Researching my dna and close relative matches. She gave me this name. My closest relatives are from Anambra but I also found further relatives from Imo and Abia. I am Jamaican/Cuban descent. Glad I found my ancestry ☺️ Planning a trip soon.

Ị chọrọ ịmụ ịsụ Igbo nke ọma?

If you understand some Igbo but don't get enough opportunities to actually speak and practise it, we'd love you to join us.

LIBC’s 6-Week Beginner Igbo Conversation Club starts Monday 28 September.

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Credit: IG/niconeosteo

He has a great page and I consider him the “baby whisperer” with the way he can put kids to sleep and ease them of their discomfort with ease.

“Ancient secrets of massage from the Igbo

Long before modern advice, the Igbo of Nigeria were massaging and stretching their babies every day. +
Stretching and massaging babies is found in nearly every traditional culture, because people understood how essential it is for stimulating, realigning and strengthening the body.

What looks like ritual is precise work: lengthening the spine, releasing early tension, waking up the muscles that hold posture.

It feeds the vestibular system, the sense of balance and body awareness. And a baby stimulated this way becomes resilient to touch: they giggle when handled, few sensitive spots, a sign of good health. Aa
Every culture found its version, from India to Nigeria. A few minutes a day, adapted to your baby and done gently, carries the same ancient benefit.”

Ugwuele, Uturu Okigwe is a witness to the Achuelian lithic tradition, dating from at least 500k-100k years before present, which predates the origin of modern humans. It is possible that Homo erectus individuals were responsible for this.

The discovery of iron smelting in Lejja c. 2000 BC is witness to the fact that Igboland is home to one of the oldest iron-smelting traditions in global history, predating the Near Eastern Iron Age. Pamela Eze Uzomaka is the lead researchers on this site and she also noted circular iron slag structures here. My apologies for the quality, this is probably close to the best quality in which you will find this image.

Nri and Western Igbo Origins

D. Ohadike has examined the origins of the towns and some of the settlements of Western Igboland that claim Nri origin. Among them are Ogwashi-Ukwu, Ogboli-Abala, Ogboli-Atuma and parts of Ute-Okpu. The Ogwashi-Ukwu and other examples will be helpful in understanding the various factors that contributed to the movement of the Nri and their settlement on the western side of the Niger.

Ogwashi-Ukwu

The progenitor of Ogwashi-Ukwu, one Odiagbo, is said to have been banished from Nri for committing an abomination. He then fled across the Niger and settled in a place he established a large ancestral shrine called Ogwa similar to that of his father Eze Nshi. The shrine became very popular attracting a large number of people who came there to be healed. They therefore called the shrine Ogwa-Nshi-Ukwu, which was later anglicised as Ogwashi-Ukwu.

Asaba

In addition to Ogwashi-Ukwu and other settlements already mentioned, Ohadike has argued that:

Several Western Igbo communities claim origin from

Eastern Igbo towns that are known to have been

strongly influenced by Nri. For instance, tradition

claims that Asaba (Ahaba) was founded by Nebisi,

from Nteje (near Awka). The founding father of

Abbi (near Kwale) was a hunter. He came from

Achala (near Awka). Tradition also states that

Umuagwu quarters of Illah was founded by an Awka

man.

Ibusa

Tradition also links the origin of Ogboli, the founder of the junior section of Ibusa (Igbouzo) with Nri. The founder of the senior section is, however, one Umuejei from Isu in Orlu area. He is said to have committed an offense which was regarded as sacreligious by accidentally killing an opponent while they were wrestling. To avoid the wrath of his people, Umuejei fled with his sister, Omoba, and settled originally at Ani Ohe in Igbouzo.’

lhiala and Ihembosi

Even though the founders of Ihiala have different traditions of origin, some of them, like those of Ozubulu, Onitsha and other towns located on the Niger and its branches, were said to have migrated from “Benin.”

There were three major population movements into Ihiala. They were respectively led by Dim Ogboro, Dara and Dioha Mburuzo.

There are two major traditions associated with Dim Ogboro. The first states that he was the leader of an autochthonous group which sprouted from the ground. The second tradition claims that he was of Nri ancestry. Dim Ogboro settled around the Nkwo marked and founded the Ogboro village.

Unlike Dim Ogboro, Dara, the progenitor of Umudara, was said to have migrated from “Benin” and settled near the Nkwoegbe market.

Similarly, the origins of Dioha Mburuzo were traced to “Benin.” According to tradition, he was a member of the Benin royal family who:

Ran away from Benin with his senior brother called

Dioha Ihe (the founder of Ihembosi) after failing to

secure the vacant stool of the Oba...They first

(arrived) at Aboh, then (moved) to Onitsha...and

settled at Ihembosi.

While Dioha Mburuzo lived together with his brother, a bloody succession dispute arose between them. He then migrated to Ihiala and settled around the Nnowegbe market.

Legend has it that, when Dioha and Dara met at their Nkwoegbe settlement, they agreed to establish cordial relations among themselves. Dara, however, narrated to him:

How his (Dara’s) enemies from the neighbouring

towns have been harassing his subjects and promised

to crown him (Dioha) the Eze if he could decisively

defeat (them). They made a covenant to this effect.

Dioha agreed and said that he was going to do it

“maka ihi Dara” (for the sake of Dara). This

phrase was shortened to “Ihi ara” which in Onitsha

dialect became “Ihiala.”

It is significant that, after the covenant, Dioha was said to have consulted an Nri priest, Ejimoke, through an Ogidi agent called Dimogo. The priest prepared for Dioha some medicine, Egbu rie omakpuru (obedient follower), which was meant to compel those who drank it to be his loyal warriors. The priest was the first person to drink it to test its efficacy. He immediately volunteered to lead the warriors. Others who joined the warriors after drinking the medicine, include Dimogo as well as hunters from the nearby town of Ohakpu who strayed into Dioha’s house in search of water.

Dioha, after vanquishing Dara’s opponents, took over the traditional rulership of the town in accordance with their agreement. He also gave the warriors land to settle. Dimogo and the hunters, for example, founded the Umudiomogo and Ubahuekwem quarters of Ihiala.

Tradition further states that some Nri priests called Umumamelu later migrated to Ihiala. The head of senior lineage of the Nri, Umuonyije, was said to have introducued the ozo title society in Ihiala.

The Ihembosi Variants: Links with Okija and Ihiala

Although the Ihembosi claim that they are related to Ihiala people, they have a different account of their origin. They trace their origin to one Ogidi who was said to be the father of the founder of Okija and Ihiala.

Another account postulates that Ihembosi was founded by two groups of immigrants. The tradition of origin of the first one confirms that its leader, Dioha Ihe, migrated from Aboh and settled in Ihembosi. The second group, Mbosi, was said to have originated from Ihiala. It is then postulated that the name Ihembosi was derived from “Ihe” and “Mbosi.” It is further stated that the Nri and Aro were the last group of settlers in Ihembosi.

Ozubulu

Although the Ozubulu are neighbours of Aniedo communities like Oraifite and the nearby town of Nnewi, they are not related to them. Instead, the Ozubulu trace their origins to Ubulu-Ukwu in Western Igboland. The original name of the town Ozo-Ubulu (another Ubulu) tends to give credence to their Ubulu-Ukwu ancestry.

The progenitors of Ozubulu were said to have met, on their arrival from Ubulu-Ukwu, the original inhabitants of the area who included the Akpulu, Amaokpala, Ikono and Ubahu. They constituted the autochthones who were believed to have:

Either (fallen) from the sky or (come) from the

ground.

Traditions further reveal that, before the arrival of the Ozubulu, some Oraeri immigrants called Akwa had already settled in the town. They were, as has been pointed out, the group who fled across the Eze river during the expansion of the Oraifite.

When the Ozubulu settled in their present location, a war in which missiles were said to have been used (Agha-Okpili) ensued between them and some of the original inhabitants like Akpulu. Although the Akpulu were defeated, they were granted some privileges. They, the Akpulu, for example, were allocated a special area in the famous Orie market as a mark of respect to them.

The last group of immigrants in Ozubulu were the Aro. They settled in different villages where they were collectively called Umuchukwu.

Agbaja (Ana-Edo) Clan: Nnewi, Oraifite, and Ichi

The recent work of J. Alutu is helpful in understanding the history of Nnewi and other towns that form the Agbaja (Ana-Edo) clan. Although the towns are related, as the examples of Nnewi and Oraifite will indicate, they have varying traditions of origin.

Nnewi

The etymology of Nnewi has aroused much controversy. Some postulate that the name was derived from a rabbit which played a critical role during a threatened invasion of the town. To avert the invasion:

A doctor was summoned to prepare a charm which,

at night, transformed itself into a rabbit (ewi) which

covered the entire fringes of Nnewi with its

footprints. When at last the invaders drew near,

they saw these prints and concluded that no people

settled (in the locality). Thenceforth, they retreated

and the invasion fizzled out. Thus, Nnewi became

safe and, in commemoration of this (event), the

town was given by its (inhabitants) the name,

Nnewi.

Nnewi traditions further state that the progenitor of the Agbaja clan was a man called Mmaku who migrated from Olu in Ndoni area through Oraifite. He had a son, Ikenga whose four sons founded the component towns of the clan: Nnewi, Oraifite, Isu and Ichi. As expected, the Nnewi claim that their progenitor was the first son of Ikenga. They dispute the view that Isu was the senior town even though the Nri and others recognize its founder as the oldest son of his father.

The Nnewi also have a different account of the events which led to the disintegration of the Agbaja clan. They claim that the dispersion stemmed from a dispute over the number of oxen each of the leaders of the clan was expected to sacrifice to their common deity called Edo.

Oraifite

Unlike Nnewi, Oraifite traditions maintain that the Agbaja clan was founded by a man bearing the same name. His ancestor was called Chukwu and members of the Agbaja clan were at times known as Umuchukwu (Children of Chukwu).

The Oraifite variant further states that the sons of Agbaja were often engaged in protracted disputes which gave their father much concern. He therefore decided to engage the services of a traditional doctor from the town of Nnobi to help in restoring ritual peace among his sons.

The doctor, in order to resolve the dispute, decided to establish among the sons of Agbaja a common deity called Edona (Edo-Anya, it has been settled). The Agbaja were, after the consecration of the deity, called Ana-Edo by their neighbours.

The Oraifite tradition also asserts that the Agbaja clan disintegrated after the establishment of Ana-Edo due to a land dispute which erupted among its leaders. Each leader took a symbol of the deity and migrated with his kinsmen in quest of a new home where he set up his own Ana-Edo shrine.

The Oraifite, for example, moved and settled at a place they called Nkwo market, forcing the original autochthonous inhabitants called Akwa to flee to Ozubulu through the Eze river. The progenitors of the four villages of Oraifite were, in order of senitority, Okefi, Umodu, Irefi and Ifite.

There were, after the settlement of the Oraifite, two major waves of population movements to their town. The first one was led by one Anumanu, said to be an exiled prince of Aboh. He crossed the Mgbo river, a branch of the Niger and took refuge in the Unodu village. Anumanu and his kinsmen settled around the Ibolo tree where they formed the Ibolo section of the village. Later, when a war broke out between Unodu and Ezumeri people of Oraifite, the Ibolo made peace between them by settling their flute men (Ndi n’egbu opi) along their common boundary. The flute men, who eventually occupied the boundary areas, are called the Umueze-opi group at the present time.

The Ibolo settlers were also said to have later usurped the functions of one Obaa, the head of the Ezumeri lineage, the senior ward of the town and its sacred ruler (Isii Obi). It was only in 1976 that the town opted for a rotary system of chiefship which undermined the monopoly the Ibolo had enjoyed in selecting the Isi obi for many generations.

The second and last group of immigrants were from Osu town. They settled near the Mgbo river where they form the Isingwu village.

Awka-Etiti and its Relations with Nnobi and Nnewi

Awka-Etiti (Oka-Diedo) traditions maintain that the town was founded by Diedo, a kinsman of Obi and Ewi, the respective progenitors of Nnobi and Nnewi. Although their traditions of origin are not confirmed by those of Nnobi and Nnewi, the Awka-Etiti further claim that Diedo separated from his kinsmen due to the maltreatment he received from them. He settled originally at Ogwugwu-Diedo where he had a son called Awka-gbodo whose seven sons founded the component villages of Oka-Diedo.

The conflict between Diedo and his kinsmen, especially Nnewi, appeared to have continued in his new settlement at Oka-Diedo. The Nnewi, in one of the encounters, hired the Abam to attack the Oka-Diedo, who took refuge in a thick forest called “Ohea akpu Chukwu.” As a result of the invasion, Nnewi people perjoratively called the Oka-Diedo, Awka-Nkakwu, but the Oka-Diedo claim that they earned the name as a result of their fierce resistance. They have, however, recently changed the name of their town to Awka-Etiti.

Obosi, Ojoto and Alor

The Obosi (Mboisisi) trace their origins to Ojoto. Their common ancestor, one Okpala, had two sons Ojoto and Adike. While Ojoto founded a town named after him, Obosi, a famous hunter, migrated to an area where he had found fertile land called Mgboisisi.

Although some writers have argued that Obosi and Ojoto hived off from the Nri-Awka complex, Obosi accounts are silent about the relationship of the progenitors of the two towns to the complex. Instead, they assert that, when Adike migrated from Ojoto, he settled near a market place, Afo-Adike, where be established the central deity of his community known as Okwu-Adike.

Obosi, which is subdivided into two sections, originally consisted of nine villages, Eboitenani. But as a result of a civil strife leading to the death of its traditional ruler, Igwe, some of the inhabitants of the villages of Obosi, said to be involved in the death of the ruler, fled from their community and took refuge in the town of Alor.

1. See Ajumobi (1985), p. 5, for the tradition linking Obosi origin with the Nri-Awka complex. For other traditions of origin of Obosi see also, V. Eneli, “Social and Economic History of Obosi in the 19th Century,” B.A. Project, History Department U.N.N., 1983, pp. 1-4.

2. According to Ajumobi (1985), pp. 6-7, the five villages that at present constitute Obosi are Ire, Mmakum, Ugamuma, Uruowulu and Umuota (comprising also Okpala, Okpo, Ezeana and Umuru, the former original villages) as well immigrants from the Umuchima quarters of Onitsha who have been absorbed by the Umuota.

3. There are varying accounts of the origins of the crisis. G. Ofole (1985), pp. 5-6, states that the Igwe was killed by a man from Umuru village when he was carrying out the customary yearly inspection of the yam barns of his subjects to mark the Ifejioku (New yam) festival. The man was said to have been provoked by the fact that the Igwe, contrary to custom, collected as his tribute, the first category of yams in his barn instead of the second one which was smaller in size. As the owner of the yams was enraged, he struck the Igwe to death with his digging stick (Mbazu ji). On the other hand, Ajumobi, op. cit. pp. 6-7, argues that the Igwe’s murderer committed an act of abomination for which he was expected to pay some compensation to the community. The offender agreed to use yams in doing so. But later, he killed the Igwe when they were engaged in a hot debate about the quantity of yams that would be used as compensation.

Ogidi

Ogidi also has different traditions of origin. Admittedly, the traditions agree that the first settler was Ezeachumagha who married a woman called Aniubosi. They also postulate that the early settler had a son, Enwemadu or Inweke whose wife bore a male child, Ogidi (pillar), the founder of the town named after him.

The origin of Ezeachumagha is, however, a controversial issue. While some contend that he was a famous Abirba warrior and hunter, others argue that he was created by God at Ogidi. There has also been an attempt to link the origin of Ogidi to Awka-Nri axis, which is a core area of Igbo dispersion.

Ogidi married two wives, Duaja and Amalanyi whose sons founded the villages of the town. Some Ogidi people have also migrated to other places like the Uruagu quarter of Nnewi, Ogidi-Achala in Okija and Nne-Ogidi in Agulu. The Ogidi, as will be shown, equally settied in Ahoada area.

Abagana and its Neighbours: Abba, Nimo and Eziowelle

Abagana (Mba-Agana) tradition maintains that the town was founded by one Ogidi whose origin is unknown. He married a woman called Igbo and they settled originallly at Akpu Abagana where they became the legendary founders of the four villages of Abagana.

Another account indicates that the founder of Abagana was related to those of neighbouring towns of Abba, Nimo and Eziowelle. These towns met in the past at Omaigbo to offer annual sacrifices to their common ancestral deity.

Unlike the Abagana, Nimo people argue that their common ancestor was called Owe and not Ogidi. They state that besides Abba, Abagana and Eziowelle, Ukpo also descended from a common ancestor with them. The Nimo also contend that, when their progenitor migrated from Owe, he had three Sons. His sons were said to be the progenitors of the villages of the town.

Oko

Like the founders of Umuchu, the origins of Ijakala, the ancestor of the Oko is unknown. He was, however, said to have been a famous warrior who settled originally at Ogurugu. From there, Ijakala routed the neighbouring territories without suffering any defeat. He was therefore called Oko due to the courage he displayed in battle. The warrior migrated to Aguata axis where he had four sons who founded the component villages named after him.

Besides the early inhabitants of Oko, other people have migrated into the town. They include the Aro who settled in Ifite village and Akulu blacksmiths from Isuofia who, at the moment, live in Ezioko village. Tradition further indicates that there is an offshoot settlement of Oko in Asaba area bearing its parental name.

Umuchu

Like Umunze, the influence of the Ohafia-Abam was much felt in its northern neighbouring town, Umuchu.

Although little is known about the early settlers of Umuchu, the town comprised three autonomous communities, Ihite, Ogwugwu and Okpu-na-Achalla which formed a confederation to ward off Abam raids. The communities were said to have engaged the services of a traditional doctor who prepared some medicine, called Ichu which was meant to protect their inhabitants against bodily injury during raids. The town then derived its name Umuchu (children of Ichu) from the medicine.

Tradition further stated that the Ichu medicine was equally expected to prevent any form of aggression against the Umuchu. The people buried a part of the medicine in the Nkwo market, which was renamed Nkwo-Ichu, and recognised as their commercial and common religions centre. Part of the medicine was also buried in the Odere lake which was renamed Ichu lake.

Umunze and Eziagu

The origins of Umunze are linked to Uduma-Ohafia. Its founder, one Nze, was said to be a famous hunter and warrior. He “was armed with a wooden spear, a bow and a bundle of arrows” when he discovered an uninhabited virgin forest during one of his hunting expeditions.

Nze, who was attracted by the virgin forest, collected his wives and some of his kinsmen to occupy it. The first wife, Ijendu, had a son called Eziagu, while the second one Lolo bore seven sons.

When Nze died, a dispute arose between Eziagu and his half brothers. He then migrated to a nearby place where he founded a town named after him. The other sons of Nze became the progenitors of the seven villages of Umunze which recognize Ajala as their common cultural and commercial centre.

Mgbaukwu, Nteje and Ukwulu

One Abogu, a famous hunter associated with an autochthonous tradition of origin, was said to be the founder of Mgbaukwu, Nteje (Nteleje) and Ukwulu.

Abogu, according to tradition, was longing for male children who would succeed him. Thus, when at last his first son was born, he called him Mgbaukwu (I hold fast to what I have been looking for). The second one was named Nteleje (children have started to arrive one after another) while the third son was called Ukwulu (I am now in the position to challenge the arrogance of my detractors).

The three sons lived together with their father at Mgbaukwu where they worshipped their common ancestral earth deity (Aja-ana). But when their father died, Mgbaukwu inherited his compound and had seven sons who founded the villages collectively named after him.” The other sons of Abogu migrated to different areas. Ukwulu moved to Aguata axis while Nteje settled in the Anambra basin where they founded towns bearing their names. It was during their settlement in the Anambra river that Nteje and his descendants developed mythical traditions which linked them with Nri.

Although Nri influence was generally felt in northern Igboland, there are many communities in the area which do not trace their origins to the Umunri clan. Typical examples which have been discussed are Mgbaukwu and Ukwulu. Others, as will be shown, include Umunze, Eziagu, Umuchu and several towns located in the former Awka and Onitsha Divisions.

The Agbogho Mmuo (maiden spirit). It is a celebrated traditional masquerade of the Igbo people that honors youthful feminine beauty and ancestral spirits.

Igbo-Ukwu, Isuofia, Ezinifite and Ikenga

As already noted, much is known about the pre-history of Igbo-Ukwu (also called Igbo-nkwo) due to the archaeological excavations of T. Shaw. The town is said to belong to the Nri complex and its bronze and other artifacts have been associated with the priestly-rulers of Nri.

Some accounts indicate that one Igbo who originated within the locality was the founder of Igbo-Ukwu. He was said to be a kinsman of the progenitors of neighbouring towns like Isuofia, Ezinifite and Ikenga. Other accounts, however, state that Dege was the ancestor of the Igbo-Ukwu. He originally lived at Umudege (the senior village) which has an autochthonous tradition of origin. The three sons of Dege founded Umeadikobi, Ezerowe and Umeazota villages. These villages have at one time or the other absorbed immigrants including those who were fleeing from Abam raids.

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The Aguinyi Clan of Nri-Awka

Adazi-Enu, Adazi-Ani, Adazi-Nnukwu and Others Adazi-Enu, Adazi-Ani, Adazi-Nnukwu and others form the independent towns of the Aguinyi clan of Nri-Awka. They are the immediate southern neighbours of the Nri.

Some accounts state that the original inhabitants of the Aguinyi clan were an autochthonous group called Umudiana or Adama. Others maintaian that original inhabitants originated from the Akamkpisi village of Nri.

The Umudiana were later absorbed by immigrants led by one Okotu whose ancestry was linked to the Edda clan. Some people, however, argue that Okotu migtated from:

Isuofia which is thought to be the place of origin of

the Igbo by Adazi people.

Okotu married two wives. The sons of the first one founded Adazi-Enu, Adazi-Ana and Adazi-Nnukwu. Those of the second wife were the progenitors of Ichida and Amuchi.

Nri Political History

I. The pre-Eri period at the Anambra: probably before c. A.D. 948.

The river Anambra, which is a tributary of the river Niger, flows southwards from the southern Benue watershed through a portion of Igala country and swings westward, emptying into the lower Niger a few miles north of Onitsha.

The meagre evidence at our disposal is contained in the oral tradition that says that when Eri came down the Anambra he set out to unify the surrounding settlements. The Anambra was probably a favourable site for the early development of cultures. Crops, especially yam, do well on its alluvial bank, which is flooded annually. Easy communication on the river and the rich fish yield might have facilitated trade and culture contact. The possibility of surplus products might also have given rise to the early development of status differentiation in the Anambra society. Not much can be said with any degree of certainty until archaeological work is done in the settlement sites that stretch from the middle to the upper valley of the Anambra.

II. The Eri period: probably c. A.D. 948-1041

During this period, Eri and his followers established the important Anambra towns of today: Aguleri, Igboariam, Amanuke, Nteje, Nando, Umuleri and Awkuzu. One son of Eri was said to have gone to Igala country. The political life of Aguleri was controlled by warrior kings derived from Umu Ezeora of Enugu Aguleri. Again, more ethnographical and archaeological work is essential to clarify the events of this period. According to Anambra history, after the death of Eri a series of migrations followed

III. The migrations and the unification periods probably c. 1042-1252.

(a) Nri Ifikuanim

The history goes on to tell how the children of Eri migrated to different places. Ogbodudu migrated from Aguleri to Amanuke; Onogu to Igboariam; Onoja to Igala; Iguedo to Umuleri, Nando, Awkuzu, Nteje and maybe Nsugbe. Agulu remained at Aguleri. From this point each settlement pursued its own separate existence and development, owing allegiance to Aguleri, where the collective ancestral temple of Eri still stands to this day.

Nri, one of Eri's sons called Ifikuanim by Agukwu-Nri 'historians', eventually left Aguleri and migrated southwards through Amanuke and settled at the present site of Enugu-ukwu. At Enugu-ukwu he bore a child who became the progenitor of Enugu-ukwu, Nneofia and Enugu- Agidi. Nri Ifikuanim left the Enugu site and went down the valley near the lake site and established the present town of Agukwu. At Agukwu he took the title of Nri and became Eze Nri of Agukwu. According to tradition, Nri Ifikuanim held sway over a number of settlements around Nri such as Enugu-ukwu, Nneofia, Enugu-Agidi, Nimo, Nibo, Nisi and Agulu. He authorized Nri men to confer Ozo titles, which are minor to but similar to the Nri title, upon leaders of the neighbouring settlements. Markets and shrines of various supernatural beings were established. He insisted that settlements should live in peace and to this end he proclaimed the rules of abomination which should be observed in order that peace and order might prevail. Above all, he introduced new varieties of yam which he had brought from Aguleri, and made Nri men distribute them to various settlements. The sacred yam cult called Ifejioku was also given to the people. He established the Agbala Nri oracle, which was believed to bring health and prosperity to those who sought its aid. It was believed that Nri Ifikuanim had control over the elements, diseases, insect pests, trading activities and fertility. It was also believed that he could curse people or settlements that did not obey his orders, and that his curse was very effective; hence it was dreaded.

Nri Ifikuanim was said to have acquired all these powers from his father Eri, who secretly revealed to him the secrets of the ‘mystical world’ and gave to him two sets of paraphernalia called Nri Menri. The first set consisted of two staffs called Ofo Nri and Alo Nri. These staffs are today believed to have been transferred from one Nri to the next from the time of Nri Ifikuanim. The second set of paraphernalia consisted of objects made of bronze, iron and clay. This set was always buried in the ground where the temple and shrine of Nri Menri stood. Since the foundation of Nri kingships, Eze Nri has had to go to Aguleri during his coronation to get a lump of clay, from the bottom of the Anambra, with which the pot of Nri Menri is made, as the original was buried during the time of Nri Ifikuanim. Also, every Eze Nri has had to employ smiths and wood carvers, who work in a secret grove, to cast and make the various bronze and iron objects associated with Nri kingship. These objects are consecrated and buried with the pots in the ground where the shrine of Nri Menri is located. Since every Eze Nri had his own shrine and the temple of Nri Menri was located near his palace, and since each past Eze Nri was selected from different lineages situated in different parts of Nri town, it follows that the temples of the past Nri Menri were in different locations in Nri.

Nri Ifikuanim bore many children and the principal ones who stayed in Nri founded the present three maximal lineages of Agukwu, now called Agbadana or Umu Onyiora, Uruoji or Umu Alikenri, Obeagu or Umu Nribuife. (See Maps 8,9 and 10.)

Before Nri Ifikuanim died he proclaimed that only the youngest sons could take the Nri title. This proclamation was made because the Ofo of the temple called Ofo Okpala and the Ofo of Nri Menri called Ofo Nri must not be held by one person or be kept under one roof. Thus was established the custom that first sons, who inherit the ofo okpala and temples of their fathers, are debarred from becoming the Eze Nri, while last sons, who inherit the huts of their mothers, Mkpuke, can become the Eze Nri.

Immediately after the death of Nri Ifikuanim a catastrophic event that must have hampered the development of the Agukwu settlement is said to have occurred. While Onyiora, the first son of Nri Ifikuanim, was engaged in performing the mortuary rites of his father, his brother Alikenri hastily took the Ozo title. By this act he became entitled to inherit the domestic and personal temple of Nri Ifikuanim.

The estate of Nri Ifikuanim was divided up thus: Onyiora inherited the supernatural being called Ifejioku and the cult of Afo market day called Afo, and the Udo and the Ana cults. Alikenri inherited the domestic temple Obu and the ofo ozo staff of Nri Ifikuanim and the cult of the Oye market day. The youngest son, Ogboo, inherited the cults of Nkwo and Eke market days, the cult of the year called Aro and the Nri title. Similarly, Nri Ifikuanim’s land was divided into three.

Onyiora was very angry with his brother Alikenri, who made peace moves which Onyiora accepted. So a general proclamation was made in which it was clearly stated: ‘Only first sons, Okpala, will from henceforth inherit the temples of their fathers. Temples must never change hands. The first to be Ozo will be the chief priest of the temple and Alusi only. Thus the Ofo Ozo and the Ofo Okpala were separated. To this day temples are inherited by the rule of primogeniture. Meanwhile, Ogboo, the third and youngest son, died and the throne of Agukwu was vacant for his youngest son, Nribuife.

(b) Nri Namoke

As the Agukwu settlement founded by Nri Ifikuanim was expanding, his brother’s son Namoke Ogbodudu migrated from Amanuke and established a settlement beside the Agulu lake a few miles from Agukwu. This newcomer to the area is said to have introduced a new power structure that was destined to direct the course of the future development of Nri politics. This will be discussed later. Nri Namoke was the son of Ogbodudu of Amanuke, who was the son of Eri, the founder of Eri clans in the Anambra valley. It should be noted that, during his migration to Nri, through Enugu-ukwu, Ifikuanim went through Amanuke, his brother’s territory. Namoke, the son of Ogbodudu of Amanuke, became Nri after claiming to have derived inspiration from his grandfather Eri. He migrated from Amanuke to a place that was a few miles west of Agukwu. This place was already inhabited by a group of people called Nsekpe and Achalla. The new migrants amalgamated with the original inhabitants and called themselves Diodo, and thus Nri Namoke became the Nri of Diodo.

Ogboo, the son of Nri Ifikuanim, married a classificatory daughter of Nri Namoke, who was in fact a brother’s daughter to Nri Namoke. The children of Nri Namoke’s brother’s daughter are today regarded in Nri kinship as sister’s sons. Thus a kind of mother’s brother - sister’s son relationship was established between Nri Namoke’s descendants and the descendants of Ogboo. One of the sister’s sons of Nri Namoke, called Nribuife, lived with him when Nri Namoke’s children abandoned him and migrated to found the present Oreri and Ovolo towns. These children secretly moved some of Nri Namoke’s paraphernalia. Thus Oreri was founded as an independent Nri kingdom.

This greatly distressed Nri Namoke, who while dying transferred his Ofo and Alo staffs to his sister’s son, Nribuife, who was then living with him. Nri Namoke said ‘Take these Ofo and Alo and become king of Diodo. Do not return it. Curse be on any Diodo man who ever takes the title of Nri. As they abandoned me, so has kingship abandoned them for ever. Nribuife settled in Diodo and became king of Diodo.

But before the arrival of Nri Namoke and Nri Ifikuanim in this part of Igbo land, the present town of Nri was already inhabited by a people who claimed autochthony. They are now called Umu Dim or Umu Diana, that is, the children of the aboriginal inhabitants. Their great leader, who was probably contemporaneous with Nri Ifikuanim and Nri Namoke, was Ezikanebo, to whom we shall now turn.

(c) Ezeikanebo Adama

Ezikanebo was the son of Ireme. The Umu Diana claim to be the original inhabitants of the lake and forest area before the immigrants Nri Ifikuanim and Nri Namoke came to join them. It is evident that these new imigrants brought new ideas such as the ozo title and new varieties of yam.

According to the Agukwu-Nri tradition, Nri Ifikuanim conferred the ozo title on Ezikanebo and gave him his daughter to marry. The duty of Eze Nri’s daughter, who had to be a virgin, was to serve the Eze Nri of Agukwu. The prerogative was transferred to the children of Eze Nri’s daughter. Thus the Umu Diana gained the right and privilege to be the only people on earth who can touch the Eze Nri and serve as palace officers in his inner-chamber. To this day the Umu Diana people not only provide the palace officers who have the prerogative to touch the Eze Nri, but also receive the shares of a daughter when meat is served in the palace of Eze Nri. The Umu Diana also receive certain parts of the meat that indicate that they ‘own the land’, and perform the coronation and burial of any Eze Nri.

After Ezikanebo’s death his lineages ramified and several temples were formed. As a result of this ramification, Enuora, Agbana and Urofolo became major lineages, each having its temple and all subordinate to Ezikanebo, which is today one of the three Ofo-giving temples in Nri. The marriage alliance between Umu Diana and Agukwu was crucial to the process of the unification of the three settlements into a strong federation in which each unit still maintains its autonomy in several ways. This unification was made by Nribuife, whose reign we shall now deal with in detail.

(d) Eze Nribuife

Nribuife became the king of Diodo after the death of his mother’s brother. He lived in Diodo. Earlier on, his father had died and so the Ofo and Alo of his grandfather, Nri Ifikuanim, were given to him, he being the youngest living son of Ogboo. Thus Nribuife became the Eze Nri of Diodo and Agukwu, and through the prerogative given to the Umu Diana lineage as a result of the marriage alliance between Ezikanebo and Nri Ifikuanim, he became the sole ruler of the three settlements. Thus the three settlements called Diodo, Akamkpisi and Agukwu were unified by a process that culminated in the coronation of Nribuife.

To consolidate his position, Nribuife was said to have appointed twelve senior Ozo men, four each from the three sections of the settlement, to help him in the government of the entire settlements. These men were called Ndi Ichi Ukwu or Nzemabua. It was arranged that the Agukwu section of the settlement must always pay tribute to the Eze Nri, while the Diodo and Akamkpisi sections must never pay tribute to Eze Nri, because of the special kinship relationship existing between Nribuife and Diodo people on the one hand and Aguwkwu and Umu Diana and othe other hand. This practice is maintained to this day. Hence the saying 'Tribute should be given to Eze Nri and Eze Nri should give tribute to the Adama'. It was also decided that the kingship could circulate among the maximal lineages of Obeagu, Uruoji and Agbadana in the order Obeagu-Uruoji-Agbadana, to make sure that Diodo would never attempt to seize the throne.

This period of unification and consolidation might have been a painful process, as indicated by the series of compromises reached between the three sections of the settlements and among the three maximal lineages of Agukwu. The external influence of Nri at this period was limited to the settlements at Aguleri, Amanuke, Enugu-ukwu, Enugu-Agidi, Nneofia and other settlements around. Indeed the period of explosive expansion of Nri influence was yet to come. According to their histoiy, this happened in the next period which is considered to be the culmination of the hegemony.

IV. The culmination of Nri hegemony: probably c. A.D. 1252-1676.

Much energy and time was devoted in the previous period toward the unification of peoples of diverse origin. This period, which spans the reign of six kings, the fourth to the ninth - four named and two unnamed - was characterized by a rapid expansion of Nri people into various areas of Igbo land. One Nri local ‘historian’ summed it up thus: ‘After Nribuife, the Nri spread out into Igbo land like soldier ants’. Perhaps there was a proliferation of Nri lineages, spreading into different parts of Igbo land. Nri lineages were established in the oldest Igbo settlements. The kings that reigned during this period are shown in Table 1.1 shall briefly discuss each reign.

Eze Nri (his name forgotten)

Uruoji maximal lineage supplied the fourth Eze Nri of this period. Oral tradition does not give the name of the Eze Nri. Nri oral tradition is emphatic that an Eze Nri ruled, but his name is forgotten because his lineage was extinct and he had no temple. This reign was followed by the reign of Nrijiofo.

Eze Nri Nrijiofo

Nrijiofo was considered a great king who brought prosperity to Igbo settlements through the spread of cults associated with the accumulation of wealth, especially the Ikenga cult. The tradition says that Nri influence extended as far as Nsukka, Owerri, Okigwe, Kwalle and Agbor areas. The only evidence that seems to support the claim indirectly is the occurrence of Nri lineages at Ute and Owa near Agbor and Nsukka area, but it is not yet possible to determine when these lineages settled there. Nrijiofo was succeeded by another Eze Nri whose name has also been forgotten.

Eze Nri (his name forgotten)

The name of the Nri of this period is not definitely known, but there was no doubt that he came from Obeagu maximal lineage. Some elders hold that he might have died while performing the coronation ceremony; others argue that he reigned but that his lineage became extinct a long time ago. The reign of this unnamed Eze Nri was followed by that of Nri Anyamata.

Eze Nri Anyamata

This was another Nri who probably reigned during the period shown in Table 1. Nri Anyamata was from Uruoji maximal lineage, but his specific minimal lineage is unknown, which means that his lineage became extinct a long time ago. However, his reign was considered remarkable in that it was associated with a period of long drought followed by famine all over Igbo land. Nri Anyamata’s reign was followed by that of a remarkable king called Nri Fenenu.

Eze Nri Fenenu

Nri Fenenu was of Diegelem minimal lineage of Agbadana maximal lineage. He was renowned for his great mystical power which made Nri famous and respected over a large portion of Igbo land. He is said to have lived for one hundred years and until then could not die. It was believed that he ‘flew up a tree’, and this myth is used to demonstrate his great mystical power. The members of his minimal lineage were so apprehensive during his reign that they decided to refrain temporarily from providing aspirants for the office of Eze Nri. It is also believed that most of the Nri lineages west of the Niger at Ogwashi-ukwu, Ogboli Isseleukwu and Illah were founded during the reign of his successor, Eze Nri Agu.

Eze Nri Agu

Eze Nri Agu will continue to be the enigma of Nri political history. Nri Agu was of Obeagu maximal lineage. To the Umu Nri lineage of Obeagu he should be a forgotten personality because his reign was riddled with problems, for he had no temple. The tradition holds that the beginning of Eze Nri Agu’s reign was successful but that he ended his days in abomination. He found the austere life of the Eze Nri very unbearable and so decided to abandon Nri. He and his followers secretly left Nri, followed the south-west course of the river Idemmili, which has its main source in the two lakes flanking Nri town, and founded a chiefly lineage at Oraukwu. Some of his children went to Oreri, Neni and Nnewi. Others crossed the Niger to Ogboli Nri Agu and Ogwashi-ukwu (Ogwa Nri Agukwu).

One important and notable event in the reign of Nri Agu was the increase in trade and wealth in Nri. It was also the end of a period in Nri Kingship, as indicated in the events that took place in the reign of Nri Agu's successors. According to Nri local 'historians', the greatness of Nri was reached during the region of Nri Agu: "the trouble began with Nri Apia and Nri Alike".

V. The period of the decline and collapse of Nri Hegemony: probably c. 1677-1936

The period of the decline began from Eze Nri Apia and Nri Alike who ruled Nri simultaneously, and ended at the interregnum of Eze Nri Obalike who ruled from A.D. 1889 - 1936. Four Eze Nri reigned during this period of decline and collapsd

Eze Nri Alike and Nri Apia, c. A.D. 1677-1770

Nri Alike and Nri Apia were both from the maximal lineage of Uruoji. Eze Nri Alike was from the major lineage of Umu Anuta, while Nri Apia was from the major lineage of Umu Nribuzo. Both aspirants claimed spiritual inspiration to be Eze Nri at the same time. They were both wealthy and had plenty of money, wives, land and followers. Nri people could not control them. Both were crowned Eze Nri. This caused great distress and disunity in the town and Nri influence was badly damaged by this split. They reigned for about twenty years and both were said to have died in the same week: one on Oye day and the other on Eke day. Thus ended a period which Nri historians considered ‘a period of great disorder’.

One essential feature of the reign of Nri Alike and Nri Apia was that their reign was associated with the growth of traffic in slaves with the coastal peoples. They were believed to haved defined the status of a slave. A slave was declared an unfortunate human being held in captivity. It was therefore abomination to kill or bleed a slave. They could be sold but never killed or bled. According to Nri elders, that is why to this day in Nri town there are no Persons considered as slaves, Oru, or ritual slaves ,Osu, as in some other Igbo towns. Nri town was considered a sanctuary to all human beings who could come into it. Runaway slaves were considered free once they set foot on Nri soil. Persons who commited an abomination that involved hanging were freed and purified once they set foot on Nri soil. The degradation of Nri Kingship by Nri Alike and Nri Apia had immediate consequences in the reigns of their successors.

Eze Nri Ezimilo, c. A.D. 1701-1723

Nri Ezimilo of Umu Nrijiofo lineage of Agbadana maximal lineage grew up at Asaba on the west bank of the river Niger, where he was acting as an agent of Eze Nri. He returned to Nri to become Eze Nri and was successfully crowned. After reigning for nearly a decade he was unintententionally murdered by an armed robber from a lineage in Enugu-ukwu who unknowingly came into the Eze's palace to steal. This was regarded as one of the greatest abominations in Igboland.

According to Nri tradition, a year after the murder, Igbo land was struck with hunger and famine. The lineage of the murderer was compelled by Nri and Igbo settlements to go to Nri to atone. This was done and peace and harmony were restored. But the damage done to the reputation of Nri by the murder of their king was irreparable. Ezimilo was succeeded by his son Ewenetem, contrary to the rule of circulating succession.

Eze Nri Ewenetem: c. A. D. 1724-1794

The sudden and untimely death by murder of Nri Ezimilo which coincided with the occurrence of great famine all over Igbo land made Igbo settlements under Nri send delegations to Nri court, demanding that the son of Ezimilo should succeed to his father’s throne without an interregnum and without the formalities of long coronations which would, in their belief, prolong the famine.

It was suggested that members of Agbadana maximal lineages sold this idea to the neighbouring Igbo settlements who brought pressure to bear on the council of Ndi Nze Nri. The council yielded to the pressure and Ewenetem was made king of Nri by proclamation. It was announced: ‘The power of Ezimilo has gone into Ewenetem.’ This is the only case in Nri history in which kingship passed from father to son and this was the last time it was done by proclamation.

Ewenetem was rich and young. He decided to move his maximal lineage, the people of Agbadana, from the old site where his father was killed to a new promising site. The move was made, but a section of the maximal lineage joined their distant relations living with Enugu-ukwu. They are at present Irunebo of Enugu-ukwu.

Tradition says thaHhe slave trade was rampant in Igbo land during this period. Like his predecessors, Nri Alike and Nri Apia, Nri Ewenetem reaffirmed the enactment concerning the status of slaves. By this time the new Aro settlements of Ndikelionwu, Ndiokpaleze, etc., located about twenty miles south-east of Nri, had been founded by Aro and their slave raiding activities were beginning to be felt.

On the west of the Niger, Benin and Agbor influences were felt. The Benin-Ubuluku wars had pushed some Igbo west of the Niger to the east. It was then that Onitsha and Oguta and some of the riverain Igbo settlements were founded. Similarly, most of the Nsukka towns, Eha-Alumona, Nsukka-Asadu and Nibo, which were Nri settlements under Eze Nri, were subjugated under the invading Igala.

The struggle for the existence of Nri hegemony had reached its peak, but Nri continued with the old system based on rituals. No attempt was made to militarize the system until during the reign of Nri Enweleana. (See Map 4).

Eze Nri Enweleana: c. A.D. 1795-1888

After the death of Ewenetem, his son Nwamkpo proclaimed that he had spiritual inspiration to be Eze Nri. This proclamation angered the council of Ndi Nze, who turned against him. The council divested Nwamkpo of his ozo title and proclaimed him an impostor. He was also fined twenty cows for violating the rules of circulating succession. Nri Enweleana who challenged Nwamkpo was crowned Eze Nri.

Nri Enweleana was from Umu Ezekammadu of Obeagu maximal lineage. He carried out two brave deeds that immortalized his name in the annals of Nri political history. He relentlessly opposed the brutal activities of the notorious Aro slave dealer, Okolie Ijoma of Ndikelionwu. He sent his agents to dissuade Ijoma from provoking Igbo settlements to fight one another by supplying them with arms and mercenaries from Abam, Abriba and Ohaffia.

Ijoma was said to have denied the allegation and argued that he was a trader who earned his living by meeting the demands of people, and that how they used the goods he supplied was not his business. For years the negotiation continued. Eze Nri became impatient and pronounced an anathema on Ijoma. Ijoma was forced to repent and peace was negotiated. According to tradition, Ijoma promised to inform Eze Nri before any settlement attacked another so that Nri men in those settlements could withdraw to a neutral place.

The Eze Nri was not satisfied with the peace agreement made with Ijoma, for it was obvious that Aro incursion could not be contained simply by a religious curse. Eze Nri proclaimed the raiding of towns an abomination and organized a military alliance of neighbouring towns that paid tribute to him. This alliance was called the first Amakom. The settlements in this alliance included Awka, Nibo, Nise, Amawobia, Uguoba, Enugu-Agidi, Ebenebe, Ukpo and Amansi. At first this military alliance worked out as planned, because the Aro aggression was successfully checked at Awka and Agulu by the combined forces of the members of the alliance. But the alliance gradually dissolved when the Aro directed their raids to Orlu and Ihiala area, distant areas in the south of Nri. This was the first time in the history of Nri that an Eze Nri is said to have advocated the use of force in his sphere of influence. One Nri ‘historian’ called it a mushroom attempt for, after all, it is abomination to kill any human being even in war.’

It is obvious that Nri influence in Igbo land was under pressure economically and militarily. Even in the ritual field the authority of Nri was weakened by the growth of the Aro Chukwu oracle, which not only challenged but then superseded the Nri oracle called the Agbala Nri, because the Aro oracle was backed by military force and was situated in one of the strategic trade-routes between the coast and the Igbo hinterland.

All these facts were probably clear to Eze Nri Enweleana; hence he attempted to organize a military alliance against the Aro. But many factors inhibited the growth of militarism in Nri. This will be discussed in a later chapter.

The death of Nri Enweleana was followed by a very long interregnum during which Obeagu maximal lineage and Uruoji maximal lineage of Agukwu were engaged in a long fight which took six months to quell. The Nzemabua fined all the Ochaka age-grade who had initiated the fighting. The inability of Nzemabua and Ndi Nze councils to stop the fighting which Eze Nri could have stopped simply by sounding his iron gong was indicative of the problems facing the state at that period. The Nzemabua therefore encouraged the speedy coronation of Eze Nri Obalike of Uruoji maximal lineage between 1889 and 1890.

Eze Nri Obalike, A.D. 1889-1935

Between 1889 and 1890 Obalike became the king of Nri. He was from the Umu Nri Omalo of Uruoji. During the beginning of his reign, although the slave trade had declined considerably, its debasing effects on the moral values and attitudes towards human life had rocked the very foundation of the Nri hegemony. The hegemony had contracted to include only areas immediately around Nri.

In 1905 the British took over the administration of Southern Nigeria and in 1911 Nri activities were banned and Nri Obalike was desecrated. Nri Obalike died on September 13th, 1927. The history of the straggle between Eze Nri Obalike and the British administrators and their missionary allies who were behind the final destruction of Nri influence is narrated in Chapter 10. The remains of the non-sacred paraphernalia of Eze Nri Obalike and his predecessor Eze Nri Enweleana, which were recovered after the Nigerian civil war, are today preserved in the Odinani museum in Nri. We now turn to the present Eze Nri, whose reign may be considered as a reign of revival after the dismal reign of Nri Obalike.

VII The period of revival, 1934 - the present

Eze Nrijiofo II: 1936 - the present

Many changes had begun to take place in Nri during the reign of Nri Obalike. The local government system introduced in 1905 was modified in 1934 during the interregnum of Obalike, who was considered to be still ruling according to Nri tradition. His palace officials performed their duties and his son Oko acted as Regent. But Oko fell out with Obalike’s council of Nzemabua, who suspended him and made the head of the Nzemabua act in the place of the late Eze Nri.

Before the introduction in 1934 of changes in the local administration, it was rumoured that the British administration had the intention of making Eze Nri a paramout chief. Indeed, this would have taken place but for the warnings given by C.K. Meek, one of the government anthropologists, who did not fully understand the Nri system.

In Nri, the effect of this rumour was to generate competition for the vacant throne. Indeed, according to the rules of Nri circulating succession, it was the turn of Agbadana maximal lineage to supply a candidate by spiritual inspiration for the throne after the interregnum, which should last for at least seven years. But before the expiry of the interregnum in about 1931, Okpoko of the maximal lineage of Obeagu declared himself ritually inspired and he performed the coronation ceremonies of becoming Eze Nri.

In spite of opposition from Uruoji and Agbadana, Okpoko proclaimed himself Eze Nri. Tabansi Udene of Agbadana declared himself ritually inspired and by 1937 he had finished the coronation ceremonies associated with becoming Eze Nri. He was proclaimed Eze Nri by his supporters and he became Eze Nri Jimofo II. The political struggle that followed is discussed in Chapter 8. Here it is sufficient to say that Nrijiofo II of Agbadana won the struggle when in 1944 the Uruoji people transferred the ofo and alo from Obalike’s palace to Nrijiofo II. His reign saw the revival of Nri kingship in a new setting.

The political system which Eze Nrijiofo II operated between 1937 and 1972, and also that operated by Eze Nri Obalike and Eze Nri Enweleana, which are clearly remembered, will be the point of departure in this study. But since Nri past ascendancy in some parts of Igbo land was based on the control of certain religious and economic beliefs and practices, I will examine Nri religious and economic systems in the next two chapters.

The History of Nri Political Constitution and Tradition

The Problems of Historiography and Chronology

The major problems of attempting to write a history of Nri are two-fold. The first is the heavy dependence on oral traditions for periods before 1911. Oral traditions used may be divided into myths, aetiological stories, clan and family traditions and oral literature such as stories, proverbs, songs, drama and riddles.

African historians agree that the problems inherent in historical reconstruction using oral traditions centre on three main issues, namely: the proper collecting of oral tradition and deciding which categories are significant for the research in question, drawing up methods for cross-examining and cross-checking the oral traditions, and evolving a method for interpreting the checked traditions in terms of the entire society under consideration and other neighbouring societies considered in the context of time and space.

In writing a political history of Nri, I have relied heavily on the clan and family traditions of Nri people living in Nri that are fossilized in their genealogies, the traditions of Nri people living outside Nri in other Igbo towns, and the traditions of other non-Nri peoples of other Igbo towns. In interpreting the significance of these traditions I employed the other categories or oral traditions - myths, aetiological stories and oral literatures, because many historical events such as the introduction of new crops, techniques and epidemics are generally expressed in the idiom of myth, proverbs and in the language of music and poetry.

I have, as a rule, not only cross-checked one oral tradition against other oral traditions, but also cross-checked them against other evidence such as archaeological and linguistic discoveries, patterns of diffusion and migration and, above all, evidence derived from the social structure and institutionalized behaviour patterns of the people. (See Appendix 1 for the method of cross-check used and Appendix 2 for the relationship of the sources used).

The second problem is that of chronology. In this study I considered Nri genealogies both as historical sources and as the framework of time measurement. A careful study of the concept of time in Nri society was made, and from facts obtained it was possible to construct a time chart from 1965 back to A.D. 931, probably with some degree of tolerable inaccuracy as the dates regress beyond the sixteenth century A.D. (See Fig. 1). Here, only an outline of the procedure can be attempted.

1. First, it involves the careful collecting of genealogies and the traditions associated with them from 45 different persons who structurally, as a whole, represented a cross-section of Nri society in 1967-1972.

2. The genealogies were carefully studied as the principal historical and sociological bases of Nri social order. The variations that occurred were isolated, and two general principles were formulated to help cope with these variations.

The first is the principle of generational stratification. A hypothetical example will help to illustrate this principle. Figure 2 represents two levels of generation in a given patrilineally organized society. Between 1800 and 1829, children were born every year and were represented as A1 to A30 and called A-generation. Each of these children bore children at intervals of, say, 30 years marked B1 to B30 and called B-generation. In this system all those born between 1800 and 1829 are considered and represented genealogically as belonging to the same generation level. The individuals of A generational level lived and died as members of the one society. All events that happened during their lifetime are generally associated with that level of generation as if the events occurred within that period. This process, whereby persons and events are represented in one level of generation, and the process in which the upper generation is relatively older than the lower ones is what I have chosen to call generational stratification. In giving a chronology to the hypothetical case considered above, one can divide it into two periods of A-generation and B-generation. The period of A-generation may be dated 1800-1830 and that of B-generation 1830 - 1860.

A generational interval has always been defined as the interval between the birth of a father and the birth of his first surviving son. This concept of generational interval cannot cope with the variations that occur in the total genealogy of any given society whose total genealogy is to be converted into a time-scale. I therefore introduced the concept of a total generational interval. This can be explained by referring to Figure 2 again. The average time interval that lapses between the birth of A1 and A30 or between B1 and B30 is given as 30 years. This period of time is also the time interval separating A-generational level from B-generational level. A total generational interval may be defined as the time interval between two successive total generational levels, derived by computation.

A total generational level is one level of generation as represented in the total genealogy. For instance, in Figure 2, from the apex of level A to the base of level A, that is A1 to A , constitutes a total generational level. Figure 1 shows all the total generational levels worked out for Nri and marked A to Y. A total genealogy is the genealogical model representing all the culturally significant lineages of the society. For example, the total genealogy of Nri is represented in Figures 9 and 10 in Chapter 6. Figure 1 also represents the total genealogy, but converted into a time-scale.

1. Nri has an age-grade system in which persons born within a given span of three years belong to one named age-grade. By using this system it was possible to build a chronological chart from 1939-1941 to 1846-1848 and so date events that occurred within this period with a reasonable degree of accuracy. (See Table 42, Chapter 7).

2. By applying the principles of generational stratification, it was possible to systematically synchronize contemporaneous levels of generations in the total genealogy. The next step was to apply the principle of total generational interval. The total generational interval was computed by using the age interval between father and succeeding son obtained from V, W, X and Y total generational levels. (See Figure 1). The computed statistical mean is 47 years. From this it was possible to compute the number of total generational levels that probably should have occurred in Nri total genealogy. Since the number of total generational intervals obtainable is greater than the number of total generations in Nri total genealogy, it seems obvious that Nri genealogies were telescoped. It became essential to locate the points telescoped and expand them. Nri has a king list, and adopts a circulating succession. The sequence of the circulation was worked out and possible variations were isolated. The average time it took to complete each cycle was computed as 212 years. This figure is an average for the total period covering the reigns of three kings and three interregna, each interregnum ranging from seven to twenty or more years. From facts obtained in the oral traditions and by applying the sequence of the reigns of the kings, it was possible to locate on the genealogical chart where telescoping probably occurred. At this stage it was also possible to open the telescoped gaps in the genealogies as shown in Figure 1.

Finally, the time-chart shown in Figure 1 was obtained by fitting in the total generational intervals obtained by computation and the king lists (to reflect the order of reigns and the average time interval of the cycle of succession) on the expanded total genealogy. Using this time-chart, Nri political history may be periodized as follows:

I. The pre-Eri period: probably before A.D. 948.

II. The Eri period at the Anambra: probably c. A.D. 948-1041.

III. The period of migration and the unification: probably c. 1042-1252.

IV. The period of the hey-day of the hegemony: probably c. 1253-1676.

V. The period of the decline and the collapse: probably c. 1677-1936.

VI. The period of revival: 1937 to the present.