The+Acquisition+of+Titles+and+the+Council+of+Chiefs*

Status in the Igbo community was attained through hard work and the acquisition of wealth. Each young boy started off his life as an apprentice and assisted his father or uncle at the farm. As he grew older he was educated about the importance of marriage, wealth and the acquisition of titles in society. Receiving a title was expensive due to the initiation fees and the feasting and dancing, and therefore titles costed money. Throughout the culture, a man was perceived as one without status if he had failed to progress beyond even the most junior titles. The highest title was called //ozo// and an //ozo// man was someone who had received the gift of immorality and seen as a god. He was excused from manual labor, guaranteed a seat in the council of chiefs, received a portion of fees from initiation and given the right to livestock. The //ozo// title eventually lost it's appeal in the twentieth century when colonial officers stripped traditional Igbo chiefs of their power.