Dioka is by far the best and largest town in Igboland. Dioka people themselves say that it takes them sunrise to sunset to walk through their town, but this is probably an exaggeration. It is situated only about thirty kilometers to the east of Onitsha.
Chapter 3 – History of Dioka Town Before The Colonial Era
The majority of the people are blacksmiths, and in pursuance of their craft, they travel to every part of the Igbo country and even beyond. There is scarcely a town or village without its small, primitive smithy, in which the Dioka smith not only sharpens and repairs tools, but manufactures (from the iron and brass imported by traders) the various weapons, tools and ornaments in use amongst the Igbo people. They never seem to be molested, and contrive to keep the peace with all their neighbors.
They are never accompanied by their wives on their journeys and are seldom away longer than three months at a time. As one passed through the town, one was struck by its clean, well-kept houses and roads. The people certainly took a great pride in having their homes nice.
Each house stood in a compound surrounded by a high mud wall. There were small loopholes in the walls at equal intervals, through which a gun could be fired in the event of an enemy attacking the townBesides, in each compound there was generaliy at least one high tree with a platform in its branches from which a good look-out could be obtained. Also, there were two large, square watch-towers, three times the height of ordinary houses.
A typical house of the Dioka man was unique in its painting and carvings on the house. Mud walls and floors were washed, with red mud and rubbed with stones by the women at least once every six days.
Some used wall paintings.
Dioka is called the “Blacksmiths’ town”. Dioka is interesting as the headquarters of a very large community of blacksmiths, and men from this place are found in the most distant places. They execute good works with their primitive apparatuses.
Probably the craft which is the most useful and valuable is blacksmithy. It is very remunerative. The Dioka smiths practically dominate the situation, end they hold the leading place in the profession throughout the Igbo country and in many other places beyond.
They manufacture great quantities of hoes and axes. The axes are wedge-shaped, the top passing through the head of a wooden club-shaped handle; with it and a machete most of the native wooden craft is executed. The blacksmiths also make bullets (from bar-iron, pot-legs or from remnants of brass) of different shapes: square, oblong and round.
Smiths’ work in the old days was undoubtedly the premier industry in the town, and it was not surprising that its interests were so jealously guarded. That was the picture of Dioka before the white man came.
Chapter 4 – The Characteristics of the Dioka Man
There are many outstanding qualities that are associated with Dioka men. They are:
1. The kind of person:
All Dioka men behave alike. They react in the same way to many situations and show characteristics evidencing the fact that they come from the same environment.
The Dioka man is, above everything else, resourceful, self-reliant, quick-witted and a diplomatist. As a traveller, he makes use of these qualities to penetrate with ease the wildest parts of the country and beyond.
He is a natural-born linguist and speaks with fluency the languages of the people he comes in contact with during his working life. The Dioka man believes in himself. But although he believes in himself, he never allows that self-confidence to degenerate into arrogance, lest he should arouse hatred against himself.
As he is always travelling alone and working alone in alien places, he has developed those qualities of courage and self-dependence which every Dioka boy is enjoined to possess. And wherever he goes, he sees to it that the dignity of the Dioka man is not trifled with because that is his best protection. As the saying goes: ‘the glory of the tiger protects the tiger’.
2. Hard work:
The Dioka man’s love for making things is proverbial. He has the same passion for other forms of work. Dioka men have a total dedication to work; no one is allowed to be idle in Dioka town unless he is sick.
The child is taught from the very beginning that if he/she did not work he/she should not eat. Dioka people take joy in their work; and whether working alone or in groups, they sing.
In Dioka town, girls returning – from the stream sing; women going to the farms sing; men doing blacksmithing or other forms of economic activity (like tying yams in the barn) sing or whistle. The Dioka man sees his work not as drudgery but as a joy.
3. Play:
The Dioka man works hard and plays hard. Wrestling is the most popular part-time game among their youths. There is a particular kind of drum music, called in local parlance, Igba mbe. This is played during wrestling matches and is used to excite young men into feats of valour.
Girls are involved in different traditional dances by which they exercise their bodies. In the night, both boys and girls are involved in moonlight. plays. They love competitive games such as foot-racing, mock battles, etc.
4. Humour:
In Dioka, there is a pervading sense of humour which touches every facet of life. The Dioka sense of humour, of making fun of things and people, is however, disconcerting to strangers. But the rule is that you don’t make fun of a person above your age grade or below your age-grade; that would be considered insulting for the former and degrading for the latter.
5. Respect:
The Dioka man has great respect for age. Age is the only recognized distinction among Dioka people. The Dioka man gives respect to anybody above his age grade; he must not speak disrespectfully to him. In fact, it is a serious social offence to insult an elder, even in play. A person guilty of such conduct is severely punished by the community.
6. Impartiality:
One characteristic of the Dioka man is his great love for justice. Whatever a Dioka man might do elsewhere within Dioka town, he always tries to be upright and just.
Dioka people control themselves; and it is, their sense of impartiality and justice that holds them together. And in the relationship between the villages there is never any imposition; no matter how small a village might be in population, their views must count.
The Dioka people in their political decisions act on the basis of consensus. In their town meetings, every quarter/ village must have at least a member present before the meeting can be held.
7. Tolerance:
The first thing a Dioka man does every morning is to pray to his God for the wellbeing and prosperity of his household; and he also prays for the prosperity and wellbeing of everybody else. They tolerate other people and their views.
They also believe that one rich man in the midst of many poor people is himself a poor man. Therefore, he prays for everyone’s prosperity.
8. Love of wisdom:
Dioka people love wisdom and pursue it with great zeal. In all they do, they show insight and practical wisdom. They give expression to the. accumulated experiences and knowledge of their people in their utterances and deeds. A man is proud and happy when his son acts with wisdom and discretion.
In the assembly of Dioka people, a person could come out and make his point in proverbs and figurative speech, without using ordinary language. Dioka natives love short pithy sayings with deep. meanings. When Dioka people taik among themselves, a stranger may find it hard to understand them.
Ahmad Nwabuzor is a Nigerian author and storyteller with a strong passion for writing and sharing meaningful stories. He is a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), where he studied English and Literary Studies.
He writes across different forms of storytelling, including cultural narratives, emotional fiction, and moral stories that teach life lessons. His storytelling style is rooted in African life and shaped by a deep interest in how traditions influence people’s choices and emotions.