Days in Igbo phrasebook

Ịzu afia/ahia - Market week

The traditional week in Igbo speaking communities consists of 4 days, each are indicative of a particular market of many different communities. The market days were established by the god-like Eri, an important Igbo ancestor of the 1st millennium AD. Market days are very important to various Igbo communities as they are used to mark major events in the community. Each community is assigned a special day for their market; in a village group no other markets are to be held on a particular villages day. The names of the market days are also used for cardinal directions in some Igbo communities.

These traditional market days are:

áfȯ/Aho (AH-four)�

corresponding to the north

ńkwȯ (IN-kwor)�

corresponding to the south

éké/ekeh (AY-KAY)�

corresponding to the east

órie, oye (OH-ree-yeah)�

corresponding to the west