in the past, many igbo men practiced polygamy. the polygamous family is made up of a man and his wives and all their children. men sometimes married multiple wives for economic reasons so as to have more people in the family, including children, to help on farms. christian and civil marriages have changed the igbo family since colonization. igbo people now tend to enter monogamous courtships and create nuclear families, mainly because of western influence. some western marriage customs, such as weddings in a church, take place either before or after the lgbo cultural traditional marriage.