THE IGBO LANDING

 


The Igbo landing, also known as the Igbo Mass suicide is a historic site at Dunbar Creek on St. Simons Island, Glynn country Georgia. The Igbo Captives were taken from where is now known as Nigeria. In May 1803, the Igbo captives arrived in Savannah, Georgia on the slave ship "The wanderer". They were purchase for an average of $100 each by slave merchants John Couper and Thomas Spalding to be resold to plantations on nearby St. Simons Island.

The chained slaves were packed under deck of a coastal vessel "The York", which would take them to St. Simons Island. Rather than accept a life of slavery, they decided to take a stand and rebel against their captors. They took control of the ship, drowned the captors and in the process caused a grounding of the ship in the Dunbar Creek.



According to oral history, about 75 of them held hands and under the instruction of their high chief, marched into the marshy waters of the Dunbar Creek to commit mass suicide while singing 

"Mmuo mmiri du anyi bia, muo mmiri ga-edu anyi laa" meaning "The water spirit brought us, the water spirit will take us home".

    Some notable references have been made to the incident, including a scene from Beyonce's Love drought music video. Also in Black Panther, Killmonger told King T'challa  "Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors that jumped off ships, because they knew that death was better than bondage"

The story of the Igbo landing has been passed through generations and is an important part of the African-American history and the fight for freedom and dignity.

Sources

Blackpast

Wikipedia

 

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