An almost democratic republican form of government served as the foundation for traditional Igbo political organization. This king-over-subjects system thrives in small towns. The Portuguese, who first arrived and interacted with the Igbo people in the fifteenth century, witnessed this government. Igbo communities and area governments were overwhelmingly solely governed by a republican consultative assembly of the people, with a few exceptions including Onitsha, which had kings called Obi, and places like Nri kingdom and Arochukwu, which had priest kings. Traditionally, a council of elders oversaw the administration of the community.
Title holders were respected for their accomplishments and abilities, but they were never referred to as kings, despite frequently carrying out particular duties assigned to them by such assemblies. Only the ewe of Ghana practiced this form of government, which was drastically different from that of the majority of other West African tribes. The Igbo preserve their patrilineage through umunna. In groups of compounds with closely related families led by the eldest member, the Umunna, a male line descended from a founding ancestor (after whom the line is occasionally named), is where law begins. The Umunna is considered to be the most significant tenet of Igbo society.
In indigenous Igbo society, mathematics is evident in the calendar, banking system, and strategic betting game called Okwe. In their native calendar, a week had four days, a month had seven weeks, and a year had 13 months. An additional day was added within the previous month. In the villages and towns of the indigenous Igbo people, this calendar is still used to determine market days. It is still customary to use mediators to settle disputes and their “Isusu” banking system for savings and loans. Beginning in the ninth century, Igbo people began producing bronzes. Some of these have been discovered in the Anambra state town of Igbo Ukuwu.