Journal of Culture, Society and Development www.iiste.org ISSN 2422-8400 An International Peer-reviewed Journal Vol.57, 2020 1 Domestic Slavery, Identity Crisis and Peace Building in Igbo Land: The Case of Atani Community in Anambra Sate, Nigeria Ikenna Mike Alumona, PhD Department of Political Science, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam Jude Odigbo, PhD Department of Political Science, Kwararafa University, Wukari-Nigeria Abstract An enduring legacy of the Trans Atlantic slave trade in Atani and most other communities along the banks of the River Niger in Igbo land was the institution of domestic slavery which is presently a defining feature of these communities. Principally nurtured by different forms of discrimination, the institution of domestic slavery has created a sort of identity crisis in these communities. The profound socio-cultural and political impact of the identity crisis has manifested in a constant struggle for supremacy in the sharply divided Atani community. This has hindered peace and community development in the community. This paper examines the identity crisis arising from the institution of domestic slavery and its impact on peace and community development in Atani. We adopted post-structural approach as a theoretical model. A combination of the documentary method and interviews was used to generate data for this study. Data collected were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis. The paper argues that certain socio-cultural and traditional practices associated with the institution of domestic slavery have continued to undermine peace in Atani. The paper therefore recommended that ending the prevailing ephemeral peace in Atani requires that governments at all levels, community stakeholders and the traditional rulers should discuss and adopt strategies directed towards abolishing socio-cultural and traditional practices that are detrimental to peace and development in Atani . Keywords: Domestic Slavery, Identity, Crisis, Peace-Building. DOI: 10.7176/JCSD/57-01 Publication date:March 31 st 2020 Introduction Atani is one of the fifteen indigenous communities in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State and also the headquarters of the Local government Area. The town which is located in the basin of the River Niger is popularly known as the food basket of Anambra State. According to oral sources, Atani has a progenitor Afe who migrated from Benin and settled with some persons at Ugwu Aza near Okija town in the present Ihiala Local Government Area. Subsequently the people moved from Ugwu Aza to Ojii and later Abo and then to the present site situated along the banks of the river Niger. Atani like other communities along the banks of the river Niger and its tributaries, participated actively in trading activities along the coast of the river Niger during the colonial era. As a result of the trading activities in Atani over time, a trading factory was opened in Atani in 1884 , this was after other trading factories had earlier been opened at Aboh in 1843, Onitsha in 1857, Asaba 1863 and Osomari in 1877( Chukwu 2016). Outside palm produce and other commodities, slaves were also part of the articles of trade during the colonial era. Slaves were bought by wealthy men in Atani community who needed their help in farming and the females who needed their services in their trade. In her discussion of the role of Igbo women in economic transformation in southeastern Nigeria between 1900- 1960, Chukwu (2005,p.56) observed that ‘ Atani and Ossomari successful female traders could with the consent of their husbands purchase male slaves to accompany them in their trading trips up and down the River Niger. The slaves paddled the trade canoes and helped their mistress sell their trade goods’. The slaves were captives from the hinterland and were exported to different destinations through the banks of the river Niger. Slavery in Nigeria dates back to recorded history and scholars such as Nwokeji (2010), Falola and Njoku (2016), Afigbo (2006) and Ade Ajayi and Uya (2010) have all tried to look at the history and dimensions of slave trade in Nigeria. Our interest in this paper is not concerned with the history of slavery but with the institution of domestic slavery and the attendant crisis of identity it has caused in Atani community. It is an undeniable fact that human beings at a point in recorded history were articles of trade. As a result of this some persons at one end were sold off through different means and circumstances. At another end people were also bought by others who could afford them. This was the reality of the Atlantic slave trade which also gave rise to the phenomenon of some people being referred to or regarded as slaves in certain communities in Igboland. According to Nzimiro ( 1972,p.26) ‘slave (ohu) is part of the status system in some Ibo towns along the Niger’. It is arising from the status system in Igbo land whereby some persons are of slave descent (ohu) and others are free – born (nwadiani) that we can locate the institution of domestic slavery. Domestic slavery is a left over and an inheritance from the iniquitous trade in slaves (Nwabueze,2013). The institution of domestic slavery is perhaps nowhere better described than in the