描述
The month of May in 1803 will forever be remembered in history as one that showed the courage of the Igbo people in the face of subjection and adversity.
During the transatlantic slave trade in colonial West Africa, the Igbo’s were a well respected ethnic nationality known for being industrious, proud, independent and effective. Slave merchants John Couper and Thomas Spalding purchased some people including 75 Igbos around the Oma Mbala (Anambra) river for export to the US to work on plantations in Simons Island. They were to be resold for as high as $100.
Whilst journeying on the ship, they experienced and became aware of the harsh reality of the life of slavery they were about to be subjected to. They rebelled and took control of the vessel. As the ship docked, rather than head to the arrival port, one of them, a chief taken captive gave a directive and suddenly the rest walked into the ocean to their drowning as they sang in unison. The ‘water spirits’ (Ndi Miri) and the almighty Chukwu take us back to our land.” These 75 Igbo warriors committed mass suicide by drowning rather than beginning their lives in America as slaves. They survived the Middle Passage only to walk willingly into the sea bound in chains.
Till date, the Igbo landing incident remains a historic and brave act in the African-American folklore. Locals that live around the St. Simons Island, Georgia claim that they can still hear the voices of the drowned warriors.