Did Slavery in Igboland Amount to Chattel Slavery?
The claim that slavery in Igboland was only a form of indentured servitude deserves closer scrutiny. Whatever rights some Ohu may have had, the sale of captives for goods or to strangers reduced people to property and caused irreversible loss of freedom. In trade networks linked to Aro-controlled markets and the Atlantic slave trade, captives could be exchanged for items such as firearms, metal, textiles and alcohol. They were then moved through coastal trading routes and resold, often far from their families, language and communities. The post also argues that ritual practices, including the dedication of people to deities as Osu or the use of human sacrifice in some contexts, reflected another form of human commodification. These histories should be discussed honestly, with care for the differences between Ohu, Osu, captives and the wider institution of Atlantic chattel slavery.
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