Dating & Marrying Igbo

The investigation: Iju Ajuju

The quiet background check before the rites, the sixteen-day trial and a difficult legacy: the Osu caste.

Lesson 1 of 2

What the families look into

Before the rites begin

Before formal marriage rites, both families quietly research each other. This stage is called Iju Ajuju (or Iku-aka): “the investigation”.

The Umunna appoints delegates to look into the other family’s ancestry, finances, health history and reputation.

What they look for

Families look for hereditary illnesses (such as epilepsy or the sickle cell trait), patterns of early death, criminal history and poor character.

Historically they also wanted to know whether the couple could have children, especially sons, to carry on the family name. If the findings are unfavourable, a family may delay or end the process.

Did you know?

In some cases the bride was once sent to the groom’s home for sixteen days, which is four traditional Igbo market weeks, to see how she managed the household and how well they got along.

Lesson 2 of 2

The Osu question, explained with care

Four social groups in the past

In pre-colonial society, scholars describe four groups: the Diala (freeborn), the Ohu (people in servitude, for debt or as captives), the Osu (people dedicated to a deity) and the Ume (people who offered themselves to a deity to escape punishment).

A harmful system

Osu people were treated as outcasts and kept from certain rituals, titles and intermarriage with the Diala. Scholars note that exclusion became harsher during the era of the transatlantic slave trade.

The Eastern House of Assembly, under Nnamdi Azikiwe, passed the Osu System Law on 20 March 1956 to outlaw the practice and the term.

Why it still matters

Osu people have equal legal and constitutional rights today. Yet prejudice survives in some families, and discovering an Osu link during the investigation can break engagements.

This is a painful part of history. Understanding it is a first step to challenging it.

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