The Igbo People Who Chose the Water Over Slavery

In May 1803, a group of Igbo people from present-day southeastern Nigeria made a powerful decision, one that would leave a mark on history and the hearts of generations. They had been captured and sold into slavery, torn from their homeland, and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean. Their destination was the coast of Georgia in the United States, where they were to begin life as slaves. But when they arrived at a place called Dunbar Creek on St. Simons Island, they chose something else: freedom, even if it meant death.

As they were being brought ashore in small boats, the Igbo captives realized what awaited them, a lifetime of forced labor and humiliation. Refusing to accept such a fate, they rose in resistance. Some overpowered their captors. Others made a quiet but bold choice. One by one, they walked into the water and drowned. As they moved into the creek, it is said that they sang or chanted in their native Igbo language:

“Mmụọ anyị agaghị adị n’ọgbọ aghara. Anyi ga-alaghachi n’ụlọ.”

This translates to:

“Our spirits will not live in bondage. We will return home.”

Some oral traditions also remember them saying:

“The water brought us here, the water will take us home.”

This wasn’t just an act of escape, it was spiritual, symbolic, and deeply cultural. The Igbo believed that the soul could travel back to its homeland through death, especially through water, which in many African traditions is a link between worlds. By walking into the creek, they were not only refusing slavery, they were choosing to go back to their ancestors, to the soil of Igboland.

Historians estimate that between 10 and 75 people died that day. While the exact number may never be known, the act has lived on for over two centuries. The Gullah Geechee people, African American descendants who live along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, preserved the story through oral tradition passing it from one generation to the next.

It was not until the 20th century that historians confirmed the event through written records. They found evidence of a mass suicide involving Igbo captives at Dunbar Creek in 1803. Since then, Igbo Landing has become a powerful symbol , not of defeat, but of spiritual strength and resistance. Artists, scholars, and writers have drawn inspiration from the story. It has appeared in novels, music, and film. Even global icons like Beyoncé have paid tribute to it, using imagery from Igbo Landing in her visual album Lemonade.

Every year on May 28, many people honor the memory of those who died. Ceremonies are held, stories are retold, and their legacy is celebrated. This day is not just about remembering a tragedy. It is about recognizing the strength of a people who chose death over slavery and dignity over despair.

The Igbo who walked into the water did not die as slaves. They died as free men and women, proud of who they were, firm in their beliefs, and forever tied to the land they came from.

Their voices still echo:

“Mmụọ anyị agaghị adị n’ọgbọ aghara. Anyi ga-alaghachi n’ụlọ.”

“Our spirits will not live in bondage. We will return home.”