The thud of mud

STAUNTON - The Igbo people might number five million strong in the United States — 40 million worldwide — but “people don’t know us,” says Stan Ogbonna, who grew up in an Igbo state in southeastern Nigeria.

That could soon change, Ogbonna said, as he and dozens of Igbo-Americans descend on the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, where they will take turns smacking and patting mud to build traditional houses.

On Saturday, at the receiving end of a line of volunteers passing egg-shaped masses of clay, Ogbonna had the honor of slamming each into place as the foundation of a third mud house took shape.

“This is awesome,” he said, “that somebody realizes that we have something that should be recognized.”

Months in the making, the Igbo (E’-bo) village has gathered steam with an infusion of local volunteers and Igbo-Americans. The walls of two mud houses are rising and educational events are planned throughout the summer, said John Avoli, museum executive director.

“What’s been missing for us is the African contribution,” he said.

The village is the first of its kind in the United States, said Jak Njoku, professor of folklore and anthropology at Western Kentucky University. Njoku is keeping Igbos informed about the project through online communities.

One such group, from the Washington D.C.-area, traveled to the museum Saturday to put in a day’s work.

In cycles, the volunteers sifted sand and clay to remove rocks, then mixed the materials with water and stomped them into a moldable consistency.

“You dance in it,” said Mark Onwuka, head of a D.C.-based Igbo group.

“You know, we’re moonwalking in it,” laughed friend Boniface Ezeosim.

Then the group passed the clay toward the foundation, where it was slammed into place. Over time, the group will add levels of clay, waiting days for drying. Ultimately, a thatched palm roof covers the house.

“We want to make sure we impart our culture to our children,” said Onwuka, whose parents lived in mud houses in Nigeria.

Ogbonna grew up in one in the 1940s.

“I learned by experience the art of Igbo architecture,” he said.

The mud makes for a cool home in tropical Nigeria. Drawbacks include lack of restrooms and easy access for “everything that creeps,” volunteers said.

By project’s end, the Igbo village will include four houses, a perimeter wall, livestock including pygmy goats, chickens and guinea fowl and a traditional garden of yams.