Especially the chronological history of the kingdom(s) and various kings.

Is there any books in english or Igbo about the oral history of the Nri kingdom a bit like Johnson's book for the Yoruba? Other Igbo kingdoms/chiefdoms is ok too. If not, what is the closest to it (like Akintoye for the Yoruba).

What book(s) do you like most about the Igbo history?

Guy mind ur tribe.... Who has requested such of your tribe....

Starships4u:
Guy mind ur tribe.... Who has requested such of your tribe....

Appalling!

Starships4u:
Guy mind ur tribe.... Who has requested such of your tribe....

I'm from the African tribe made of various sub-tribes and ethnic groups.

Yet Johnson's book had a lot that cannot be tagged yoruba oral history because he got them from wrong sources

Starships4u:
Guy mind ur tribe.... Who has requested such of your tribe....

This is really sad

macof:
Yet Johnson's book had a lot that cannot be tagged yoruba oral history because he got them from wrong sources

What do you think about Akintoye's book? Have you read it?

AmunRaOlodumare:

What do you think about Akintoye's book? Have you read it?

No I haven't but I read about him and his activities as a professor of history at OAU, he seems like a serious man

There are two ways to approach this. One is holistic and the other is community-by-community (or case-by-case for short). From the holistic angle, the only two books I would recommend are Afigbo's Ropes of Sand and Oriji's Traditions of Igbo Origins. In my opinion, these two works represent the best effort at a holistic approach to Igbo history. This isn't to say that I find all the information agreeable. I believe the conclusions derived from Afigbo and Oriji's historical analysis, in certain instances, are rather speculative and, if I may say, biased in favor of a speculative central point of origin for the entire Igbo ethno-linguistic groups.

Also, though the works are good, they also cannot be touted as fully comprehensive for two main reasons:
1) Chronology. The chronology is largely speculative, and very few dates (if any) are provided. This is by no means their fault. Very few archaeological surveys have been conducted in the ethnographic region, so there isn't much they can provide with respect to chronology. This is also not to say that the chronological conclusions aren't sound.

2) The complexity of oral traditions in the area. This by far has been one of the biggest obstacles with respect to Igbo historical analysis, not just at the holistic level, but also at the case-by-case level. The vast diversity of communities and the corresponding diversity of oral traditions is confounding.

Now, on the case-by-case level, there aren't a lot of books. In fact, as disappointing as it is, literature on the Igbo is scanty at best. The overwhelming majority of case-by-case literature come from booklets, pamphlets and information posted on clan-based socio-cultural websites. I won't even begin to try to recommend any literature, because it would require me doing my own research to even find them in the first place. I do know a few that I can name though that can be starting points for you. Everything else I'll have to go look up.

The Awka People - by Barrister Amanke Okafor
A History of the Ngwa People - by John Nwachimereze Oriji
Perspectives on Aro History and Civilization - by Mazi Azubike Okoro and Mazi Ben Ezumah

Starships4u:
Guy mind ur tribe.... Who has requested such of your tribe....

abeg help me tell am

ChinenyeN:

Now, on the case-by-case level, there aren't a lot of books. In fact, as disappointing as it is, literature on the Igbo is scanty at best.

Thank you for your answers and recommendations. Yes, I prefer case-by-case level because I think it's mostly how people saw themselves in the past. As part of a distinct community (sometimes as large as kingdoms and empires) while also (a bit or a lot) related to others around them. I'm open to both Igbo and English litterature.

By chronology. I don't mean carbon dated chronology. Just the succession of kings and reigns. For example, the first King of this X chiefdom did this and that blablabla. The second king did this and that. Etc. I guess archaeologists, geneticists and linguists can also help to put an exact dates on those chronological events. Local chronicles are welcome.

ChinenyeN has mentioned some very good books (I especially liked Afigbo's Ropes of Sand, as it was the first book that opened my eyes to the possibility of reconstructing the Igbo past using the scant oral traditions), but I think there are a few other informative books I can add to his list.

The foremost scholar of the Nri people remains M.A. Onwuejeogwu. His book An Igbo Civilization: Nri Kingdom and Hegemony is a good place to begin the study of The Nri Kingdom. The book, however, is more of a sociological/anthropological work than a work of history. Onwuejeogwu was no historian - he was an anthropologist. That said, the book still contains paragraphs that give short accounts of the careers of the Kings of Nri, and attempts to give the dates of their reigns.

Another book dealing with a specific Igbo-speaking group which mixes the sociological approach with the historic approach and contains interesting (short) passages on early kings and statesmen is John Alutu's Groundwork of Nnewi History

And while we are on histories of specific Igbo-speaking groups, i'd like to slip in Dr Onwuka Dike and Felicia Ekejiuba's The Aro of Southeastern Nigeria, 1650 - 1980. It is probably the single most detailed study of the Aro people in print. Though I must say it is not a very well-put-together book. Dike's early death meant Ekejiuba had to finish the work alone and hurriedly too.

On the general history of the Igbo, you could read:

Igbo History and Society: The Essays of Adiele Afigbo. A compilation of the most important essays of the late historian put together by Dr. Falola.
(Matter of fact, read everything Afigbo ever wrote. He was a brilliant, brilliant man )

Political Organisation in Nigeria since the Late Stone Age: A History of the Igbo People by John Oriji. I've only read the viewable pages of this book online, and it looks like it could be a good introductory work.

A History of the Igbo People by Elizabeth Isichei. Definitely outdated, but still widely cited. Also extremely rare. Only place I've seen it was in a family friend's private collection. I think it's a good general introduction.

Igbo Worlds by Elizabeth Isichei. A Historical Anthology of oral histories. I like it because it paints vivid pictures and explores details that are often glossed over in most general histories. But again, it is very rare. I was lucky to find (and buy) an old yellowed copy three years ago from a roadside bookseller.

Note that none of these books is strictly a narrative history in the manner of Johnson's or Akintoye's histories. The fact that Igbo oral traditions are less copious than those of the Yoruba has meant that historians working in the Igbo field have had to use an interdisciplinary approach (appealing to sociology and anthropology, for example) to a far greater extent than historians working in the Yoruba field.