Writing POC 101

Igbo Characters - @kahrees

Almost everyone's reaction to the title is probably going to be 'huh?'

First things first, the Igbo (or Ibo) tribe is a tribe in Nigeria which is a country in Africa. The title was originally 'African Characters' but I am actually focusing on Nigeria as a whole and my tribe specifically.

By now, it's pretty obvious that Africa is neither a monolith nor a continent were a show is 'lions devouring a gazelle'. (I am looking at you Disney. Africans watch Jessie too you know.)

It just occurred to me to warn you all that this is going to be a long post.

SO anyway, just as Africa can't be condensed into just a couple of things, neither can Nigeria. We have 250(!) ethnic groups. The why of this has to do with colonialists and their plans which involved shoving tribes that do not exactly belong together into one piece for some sort of business deal.

Anyways, the major tribes are Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa. If you want to write a Nigerian character, it will be much easier to have that character be from one of these tribes because we are more visible so more information is available.

Each tribe is very different and has stereotypes about the other but some things binding us all are Pidgin English, Nigerians' specific way of talking and joking and our near-constant critique of our nation and everything about it.

Those being said do not poke fun at our nation or its leaders past or present. Some Nigerians will give you a pass but a lot of us will call you out. The international view of Nigeria is not exactly favourable so having people who are not actually citizens add to that view is going to vex us. This is doubly so if you are a white person giving the painful history of colonialism and its aftereffects. That doesn't mean you have to laude praises on the country, just be normal about it.

To get an idea of Nigerian popular culture, go to social media. Thatyorubaguy on twitter and Instagram would help so as westafricanman and urbanyooba. Check the related list to get more accounts. Our celebrities' media account would also help. Try Olumide Oworu, Basketmouth, falzthebahdguy and others.

Even more helpful are our musicians. They mix Pidgin English, slang, normal English and their tribal languages in their lyrics the way many Nigerians talk. We have a lot of artistes so I'll just leave you with these:

Yemi Alade (her video for Tumbum is kind of funny)

Frank Edwards (Gospel artiste)

Phyno (Start with Fada Fada)

Wizkid (Ojuelegba is his most honest song)

Blackmagic (Repete brings out his voice the most)

Falz the Bahd Guy. (I really recommend Falz. His style of rapping is unique to say the least.)

The Real Story of Nigeria by Jide Olarenwaju is a great documentary to watch especially if you want to understand the inter-tribal relations, are writing a historical novel or just want to know our history in a more interesting way than Wikipedia or Nigeria's TV Tropes page.

The best research you can do is read novels by Nigerians. Read novels by Chinua Achebe, Elechi Amadi, Wole Soyinka, and Femi Ososfisan for more traditional outlooks. Our contemporary authors will help you in understanding the Nigeria of today. Our most popular is Chimamanda Adichie but also try Ben Okri, Zaynab Alkali and Buchi Emecheta.

We are a very religious country by the way. The three major religions are Christianity, Islam (especially around the Northern part of the country) and traditional worshippers. The most prolific traditional worshipper is author Wole Soyinka. Not everyone is holy, holy or very good followers of their religion. This is also true for us Christians. A lot of us are more on the striving to be holy side but in my generation, I see a lot more people who go to church for church sake or are agnostics or atheists.

A lot of us are also raised on more traditional gender roles but again, my generation is questioning that. This can be a good plot device. For instance, in the novel I am working on, my main character is trying to find a balance between what she is taught at home and the ideas she reads from the Internet.

Education is very important to Nigerians. My generation is luckier in the sense that our parents are more open to the numerous courses available to us. Most of them did not have that opportunity especially people who are not science-inclined. This can be used in your story. For example, my mom's friend studied law (the only 'prestigious' non-science course), basically gave her parents her certificate then later spent another four years doing psychology. Another example, a friend of mine wants to be a fashion designer so her parents told her to study medicine (she's science-inclined) and then go to fashion school.

Bonus titbit: Nigerians prefer dogs to cats. We as a nation are slightly superstitious so cats are seen as witches' animals. But seriously though, Nigerians just really like dogs.

Now for Igbo people specifically.

Almost all Igbos are Christians whether they are Pentecostal, Catholic, and Anglican etc. on a spectrum of HOLY to If You Ask Me, I'll Say I'm A Christian. If you want to write a Muslim Igbo character, the person should obviously be dealing with questioning from the family. There should be something that made them switch from the religion they were raised with. To put into context, it is easier to find Igbo agnostics or atheists (few as they are) than Igbo Muslims.

The most popular Igbo names reference or praise God in some way. The second most popular set of Igbo names do the same for fathers. Christians consider God our father (one of our most prolific pastors, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, when he prays refers to God as 'Daddy') so the names can be interpreted either way and the meaning usually depends on the giver of the name. We have names that praise mother to. The words 'Chukwu' or 'Chineke' mean God. Some examples of names are.

Nneka (Mother is Supreme)

Tochineke for girls, Tochukwu for boys mostly (shortened to Tochi usually, means Praise God)

Tobenna (Praise the father. Could also be Tobechukwu)

Lotechi (remember God)

Chinenye (It is God that gives)

Ikechukwu or Ikenna (Strength of God or strength of the father. If not pronounced well, could be interpreted as buttocks of God or the father.)

Within the Igbo tribe, there are different dialects. The differences between each dialect are not so despairing that we can't understand each other. The differences are in greetings, spellings and a couple of nuances. That said; if you want your character to speak Igbo at any point, do NOT use Google. Google gives you Standard Igbo (an attempt at unifying dialects) which honestly is not as beautiful as individual dialects. Even Chinua Achebe thinks so. Ask an Igbo person for the translations of words and sentences and stick with that person and their translations.

We have lots of proverbs and at some point a parent will fling one at their child.

We are very family oriented.

We also really like money. (Who doesn't)?

And food.

Especially goat meat.

The best research you can do is reading novels.

Remember that a character's culture is part and parcel of that character. The culturality (so to speak) is not just there to show off author knowledge; without this characters' culture, they don't stand.