pawpaws', and 30 'scattering'. 187 were 'unclassified' and 488 were 'American born negroes and mulattoes'.
Some popular slave rebellions involving Igbo people include:
in Jamaica called 'himba'. Igbo and Akan slaves affected drinking culture among the black population in Jamaica, using alcohol in ritual and libation. In Igboland as well as on the Gold Coast
, palm wine
was used on these occasions and had to be substituted by rum
in Jamaica because of the absence of palm wine. Jonkonnu, a parade that is held in many West Indian nations, has been attributed to the Njoku Ji
'yam-spirit cult', Okonko and Ekpe of the Igbo, and several masquerades of the Kalabari and Igbo have similar appearance to those of Jonkonnu maskers.
Much of Jamaican mannerisms and gestures themselves have a wider African origin and an Igbo origin. Some examples of such behaviours are evident in the influences of the Igbo language in patois with actions such as 'sucking-teeth' coming from the Igbo 'ima osu' or 'imu oso' and 'cutting-eye' from Igbo 'iro anya'. There was also a suggestion of the Igbo introducing communication through eye movements.
refers to folk magic and sorcery that was derived from West African sources. The W. E. B. Du Bois Institute
database supports obeah being traced to the dibia or obia traditions of the Igbo people. Specialists in Obia (also spelled Obea) were known as Ndi Obia and practiced the same activities as the obeah men and women of the Caribbean like predicting the future and manufacturing charms. In Jamaican mythology, 'River Mumma', a mermaid, is linked to Oya of the Yoruba and Uhamiri/Idemili of the Igbo.
Among Igbo beliefs in Jamaica was the idea of Africans being able to fly back home to Africa. There were reports by Europeans who visited and lived in Jamaica that Igbo slaves believed they would return to their country after death.
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
island-nation of Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
that are a whole or a significant part descended from the Igbo people
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...
of what is now Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. Most of the Igbo people arrived to Jamaica by force on slave ships and taken to plantations to work as slaves and have therefore been fully assimilated. The Igbo were documented by the British plantation owners along with other ethnicities brought to Jamaica to work as slaves. The Igbo constituted a large portion of the African population of the island in the era of the slave trade; through the banning of African traditions by European plantation owners, many on the island have lost their African identities with their ancestors adopting a creole identity. There is no official count of the amount of Jamaicans with Igbo ancestry after the abolishment of the slave trade, but there are accounts and slave documents that have listed populations of certain African ethnic groups, including the Igbo, on plantations.
The Igbo culture was an important part to forging a Jamaican culture. Igbo influence on the island can be seen till this day in language, dance, music, folklore, cuisine, religion and mannerisms. Aspect of Igbo culture are visible through such things as the Obeah
Obeah
Obeah is a term used in the West Indies to refer to folk magic, sorcery, and religious practices derived from West African, and specifically Igbo origin. Obeah is similar to other African derived religions including Palo, Voodoo, Santería, rootwork, and most of all hoodoo...
spirituality practised throughout the West Indies. Many words in Jamaican Patois are from the Igbo language
Igbo language
Igbo , or Igbo proper, is a native language of the Igbo people, an ethnic group primarily located in southeastern Nigeria. There are approximately 20 million speakers that are mostly in Nigeria and are primarily of Igbo descent. Igbo is a national language of Nigeria. It is written in the Latin...
. In Jamaica the Igbo were referred to by the black population and plantation owners by different names such as Eboe, Ebo, Red Ibo and other words such as 'Guinea man' used to describe African born people. Many Igbo women were involved in slave revolts.
History
Originating primarily from what was known as the Bight of BiafraBight of Bonny
The Bight of Bonny is a bight off the West African coast, in the easternmost part of the Gulf of Guinea...
on the West African coast, Igbo people were taken in relatively high numbers to Jamaica as slaves. Ports from which the majority of these enslaved people were taken from included Bonny
Bonny
Bonny is a town and a Local Government Area in Rivers State in southeast Nigeria, on the Bight of Biafra. It was also the capital of the Kingdom of Bonny. Traditionally it was a major trading post of the eastern delta....
and Calabar
Calabar
Calabar is a city in Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria. The original name for Calabar was Atakpa, from the Jukun language....
, two port towns that are now in eastern Nigeria. These ports were dominated by slave ships arriving from Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
who delivered these slaves to British colonies that included Jamaica. The bulk of Igbo slaves arrived relatively late after 1750. The 18th century in the Atlantic slave trade
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...
saw the amount of enslaved Africans of Igbo descent rise by a large amount, the heaviest forced migrations between 1790 and 1807. Jamaica, after Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, was the second most common destination for slaves arriving from the Bight of Biafra. Therefore Igbo slaves, as they formed the majority of the people on this bight, became common in the British colony of Jamaica.
Igbo were spread on plantations all around Jamaica, with a higher concentration on the island's western side, specifically the areas around Montego Bay
Montego Bay
Montego Bay is the capital of St. James Parish and the second largest city in Jamaica by area and the fourth by population .It is a tourist destination with duty free shopping, cruise line terminal and the beaches...
and Savanna-la-Mar
Savanna-la-Mar
Savanna-la-Mar is the chief town and capital of Westmoreland parish, Jamaica.It is a coastal town and contains a fort, constructed in the 18th century for defence against pirates....
. Consequently the amount of Igbo influence was concentrated in the parishes
Parishes of Jamaica
Administratively, Jamaica is divided into fourteen parishes. They are grouped into three historic counties, which have no administrative relevance :...
of Western Jamaica; the region also witnessed a number of revolts that were attributed to people of Igbo origin. Matthew Lewis, who spent time in Jamaica in the years of 1815 to 1817 studied the way his slaves organised themselves by ethnicity when he noted, for example, that at one time he 'went down to the negro-houses to hear the whole body of Eboes lodge a complaint against one of the book-keepers'. Olaudah Equiano
Olaudah Equiano
Olaudah Equiano also known as Gustavus Vassa, was a prominent African involved in the British movement towards the abolition of the slave trade. His autobiography depicted the horrors of slavery and helped influence British lawmakers to abolish the slave trade through the Slave Trade Act of 1807...
, a prominent member of the movement of the abolition for the slave trade, was an African born Igbo ex-slave that on his life's journey in the Americas as a slave and free man, documented in his 1789 journal
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African, first published in 1789, is the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano.-Plot introduction:...
, was hired by a Dr. Charles Irving and recruited slaves for his 1776 Mosquito Shore scheme in Jamaica for which Equiano hired Igbo slaves which he called "My own countrymen". Equiano was especially useful to Irving for his knowledge of the Igbo language
Igbo language
Igbo , or Igbo proper, is a native language of the Igbo people, an ethnic group primarily located in southeastern Nigeria. There are approximately 20 million speakers that are mostly in Nigeria and are primarily of Igbo descent. Igbo is a national language of Nigeria. It is written in the Latin...
, using Equiano as a tool to maintain social order amongst his Igbo slaves in Jamaica.
Most of the time Igbo slaves resorted to resistance rather than revolt and had maintained "unwritten rules of the plantation" of which plantation owners were forced to abide by. Igbo influence in Jamaica is apparent in the introduction of Obeah
Obeah
Obeah is a term used in the West Indies to refer to folk magic, sorcery, and religious practices derived from West African, and specifically Igbo origin. Obeah is similar to other African derived religions including Palo, Voodoo, Santería, rootwork, and most of all hoodoo...
folk magic of Igbo origin; there have been accounts of 'Eboe' slaves being 'obeahed' by each other. Other influences can be seen in the Jonkonnu festival and in Jamaican patois. In Maroon
Jamaican Maroons
The 'Jamaican Maroons are descended from slaves who escaped from slavery and established free communities in the mountainous interior of Jamaica during the long era of slavery in the island. African slaves imported during the Spanish period may have provided the first runaways, apparently mixing...
music culture were songs derived from specific African ethnic groups, among these were songs called 'Ibo' which had a distinct style. In Jamaica, Igbo slaves were considered suicidal. Suicide was resorted to by Igbo slaves not only for rebellion, but in the belief that after their death they will return back to Africa. In a publication of a 1791 issue of Massachusetts Magazine
Massachusetts Magazine
The Massachusetts Magazine was published in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1789 through 1796. Also called the Monthly Museum of Knowledge and Rational Entertainment, it specialized in "poetry, music, biography, history, physics, geography, morality, criticism, philosophy, mathematics, agriculture,...
, an anti-slavery poem was published called Monimba which depicted a fictional pregnant Igbo slave that committed suicide on a slave ship destined for Jamaica. The poem illustrates the stereotype of Igbo slaves in the Americas. Igbo slaves were also distinguished by the 'yellowish' skin tones which was observed that a lot of them had which prompted the word 'red eboe' to be used to describe people with light skin tones and African features. Igbo people were hardly reported to have been maroons. Igbo women were paired with Coromantee (Akan
Akan people
The Akan people are an ethnic group found predominately in Ghana and The Ivory Coast. Akans are the majority in both of these countries and overall have a population of over 20 million people.The Akan speak Kwa languages-Origin and ethnogenesis:...
) men so as to subdue the latter due to the idea that Igbo women were bound to their first born sons' birth place.
Archibald Monteith, born Aneaso, was an Igbo slave taken to Jamaica after being tricked by an African slaver. Anaeso wrote a journal about his life from when he was kidnapped from Igboland
Igboland
Igboland, or Igbo land , also known as the Ibo, Ebo, and Heebo Country, is a cultural region in Nigeria that includes the indigenous territory and cultural reach of the Igbo people...
to when he became a Christian convert.
After the slavery era, Igbo people also arrived on the island as indentured servants between the years of 1840 and 1864 along with a majority Congo
Kongo people
The Bakongo or the Kongo people , also sometimes referred to as Kongolese or Congolese, is a Bantu ethnic group which lives along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire to Luanda, Angola...
and 'Nago' (Yoruba
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
) servants. Since the 19th century most of the citizens of Jamaica of African descent have been assimilated into the wider Jamaican society and have largely dropped ethnic associations from Africa.
Rebellions
Igbo slaves, along with 'Angolas' and 'Congoes' were most prone to be runaways. In slave runaway advertisements held in Jamaica workhouses in 1803, out of 1046 Africans, 284 were described as 'Eboes and Mocoes', 185 'Congoes', 259 'Angolas', 101 'Mandingoes', 70 Coromantees, 60 'Chamba' of Sierra LeoneSierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, 57 'Nagoes and Pawpaws', and 30 'scattering'. 187 were 'unclassified' and 488 were 'American born negroes and mulattoes'.
Some popular slave rebellions involving Igbo people include:
- The 1815 Igbo conspiracy in Jamaica's Saint Elizabeth Parish which involved around 250 Igbo slaves, described as one of the revolts that contributed to a climate for abolition. A letter by the Governor of Manchester to Bathurst on April 13, 1816 quoted the leaders of the rebellion on trial as saying "that 'he had all the Eboes in his hand', meaning to insinuate that all the Negroes from that Country were under his controul". The plot was thwarted and several slaves were executed.
- The 1816 Black RiverBlack River, JamaicaBlack River is the capital of St. Elizabeth Parish, in southwestern Jamaica. It sits at the mouth of the river of the same name. Once a thriving sugar port, it is today a centre of environmental tourism and a gateway to the Treasure Beach resort area; Treasure Beach and Crane Beach are to the...
rebellion plot which according to Lewis (1834:227—28) only people of 'Eboe' origin were involved. This plot was uncovered on March 22, 1816 by a novelist and absentee planter named Matthew Gregory 'Monk' Lewis, when he had recorded what Hayward (1985) calls a proto-CalypsoCalypso musicCalypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
revolutionary hymn, sung by a group of Igbo slaves led by the 'King of the Eboes'. They sung:Oh me Good friend, Mr. Wilberforce, make we free!
God Almighty thank ye! God Almighty thank ye!
God Almighty, make we free!
Buckra in this country no make we free:
What Negro for to do? What Negro for to do?
Take force by force! Take force by force!
- 'Mr. Wilberforce' was in reference to William WilberforceWilliam WilberforceWilliam Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
a British politician who was a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. 'Buckra' was a term introduced by Igbo and Efik slaves in Jamaica to refer to whiteWhite peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
slave masters.
Culture
Among Igbo cultural items in Jamaica were the Eboe, or Ibo drums popular throughout all of Jamaican music. Food was also influenced, for example the Igbo word 'mba' meaning 'yam root' was used to describe a type of yamYam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
in Jamaica called 'himba'. Igbo and Akan slaves affected drinking culture among the black population in Jamaica, using alcohol in ritual and libation. In Igboland as well as on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast (region)
The Gold Coast was the region of West Africa which is now the nation of Ghana. Early uses of the term refer literally to the coast and not the interior. It was not until the 19th century that the term came to refer to areas that are far from the coast...
, palm wine
Palm wine
Palm wine also called Palm Toddy also called "Kallu" written in Malayalam and கள்ளு in Tamil or simply Toddy is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, and coconut palms...
was used on these occasions and had to be substituted by rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
in Jamaica because of the absence of palm wine. Jonkonnu, a parade that is held in many West Indian nations, has been attributed to the Njoku Ji
Njoku Ji
Njoku Ji was the guardian deity of the yam for the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. In parts of Igboland there are still annual rituals in honor of the yam deity known as Ifejioku In some parts children who were dedicated to the service of the deity were named Njoku. As adults such children...
'yam-spirit cult', Okonko and Ekpe of the Igbo, and several masquerades of the Kalabari and Igbo have similar appearance to those of Jonkonnu maskers.
Much of Jamaican mannerisms and gestures themselves have a wider African origin and an Igbo origin. Some examples of such behaviours are evident in the influences of the Igbo language in patois with actions such as 'sucking-teeth' coming from the Igbo 'ima osu' or 'imu oso' and 'cutting-eye' from Igbo 'iro anya'. There was also a suggestion of the Igbo introducing communication through eye movements.
Language
There are several Igbo words in Jamaican Patois that stem from the Igbo slaves that were on the island. Many of these words were added to Jamaican Patois when slaves were restricted from speaking their own languages. Many of these Igbo words still exist in Jamaican vernacular including words such as 'unu' meaning 'you (plural)', 'di' which is 'to be (in state of)' which became 'de', and 'okra' a vegetable.Proverbs
Ilu in Igbo means proverbs, a part of language that is very important to the Igbo. Igbo proverbs did not fail to cross the Atlantic along with the masses of enslaved Igbo people. Till today several transliterated Igbo proverbs survive in Jamaica today because of the Igbo ancestors. Some of these include:- Igbo: "He who will swallow udala seeds must consider the size of his anus"
- Jamaican: "Cow must know 'ow 'im bottom stay before 'im swallow abbe [Twi 'palm nut'] seed"; "Jonkro must know what 'im a do before 'im swallow abbe seed"
- Igbo: "Where are the young suckers that will grow when the old banana tree dies?"
- Jamaican "When plantain wan' dead, it shoot [sends out new suckers]"
- Igbo: "A man who makes trouble for other is also making one for himself"
- Jamaican: "When you dig a hole/ditch for one, dig two"
- Igbo: "The fly who has no one to advise it follows the corpse into the ground"
- Jamaican: "Sweet-mout' fly follow coffin go a hole"; "Idle donkey follow cane-bump [the cart with cane cuttings] go a [animal] pound"; "Idle donkey follow crap-crap [food scraps] till dem go a pound [waste dump]"
- Igbo: "The sleep that lasts for one market day to another has become death"
- Jamaican: "Take sleep mark death [Sleep is foreshadowing of death]"
- "When cow tail cut off, God Almighty brush fly"; "God fan fly fi 'tumpa tail [stump-tailed] cow"
- "Dog sweat, but long hair cover it"
Religion
ObeahObeah
Obeah is a term used in the West Indies to refer to folk magic, sorcery, and religious practices derived from West African, and specifically Igbo origin. Obeah is similar to other African derived religions including Palo, Voodoo, Santería, rootwork, and most of all hoodoo...
refers to folk magic and sorcery that was derived from West African sources. The W. E. B. Du Bois Institute
W. E. B. Du Bois Institute
The W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research is located at Harvard University and was established in 1969. It is named after W. E. B. Du Bois who was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University...
database supports obeah being traced to the dibia or obia traditions of the Igbo people. Specialists in Obia (also spelled Obea) were known as Ndi Obia and practiced the same activities as the obeah men and women of the Caribbean like predicting the future and manufacturing charms. In Jamaican mythology, 'River Mumma', a mermaid, is linked to Oya of the Yoruba and Uhamiri/Idemili of the Igbo.
Among Igbo beliefs in Jamaica was the idea of Africans being able to fly back home to Africa. There were reports by Europeans who visited and lived in Jamaica that Igbo slaves believed they would return to their country after death.
Notable Jamaicans of Igbo descent
- Archibald Monteith, an ex-slave who was called 'Aneaso' born in Africa, and brought to Jamaica and later wrote an autobiography
- Olaudah Equiano, the 18th century abolitionist, visited Jamaica several times throughout his life.
- One of Malcolm GladwellMalcolm GladwellMalcolm Gladwell, CM is a Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He is currently based in New York City and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996...
's European ancestors had a child by an Igbo slave which started off the mixed-race Ford family on Gladwell's mothers side.