An Examination of the Nri-Igbo Concept of CHI
in the Light of Oral Traditions
O gonn a C h ib u zo A gu ( S O A S )
S u p erv ised by D r L ou is B ren ner Africa Departm ent
Subm itted in Partial Fulfilm ent for the Award of the Ph.D degree
in Studies in African Thought, with Reference to Igbo Traditions
October, 1990 U niversity o f London
LONDON , UN1V ,
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For m y father and m other, M azi G. C. Agu
&
Nnem Patience Uzonnwa Agu
Nne^ gwa 111-gw a rii-gwa in N na gwa m -gw a m -gw a m Gwa m anunu hapuru ulo b a n y e n 'o h ia ?
N ne gw a m -gw a m -gw a m N n a gw a m -gw a m -gw a m
G w a m odib o C hukw u kp u ru okw a je e gwa 111111 uo okwu?
N ne gw a m -gw a m -gw a m N na gwa m gw a m -gw a m
G wa otu nw oke je r e n'ala m m uo je e m u ta oku
N ne gw a m -gw a m -gw a m N na gw a m -gw a m -gw a 111
Gwa m otu nw aan yi si n 'iitu tu jeb e ije jek w u te O ke-chi N na gbu ru onwa^ n'ihu^
O gbu ru onw a w ere lee anya na m m iri anyim
Hu ihe ha ka enyi;
N ne gbara aku n'ah u,
O bu nkw u n tu tit n ’isi w ere
^ lee anya na mmiri^
W ere hu ihe ha ka igwe^
A n y i w ere n a -e je A n yi ana eje...
It is w ith r e n e w e d h o p e an d h a p p in e s s th a t I now a c k n o w le d g e th e e ffo r ts o f a ll th o s e w h o h e lp e d me in d iffe r e n t w ays to a c h ie v e th is u ltim a te end o f m y r esea rc h . T he sto r y it s e lf is a m a ra th o n to te ll and n eed s b e tter be reserv ed at som e o th er tim e. F irst, I th an k m y su p erv iso rs Dr.
L ou is B ren n er and D r. Liz G u n n er, b oth o f w h om m ade th is c o m p le tio n o f the th esis p o ssib le . I rem a in in d eb ted to them m o reo v er for th e ir en co u ra g em en t in the fa ce o f a ll od d s. In th em I fo u n d m y fr ie n d s and m y s u p p o r te r s . f D r B ren n er h im se lf w ho I h ave had to w ork m ore c lo sely did m uch to c la r ify m y v isio n and sh a p e my th o u g h ts. T h a t th is w ork has fin a lly com e to w h at it is at p resen t is la rg e ly due to his e ffo r ts; his sy m p a th e tic c o n c ern to m y in itia l p ro b le m s here sim p ly ca n n o t fin d w ord s to exp ress and for all th is I thank h im very m uch.
The U n iv ersity o f C alabar w here I teach had been kind in seein g m e com e over to c o m p lete th is w ork w h ich I sta rted so m e y e a r s a g o . F o r th is I r em a in g r a te fu l to th e V ice- c h a n c e llo r P r o fe sso r E ffio n g and his D ep u ty , P ro fe sso r E arn est E m en yon u , In the face o f grin d in g fin a n cia l c o n str a in ts o f this p r e se n t tim e th e y o r g a n iz e d m y trip an d e n su r e d th a t my p a ssa g e w as h itc h -fr e e . A lso I th an k my h ead o f D ep a rtm en t an d D ea n o f F a c u lty , P r o fe s s o r K alu U k a; A lso p r o fe s so r U ch en d u fo r h is fa th e r ly co n cern , and p r o fe sso r Su le for his e n c o u r a g e m e n t w h ic h I deem in e ste e m a b le , an d m an y o th ers w ho had h elp ed in one w ay or th e oth er to see th a t I get th ro u g h w ith th is w ork.
A t one p o in t I n eed ed som e fin a n c ia l h elp to m eet up w ith the c o sts o f p u ttin g th is w ork to g e th e r an d fo r oth er in c id e n ta l c o sts b e s id e s , and th e C h r isto p h e r C ox M em eria l F u n d in g T ru st r ea d ily cam e to my rescu e. I a lso w ish to use this op p o rtu n ity to say how gratefu l I am to them .
I a lso th a n k S ib y lle H ie ls c h e r , w h o se w a rm s p ir it o f frien d sh ip w as h e lp fu l to me at the in itia l sta g es w h en I m ade a sto p -o v e r in G erm a n y . P a tr ic ia G illa n , M iria m G reen w o o d , B u lb u l D h a l, and Sab a S a a k a n a have b e en a lso h e lp fu l in
o th ers w ays th a t I ca n n o t fo rg et and I th an k th em a ll very m u c h .
A lso , it is w ith p r o fo u n d lo v e , r e s p e c t, fo n d n e ss and a d m ir a tio n th a t I th a n k m y w ife B a r r is te r C h in y e lu A gu w h ose co u ra g e and fo rtitu d e in the face o f all od d s form s the b a s is o f a ll I do and a c h ie v e in life . C h in y e lu c e r ta in ly d e se rv e s m o re ca re and a tte n tio n at th is tim e th a n sh e is h a v in g b u t m y b e lie f in h er a tta in m en ts and c a p a b ilitie s only go to m ake m y w o rries u n n ecessa ry . E g b e j i j e m b a si u g olom a c h e e lu y a u n o ; I th an k her im m esely for k eep in g the hom e fro n t in ta c t. A lso I say "bravo" to my son A n a lu u g o and his siste r , m y d a u g h te r, A d a-U k w u for lea rn in g to grow up even w hen th eir fa th er is n ot so n ear. I hope th is stren g th en s them to be able to face the w orld w ith ou t fear.
F in a lly , I th a n k m y p a r e n ts to w h o m th is w o rk is d e d ic a te d , M r G ilb e r t C h u k w u m a A gu a n d M rs P a tie n c e U zon w a A gu. W e th an k the kin g w ho lives in the sky that he w as h o ld in g th e w orld in p la ce for them and fo r me and has m ade it p o ssib le fo r us a ll to see the lig h t o f th is day. I f I have n ot b een ab le to do a n y th in g fo r th em , let th is be the crop o f th e ir u n b o u n d ed lo v e for th eir son and u n d ersta n d in g th at I am still a child to them . A t the sam e tim e, I share this m om en t o f jo y w ith m y p a re n ts-in -la w w ho h ave given m y my w ife for w h ich I still rem a in very g ra tefu l to th em . A lso my b r o th ers and siste r s, r ela tiv e s and also, to th e sad m em ory of m y frien d and u n cle M r. R aym on d C h igb o A gu , w ho su d d en ly died on the eve o f the co m p letio n o f th is w ork . M ay his soul rest in p eace.
O gonna C Agu (October, 1990)
The concept o f C h i has been one of the most debated in Igbo Traditions, and yet the most ambiguous, enigm atic, and controversial to date. Right from the pre-colonial times, the early European writers who visited Igboland observed the important place this concept had in the liv e s o f the p eop le. During the co lo n ia l period the o fficia l anth rop ologists to the B ritish governm ent and som e independent scholars in the field called sufficient attention to this concept through their works. To them C h i meant various things starting from the Supreme God to the personal tutelary god of the individual. There was the tendency to look at this concept from the view -p oint of western cultural a ssu m p tio n s. E ven w ith the in d ig e n o u s Igb o w riters them selves, the problem was how to to shake the clim ate of thought already established by the earlier writers.
T his study sets out to look critically at th ese prevailing assumptions of C h i from an entirely new perspective. Limiting its scope to the N ri-Igbo cultural range, it brings the study im m ediately into focus by m aintainting that the concept is integrally related to the objective reality o f the sun A n y a a n w u with which it has often been associated. This it has done by relating the subject o f C h i to an increased context of its verbal use. Starting from this premise o f its association with the sun, the concept is seen as the window by which day and night can be explained, and follow ing from them, the mysteries of life and death, individual destinies etc. It goes further to contest the assumption that C h i is the supreme God, a latter day development, perhaps, but this after its com plexities have necessarily been rigorously a n alyzed .
CONTENTS
A c k n o w le d g e m e n t
A b stra ct 111
Chapter 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7.
1.8 .:
1.9.:
1.10 :
In tro d u ctio n 1
B ackground Scope of Study Aims and objectives Verbal Materials
The Nri-Igbo Group: Location. Settlement and Extent History and Traditions
The Coming of Eri and the Rise of Nri Civilization The Rise o f Chukwu of the Aros
Aro Kingship Traditions Occupations of the Nri-Igbo
1.10.1 : Trading
1.10.2 : Ritual Regulation and Control 1.11 : Social and Religious Observances
1.12 : B eliefs and W orld-view
1.13 : The Modern Setting: Social and Cultural Changes 1.14.: Problems of the Research
1.15 : The Nri-Igbo Language Medium
1 .1 5 .1 Tones and meanings in Igbo language.
Chapter..2 : C hi: A Survey of Published Materials 2.1 : The Pre-colonial Writers (1745 - 1900) 2.2 : The Colonial Writers (1900 - 1960)
2.3 : The Post-colonial Writers (1960 - present) 2.4 : The Pan-Igbo Writers on C h i
2.5.: Intra-Igbo Regional varieties of concepts 2.6.: Conclusion
3 3
3.1 Sources
Chapter
3.1.1 Written Sources 3.1.2 : Oral Sources 3.2 : Types of Materials
3.2.1 : N am es
3.2.1.1: Names Restricted to C h u k w u 3.2.1.2: Appellations for C h u k w u
3.2.1.3: Afa Otutu "Praise Names for Chukwu"
3.2.2: Afa Ogugu "Names given to Individuals at Birth*
3.3: Okwu e j i emegha mmuo-ga "Expressions used in Ritual Situations7'
3.4: I n u - g a "Proverbs"
3.5: Igo Oji "Kolanut Invocations"
3.5.1: Ikpo Mkpu "Invocations to Spirit Entities"
3.6: Ikpo Ab u "Chants" and Egwu Onu "Songs"
3.7: A kuko "Stories that are told"
3.7.1: Akuko Iro "Stories dreamed or imagined"
3.7.2: Akuko Ita "Long Narratives"
4: A Critical Examination of the Concepts o f Chi 1 4 0 4.1: Basis of Interpretation: The relationship Between C h i
Sc Anyaanwu "the Sun"
4.2: C h u k w u - O k i k e "Shining One, Creator & Distributor"
4.2.1: Chi as the Shining One 4.2.2: Ch i as the Creator
4 .2.2.1: Chi as the giver of Children & Money 4.2.3: C h i as the dispenser, divider
4.3: Chi Sc Life 4.4: Chi Sc the Days 4.5: Ch i Sc the Seasons 4.6: C h i , Life & Day(light)
v
4.7: Chi, Night & Death
4.7.1: Chi as the Author of Death
4.8: Chi & Individual Destiny ezi chi "good fortune", ajo chi
"evil fortune"
4.9: Chi & chi m "personal god"
4.10: Chi & the Ozo Title 4.11: Chi as the Shadow
4.12: C h i , I g w e "the Sky" & E n u "the place above"
4.13: Chi & A g b a la "the Immense One"
4.14: Chi, Mm uo "Spirit" and other Phenomenal Entities 4.15: Chi of other Living & Non-living things
4.16: Chi the Father & the Ancestors
Chapter 5:1 Chi as a Living Being 1 8 4
5.2: Chi as an elder & king 5.3: C h u k w u as the Sovereign
5.4: The Secular Plane: C h u k w u , Man & Power 5.5: Characterization of E n u - n y i l i - m b a
Chapter 6: Conclusion 2 0 0
6.1: The Meaning of Chi
6.2: the Nri-Igbo Sun-God: An Appraisal
Appendix 1: Verbal materials 2 1 1
Appendix 2: T ran slation s 2 8 2
Appendix 3: Botanical names 3 5 6
Appendix 4: Glossary of Igbo terms from the study 3 5 7
Appendix 4: B ib liograp h y 3 6 1
Chapter 1
1.0 Introduction
1,1 B a ckg ro u n d
S in ce 1960 w hen N ig e ria o b ta in e d h e r in d e p e n d e n c e from B ritain, studies in Igbo language and culture have developed to include am ong other concerns the concept of C h i as it relates to the people.
Evidence of this can be seen in the w ritings of Igbo scholars who have fo llo w e d th e le a d g iv en by th e e arly E u ro p e a n e x p lo re rs and m issio n aries w ho v isite d Ig b o lan d in the last h a lf of the nineteenth c e n tu ry le a d in g in to the p re s e n t tim e. T he in d ig e n o u s w rite rs them selves have m ore or less continued the debate on the issues raised by the works o f these early writers. The observation is that many of the in d ig en o u s w riters, q u ite u n lik e the E u ro p ean w riters (w ho alw ays sp ecified the various areas they had studied), had w ritten using the w hole expanse of Igbo culture zone as their range. This perhaps is ju s tif ia b le sin ce a stag e cam e in N ig e ria n sc h o la rsh ip fo r th ese researchers to project their pan-Igbo outlook as was the case with many other cultures such as the H ausa and the Yoruba.
I have chosen to lim it the scope of my study to the N ri-Igbo culture zone partly for m ethodological reasons and also fo r the peculiar pressures w hich this ancient culture had to go through w hen the B ritish cam e. It is w ell know n that before the B ritish cam e the N ri culture and civ ilisatio n was w ell established in this area and even beyond. Records of visitors like G. I. Jones m entioned the im m ense pow er w hich the Eze N ri had, p o w ers th at w ere th o u g h t to be ritu a lly san ctio n ed from C h u k w u over a w hole range of Igbo village-groups; but the B ritish cam e and put an end to his authority in their bid to create a new socio
p o litic a l cu ltu re fo r N ig eria. On this note it is in te restin g th at the colonizers realized the pow er and significance of the place of the divine N ri kings in the lives of the people with w hom they cam e into contact and yet these kings were not accorded their rig h tfu l p lace of honour in the B ritish a d m in istra tio n w ho b an n ed th e ir a c tiv itie s and even ap p o in ted in ferio r ch iefs to rule over them (O nw uejeogw u 1981:29).
2
This has contributed, directly or indirectly, to the eclipse o f the culture and civilization o f this area, a situation which has created a gap in Igbo studies in general but which scholars have begun to address in different other ways. It is for this reason that we are having to study this culture in order to re-discover it. W e are also aware of the new additions in this area to the concept of Chi by N w oga and Ezekwugo. These works and others by indigenous Igbo writers reflect som e o f the controversies which this concept has generated. Sometimes they are as a reaction to what had earlier on been written on the concept by early European visitors. B e sid e s, m ost o f the studies on the con cep t have been descriptive; and the problem still remains that w hile seeking to do this they have som etim es retained certain perceptions already internalized into them from their Christian or western educational upbringing. A ll this makes notions about Chi superficial and difficult to put together into a more coherent and m eaningful w hole as a system . Writers like Arthur Glyn Leonard, Basden and Jeffreys had written extensively on the concept and in these writings one can see a clear attempt not to tread on certain grounds as seen in the relationship between the sun A n y a a n w u and C h i . Many writers have m entioned this relationship without investigating it as if the relationship stopped there. It is this that made me to be more curious to know about this relationship as it is my belief that if a concept like Chi could be all pervasive in the lives of individuals in society then it should be capable o f explaining certain mysteries like life and death, personal destiny, man’s relationship to the physical world and society and also how these could be linked to the social institutions of the people. It is this that has made me to want to look deeper into this concept from the point o f view o f the people's culture itself by making use of verbal evidence from the culture which till late has not been the practice in any study o f this kind. This, I b elieve, w ill help us to discover the particular aspects o f the concept that makes it so unique in Igbo thought and psyche.
I am going to look at this more localized culture, the Nri-Igbo culture, because I consider it an important one for som e obvious reasons. In the first place, there has been a good body o f published works and materials as w ell as records of British colonial officials who were the first to have any serious encounter with the Nri-Igbo group in a way that had a marked impact on their w hole w ays o f life. The
m ajo rity of th ese w riters, m ost of w hom w ere an th ro p o lo g ists, had talked of a kingdom in the N orthern part of Igboland that was ruled by a m agnificent line of divine kings and w hich P rofessor T hurstan Shaw had gone to confirm in his recen t archeological d isco v eries. A gain, it appears that it is am ong this group o f Igbo people that the concept of Chi has been developed especially as som e w riters have id en tified it with the ichi facial scarification perform ed on men from this area. Thus, the m eaning w hich this concept suggests appears to be larg er than what it is generally taken to be, and it is the am biguities and com plexities inherent in the concept that we w ill be seeking to explore.
O nly re c e n tly , th e a n th ro p o lo g ist O n w u ejeo g w u has done a co m p reh en siv e study o f the N ri kingdom and h egem ony in a book w hich he p u b lish e d in 1 9 8 1 .1 It has to be said that apart from this p a rtic u la r w riter, m any E uropean w riters, sch o lars, and adventurers had w ritten on this sam e subject of C h i , but their approach has been m ainly to describe not only w hat they had seen and fe lt but also to allow certain p attern s of p resu m p tio n s to o v erride the Igbo thoughts them selves w hich w ould have helped to clarify this concept of Chi. This is why we think that the terrain covered so far on the concept should be re -e x a m in e d to id e n tify th e e x tra n e o u s m a tte rs o v e rla y in g th o se thoughts and subject them to a new analysis in the light of the verbal m aterials from the cu ltu re. W e th in k that fo r a m ore rig o ro u s and system atic analysis of the concept, the use of th ese v erb al m aterials obtained from the field is not only im portant but necessary also. This is because as the concept has to do w ith the people's w orld-view , certain verbal m aterials found in this area w ill be relevant for the view s they reflect on the concept. This is what this study will be out to do, as it will help us to d iscover the notions that had been held by the concept as w ell as the changing p erceptions that are slow ly taking p lace as the culture continues to change. So that by bringing the Igbo m aterials to the fore and using them to study the concept through a closer look at th eir v aried lev els o f v erb al use, the gaps le ft by the facto rs of in terp retatio n and m isrep resen tatio n s m ight be filled.
1 M.A. Onwuejeogwu, 1981, An Igbo Civilization: Nri Kingdom and Hegemony, Ethnographica Ltd., London. We w ill depend on this work, which is a
com prehensive study o f the social, political, econom ic and religious system s o f the Nri, for much o f our information on the relevant areas o f the study.
4
This study, therefore, departs from that of the p revious scholars, including Igbo scholars them selves, by m aking the po in t that Chi is an am biguous concept and should be seen as such. It should have to be looked at from the p o in t of view of the culture w hich inform s it. It recognizes that there are certain conceptual problem s w hen one culture is in te rp re te d fro m the p o in t o f view o f an o th er c u ltu re and w ith different conceptual tools that do not fit to that other culture. Here, the p roblem of language becom es a serious issue: how does one interpret C h i in the English language, for exam ple? Is it as God as many writers do, or high God? In any way it is looked at it w ould suggest assumptions that Chi is the sam e as the C hristian concept of G od, and it is this problem w hich w riters seem not to consider very m uch by consciously or u nconsciously trying to force Igbo thought into w estern conceptual schem es th at we shall be concerned w ith also in the study. In this reg ard also, w e w ould try to p resen t the Igbo m aterials as they are w ithout classiy fy in g them into categories designed by w estern literary c ritic ism .
T h is p re s e n t c h a p te r has so far aim ed at e x p la in in g our intentions in the study as a prelude to highlighting the N ri-Igbo culture zone in w hich w e w ould try to id en tify the p a rtic u la r traits of the cu ltu re we h av e d e sig n ated as N ri-Ig b o . C h ap ter tw o w ill m ake a d etailed survey o f the the p u b lish ed m aterials so fa r found on C h i am ong the N ri-Ig b o group, and assess som e o f the view s in their stren g th s and w eak n esses b ased on the ground th at c ertain thoughts m ay be alien to the N ri-Igbo w ay of thinking and therefore should be criticized. Som e of the view s of the pan-Igbo w riters are also looked at.
In chapter three we give an account of the verbal m aterials to be used in the study in their types, taking into consideration the areas they are draw n from , their potentials for the study and their various degrees of usefu ln ess. In ch ap ter four, the concept o f C h i w ill be analyzed in various ways in the light of the verbal m aterials, using an interpretative schem e derived by analogy betw een the sun as an object and C h u k w u as a personage im bued with pow er. This w ill then be pursued further in chapter five in which C h u k w u will be dealt with as a social model. In this chapter also the notion of its sovereignty w ill be re-exam ined and re-assessed. C hapter six w ill then conclude by justifying the goals of the study through the m ethodological approach we have chosen.
1.2 Scope o f Study
The scope and range of the study has already been referred to, w hich is the N ri-Ig b o c u ltu ral zone as d elin ea ted by O nw uejeogw u (1981:11). N ri is the cultural and spiritual centre of the people of this area w hich D. F o rd e and G.I. Jones have c alled the N o rth ern Igbo em bracing such core settlem ent areas as A guleri, O raeri, Aguukw u N ri, Igbo-U kw u, N ando, A m anuke and a host of other places. The N ri-Igbo w ould also include the others w ithin the range of the N ri-Igbo culture and civ ilisatio n as far as to U di and N sukka in its n orthern lim its, O gw ashi-U kw u and Issele U kw u (w here traces of N ri lineages can still be found) as far as to Illah in the present Bendel State of N igeria ju st across the N iger from Onitsha; and then as far as to O kigw e and east, to the borders of A bakaliki.
T he p a rticu la r su b ject o f Chi in all its variant m eanings is the central concern of this w ork, analysed using oral m aterials draw n from the N ri-Igbo collective experience and traditions. Its religious, social and eco lo g ical and en v iro n m en tal sig n ifican ce are p a rtic u la rly stressed as factors contributing to the shaping of the N ri-Igbo culture and ideology, and this by bringing the verbal m aterials as evidence.
1.3 A im s a n d objectives
This study w ill aim at trying to explain the am biguity of the Nri- Igbo sky entity, C h u k w u . It has been noted that confused notions about this entity has led to m any w riters referring to him as the w ithdraw n god, or God that can be both venerated and despised. In attem pting to point to the . fact that as m uch as this entity is enigm atic, we shall also attem pt to show th at it is a physical reality that is id en tified w ith the sun w hich is given form and significance as a personage. In doing this, we hope to raise certain pertinent issues such as these:
i. Chi has at various tim es been translated as Chuk wu and vice-versa;
both of w h ich have been a sso ciated and in fact, id e n tifie d as the p h en o m en al e n tity a n y a a n w u "the sun". In this study, we w ill try to find out how co n sisten t this assum ption m ight be by looking for the
6
schem e or b asis fo r such a sso c iatio n b etw een the re a lity and the objectified form , if possible by way of analogy.
ii. A gain, this study w ill ask the question w hich it seeks to answer, nam ely -is the sky-entity C h u k w u really the absolute figure that it is taken to be by m any of the earlier w riters and if so, to w hat extent co u ld it be reco g n ised as such since the w riters have com e from a p a rtic u la r w estern b ack g ro u n d w hich m ight have in flu e n c e d them or raised th eir expectation of w hat to m eet or see in this area they have com e to study?
iii Also Chi has been associated with the w eather conditions as well as w ith day and n ig h t. G ra n te d th at this is u n d e rsta n d a b le fro m its relationship with the sun, how could such a conception relate to the fact that it is also associated with individual destiny?
iv. One w ill also w ant to see how this concept is used to explain the nature of creation and existence. Is it, for exam ple, the god in man or is it outside of a m an, p ersisten t as his shadow that never leaves him as his destiny? How, in the course of life, does it help a m an to take control of his destiny?
1.4 Verbal materials
I collected the m aterials in the 1980s. In 1980 I obtained some grants th at en ab led m e to trav el around the N ri-Ig b o areas collecting these various m aterials. This specific research p ro ject lasted for about h a lf a year. S u b seq u en tly I have been c o llectin g o th er m aterials as occasion allow s. A reas w hich I covered in my journeys included Nsukka, the ancient tow n o f N ri itself, A guleri, A m anuke, E nugu-U kw u, Awka, A w ka-E titi, N nobi, N new i, O gidi -all o f which are w ithin the N ri-Igbo im m ed iate com pass.
I was not born in the area of the N ri-Igbo culture zone but at the city of P o rt-H a rc o u rt in the p re s e n t day R iv ers S tate o f N ig eria.
H ow ever I grew up v isitin g and staying w ith my g randparents at my hom e town of N nobi, and at an early stage began to appreciate the Nri- Igbo c u ltu ra l e x p re s s io n s .1 I p articip ated in m asquerading and cultural
1 Nnobi where I come from is one o f the village groups with strong Nri influence.
In fact a good many indigenes o f Nnobi believe that "Nnobi is Nri", a way of
d an ces an d g ra d u a lly as I a d v an c ed in m y e d u c a tio n I began considering being actively engaged in the culture. I cam e to know a good deal of the folk stories told about the animals and about the spirits but never reflected on them in any serious kind of way.
D uring the N ig erian civil w ar we all retu rn e d hom e from the cities and co n tin u ed to rem ain there as our hom e base. Even though fath e r w ent b ack to w ork in L agos , having re tu rn e d from Port- H arcourt, and even though we had all gone to college, the local village continued to be for m e a place of inspiration and culture which I did not h esitate to hold fast to. So that when the tim e cam e for m e to start re fle c tin g on m y c u ltu ra l h e rita g e and tr a d itio n s th ro u g h som e o rg a n ise d re se a rc h , I th o u g h t of d e alin g w ith th e in trig u in g and com prehensive concept of Chi especially as I was beginning to develop a m ytho-religious sensibility as a creative w riter. In the course of being reg istered to undertake the study, I studied read in g and w riting Igbo language texts to the extent that I carry out my creative w ritings in that language and in the N igerian p i d g i n . The advantage therefore of my in tim ate co n tact w ith my culture is that a good p art of it has been internalized in me, and this because in addition to know ing certain basic facts about it, I have actually been reflecting on them . A lso, I actually believe in and practice the indigenous religion know n as A g o m M m uo
"S pirit R everence" in w hich I see m y self playing a ro le as a priest- healer d i b ia .
1.5 Th e N ri-Igbo Group:
L oca tio n , settlem ent a n d E xtent.
O nw uejeogw u has d elin eated the range and e x te n t of the N ri culture zone and influence: N ri, the ancient town itself, is located in the scarplands of south-eastern N ig eria in the p resen t A nam bra State. It is situated in the depression of A gulu lake and 40 - 60 feet above sea level. On the map it is located on latitude 6.08N and longitude 6.02E. it
driving that point home. It is known, however, that there is a group o f people, the Umuona, who are believed to have migrated to Nnobi with their "god" Aho from an area around Nri and who have finally integrated with the Nnobi people. It is this group that have authority over rituals having to do with the earth force Ana, from whom the Ezeana "chief priest o f the earth cult", is chosen. Nnobi is about sixteen m iles from Onitsha by the river Niger and about the same number of m iles if not slightly more from the ancient town o f Nri.
8
is about 18 m iles east of the com m ercial tow n of O n itsh a w hich is located on the bank of the river N iger.
The N ri-Igbo group is m ade up of the core settlem ent areas of N ri, A guleri, O raeri, A m anuke, Igboariam , N teje, E nugu-U kw u, N neofia, E nugu-A gidi and Aw ka, all to be found around the ancient town of Nri.
To the w est, extending even to the present day B endel State, some Nri settlem ents can also be traced, and they included such places as Owa, O gboli, Issele-U kw u, O gw ashi-U kw u, Igbouzo, A saba, A bala, Illah. The N ri-Igbo group w ould also include parts of Orlu, O kigw e and N sukka A reas as w ell as the U di areas. P articular settlem ents of the N ri group include such places as N im o, Adazi, Agulu, N ise, O raukw u, Neni, Nnewi and Ifite. On expansion it included places like N nokw a, N nobi, Isuam a, A g b aja, E zi-o w e lle, A bacha, A bagana, A ch alla, A b atete, U m uoji and Obosi. M any of these places are affected by soil erosion and leaching.
T he e c o lo g ic a l fe a tu re s in c lu d e fo re s t re g io n s o f ta ll trees and palm groves and the A nam bra w atershed w hich em pties into the N iger.
The scarpland area is favoured by alternating rainy and dry seasons. As a resu lt of constant use of the land over the centuries, the soil is fast becom ing im p o v erish ed and the fo rests have begun to open to easy p e n etratio n , e x p lo itatio n and tran sp o rtatio n .
1.6 H isto ry a n d traditions
A part from certain oriental hypotheses, the origin of the Igbo people as a w hole is still not know n. T here appears to have been an aboriginal Igbo group dw elling in the forests of A guukw u and environs before the the N ri cam e (O nw uejeogw u 1981: 2 2 -2 9 ).1 The historian A figbo him self is of the view that the Igbo people m ight have m igrated from the area around the N ig er-B en u e trough, an area w hich m ight pro b ab ly coincide w ith the area occupied by the p resen t Ig ala people (A fig b o 1 9 7 4 ).2 If this assertion is anything to go by, then the tradition of the N ri people w ould appear to be supporting it as it is believed that there had been an ex ten siv e c u ltu ral and trad in g ex ch an g es betw een
1 Onwuejeogwu's account o f the political history o f the Nri shows that it is one o f contact at various stages between those he called the Nri and the Umudiani with whom they m ingled and united to form one political culture.
2 See Afigbo's "Prolegomena to the study o f the Culture History o f the Igbo-
speaking people o f Nigeria" in Language and Culture, 1975, edited by F.C. Ogbalu &
Emenanjo, (Ibadan: Oxford U niversity press), p .36*
them and the Igala. One good exam ple is the p resen ce of the ikenga sym bol o f the rig h t hand w hich has been id en tifie d in both cultures (B oston 1982).1
W h atev er m ight have been the case, how ever, trad itio n has it that E ri, the prim ogenitor of the N ri people, canoed dow n the river to a place now know n as E ri-aka w here he finally settled and m arried a local w om an. W ith this w om an he raised children w ho are the founders of the N ri settlem ents. He succeeded thus in u nifying the groups in the surrounding d istricts (O nw uejeogw u 1981: 22).
O n w u e je o g w u id e n tif ie s th re e s e g m e n ts o f in d e p e n d e n t ab o rig in al groups occupying the area before the com ing of the N ri elem ents. T hese are the um udiana "children of the lords of the land", otherw ise referred to as the A d a m a "cadre of original landlords". At the tim e N ri E fikuanim m igrated to the place they occupied the area south
w est of N ri. T he second segm ent, m ade up of tw o groups of people called the N sekpe and A challa people, occupied the area around lake E zu-Idem m ili before N ri N am oke and his group cam e and settled among them . On m erging all three becam e the Diodo. The th ird segm ent of the um udiana group, the E nuora, in teg rated w ith the em igrants to becom e the A kam kpisi. From all indications, these groups w ere all independent e n titie s w ith th e ir se p ara te tem p les, o b u ; staffs of oath o f o and su p ern atu ral beings a l u s i , and th eir own autonom ous p o litical system s.
Soon, how ever, they w ere unified politically under the E ze N ri "whose po w er and au th o rity in certain hum an relatio n sh ip s tran scen d ed those of the original groups and other later groups" (O nw uejeogw u 1981). All this m anifested in the new ideas they brought such as the o z o and new varieties of yam (O nw uejeogw u 1981:24),
T here is therefore the general indication th at there w ere already a group of people know n as the Igbo (in the sense that they speak this sam e language, because generally a group of Igbo refei»dd to another group as "other people" un til the com ing of the E u ro p ean s began to bring hom e to the various com m unities the sense of com m on identity which groups of Igbo people had with one another). H aving thus unified
1 See John Boston, Ikenga Figures Among the North-west Igbo and Igala (L a g o s:
Ethnographica in associations with the Federal Department o f Antiquities).
1 0
the im m ediate groups around him , the E ze N ri p ro ce ed e d to attract o ther Igbo groups flung far and w ide by m aking them reco g n ise his ritu a l pow ers. T his he achieved by un d ertak in g ritu a l jo u rn ey s, any tim e a "king"*fc$ installed and crow ned, to the various Igbo settlem ents from N ri through Agulu and N nobi to the river N iger at Onitsha, offering sacrifices to the gods of the places he passed and receiving hom age from the people in retu rn and in reco g n itio n of his pow ers (O nw uejeogw u
1981: 87)*
In quite recen t years, an archaeological d isco v ery at Igbo-U kw u has h elp ed to throw m ore lig h t on the p o litical as w ell as m aterial c u ltu re o f the N ri-Ig b o group. A m ong the thin g s ex cav ated at Igbo Isaiah and Igbo Jerem aiah w ere bronze v essels, iro n w eapons, beaded objects, pendants and delicately executed ornam ents depicting m ale and fem ale figures as w ell as a burial cham ber of som e great king. Chieka Ifem esia, the historian on w hom we rely for this inform ation, is of the view th at the p resence of this burial cham ber attests to the fact that th ere was in ex isten ce a m onarchy w hich m ark ed the N ri p o litical culture, and w hich centred on the Eze N ri.1
A nother distinguishing characteristic of the N ri Igbo group under study was the p resen ce of a reco g n isab le core of n o b ility w ho were distinguished by their o zo title privileges which enabled them to carry the sacred iron or al o and officiate before the shrine of a deity. These m en had as o f necessity the ichi facial scarification by w hich they were recognised, itself a relig io u s prereq u isite for taking the o z o title. The N ri had ritual influence over the rest of the Igbo groups with the result that they reg u lated , through th eir agents, controlled, and conferred the o z o title on the other Igbo groups. This ritu a l au th o rity over other groups carried far, extending as far as to the rituals connected with the cultivation and eating of yam.
1.7 The C o m in g o f E ri
a n d the rise o f N ri Civilization
As "divine kings", O nw uejeogw u is of the view that the rise of the N ri rested in their introduction of new food types like yam and in
1 See Chieka Ifem esia, Traditional Humane Living Among the Igbo, (Enugu: Fourth Dim ension Publishers), 1979, p .18. Also see Isichei, A History o f the Igbo People, (London: The Macmillan Press Ltd), 1976, pp. 10-16.
helped the N ri group to carve out a p o sitio n for them selves as the m anipulators of the ru ral ag ricu ltu ral w orld; fo r it is w ith them that
"m yths" co n cern in g the com ing o f yam and co co y am and the four m ark et days o f the N ri-Ig b o w eek are a sso ciated even though the 'origin of som e o f th ese m ight have stretched far deep into the past.
Even in recent tim es, it is also among the Nri group that epic narratives of the heroic tradition has been found.
Thus, the history of those we refer to as N ri p ro p er w ill have to do w ith the genesis of the civ ilizatio n of the A nam bra riv er basin as dev elo p ed by the p riest-k in g s of N ri w hich in clu d ed A g u leri, O raeri, A guukw u and others th at have afinities w ith them . F rom all available evidence, it appears that the N ri culture started to develop very long ago, at about 800 century AD. T his,M fact, was the period referred to as the E ri period. E ri, as it is believed, is the m y th ical founder of the clusters' of lineages that m ake up the N ri group. He was believed to have com e from the sky, even though as we have already tried to show at the beg in in g , w e can im m ed iately rela te the events o f his com ing w ith current exchanges th at m ust have taken place betw een the N ri and the p e o p le o f the N ig e r-B e n u e tro u g h of w h ich Ig a la is o f p rim ary significance. This Eri period is said to be the tim e w hen the area of land occupied by the p eo p le o f N ri was fertile and m ost p ro d u ctiv e, with easy co m m u n icatio n channels by the riv er A nam bra w atersh ed w hich also suppleid the area w ith rich alluvial soil for grow ing yam and water for fishing purposes. This is also the tim e when an authochtonous Igbo group m ust have inhabited th at area.
A cco rd in g to O nw uejeogw u, "E ri was sen t by C h u k w u (the creator) from the sky to rule m ankind. E ri cam e dow n the A nam bra riv e r n ear the p resen t site o f A g u leri". T here he settle am ong the indeginous people, during w hich tim e he m arried a daughter of the land w ho bore him ch ild ren . A fter his death, according to the A nam bra history, a series of m igrations follow ed, which led to the settlem ent of various N ri outposts such as A m anuke, Igboariam , N teje, Igala, N ando, U m uleri, A guukw u, O raeri, E nugu-U kw u, and so on. W e understand that it was from the 9th century A.D. that m ost o f these settlem ents took place, but from the 12th to the 18th centuries "Nri lineages proliferated
1 2
over the W estern Igbo culture area, continuing at lesse r intensity until 1911 w hen the B ritish b an n ed th eir a c tiv itie s. E ast of the N iger, how ever, other N ri settlem ents had also begun to be id en tified in parts of the Igbo country such as Nnewi, Okigwe, A batete, O bosi, U di, Agulu, N sukka, Adazi, N nobi, N ise, Awka, M ba Ukwu, Orlu, E zira, and parts of Ikeduru and M b a ise .1
E ri, th u s, w as b eliev e d to have e sta b lish e d the N ri lin e of k in g sh ip . H is au th o rity over m en w as b eliev ed to have com e from C h u k w u . T he im p o rtan t significance o f this is th at the N ri hegem ony w as o f g reat age. In tim e, the N ri c u ltu re d e v e lo p e d in to w hat O nw uejeogw u has described as the "civilization o f the sacred and the divine, because the civilization was based on the philosophy that Eze Nri derives his legitim acy from G o d, C h uk w u "
O nw uejeogw u is of the opinion that N ri civ ilizatio n reached its peak b etw een 1300 and 1700 A .D ., w hen E ze N ri held sw ay over
‘'e x te rn al and in tern al politics of Igbo settlem ents, covering h alf of the Igbo area". The pow er of the N ri kings over these settlem ents continued until 1910 when the civilization was liquidated by the B ritish.
Even before the com ing of the B ritish, the first signs of threat to the N ri-Igbo culture and civilization cam e from the slave trade to which it developed a p articu lar attitude. O nw uejeogw u inform s us that plainly the "the ethical philosophy and religious dogma" o f the N ri "rejected the slave trade". It is said that the N ri rejected it because it spilled blood th ro u g h c o n stan t w arfares th at w ere carried out in o rd er to obtain slaves, and the shedding of blood is an abom ination in the N ri-Igbo psyche and belief. Interestingly, this coincided w ith the rise of the Aro who had a great oracle also called Chukwu*
1 See Onwuejeogwu's Nri Kingdom and Hegemony. He also discusses this issue o f the relative periods o f ascendancy o f the two civilizations o f Nri and the Aro in his Ahiajioku Lecture o f 1987, pp.25-41. Elizabeth IsicMj^s A History o f the Igbo P e o p l e (London: Macmillan Press Ltd)., 1976, pp. 4-6 suggests the antiquity o f the Nri culture. She also refers to the Aro history o f origin (pp.58-64) and supports it with their involvem ent in the slave trade, which shows it is only a recent
p h e n o m e n o n .
1.8 T h e R ise o f C h u k w u o f th e A ro s
It is against this background of the history of the N ri-Igbo that we shall have a look at that of A rochukw u w here this concept of Chukwu has also been found, or expressed, in order to establish w hich one came before the other. W hile the history of the N ri has been shown to be one of great antiquity, it does appear that in contrast the history of the Aro people, and their grow th as a State is but a recen t phenom enon, having been fo u n d ed at the rise of the slave trade in ab o u t 1700 A .D . as O nw uejeogw u w ould have it. Onw uejeogw u has described this period of Aro ascendancy as a period that could rightly be called the D ark Age of Igbo history. This is understandable for the obvious reason that it had a telling effect on the civilization not only of the N ri-Igbo but also of all of Igboland at that tim e. As we have already intim ated, w ith the coming of this slave trade, the N ri civilization started to suffer a series of cracks and set-backs w hich eventually led to its dem ise and so caused it to be superseded by the A ro ascendancy.
Inform ation on the Aro com es from both oral and w ritten sources.
There are many accounts of the origin of the A ro-Igbo group, but on the surface it w ould appear that according to one inform ant, one core of the norm adic A ro groups m ust have m ig rated from A kun ak u n a, an area around the C am eroon m ountains. H e d escrib ed them as a w andering group, fair of skin and full of life and energy. They cam e westwards and m et the Ib ib io people w ho w ere already settled at Ibom , sacked them and to lure the p eo p le back and co n tro l them , they to o k over th eir oracle Ibritam w hich they cam e to consult in spite of having lost control of it. Thus this oracle Ibritam , otherw ise known as A basi Ibom , became the chief shrine of the Arochukwu people which they now called Ibini- U kpabi (corruption o f Ibritam ?) and which later cam e to be know n as the long ju ju of A rochukw u. A ccording to this inform ant, the Aros did not com e w ith th eir own indegenous gods, but re ta in e d Ibini-U kpabi w hich they sold to the rest o f the people. To c o n so lid ate am ong the Ibibios also, they also called the god A b a s i which is an Ibibio word. To the Igbo p eo p le they used the nam e C h u k w u to sell their shrine to them , so th at the shrine also cam e to be know n as C h u k w u of Aro p eople. B ecause of this they cam e to be know n as the A rochukw u people, m eaning the Aro o f C h u k w u oracle.
14
W e have reason to think that this account does not present all the facts as they are, but at least it points to the nature of Aro diplom acy at the tim e. Some w ritten sources however, have tried to put a few of the oral trad itio n s to g eth er, and we certainly know th at th e area occupied by the A rochukw u becam e a m elting pot of m any cultures such as the Igbo them selves, the Ibibio, the Efiks, the Ekois, and m any others as as a resu lt of the freq u en t w arfares at the tim e around this area of the cross river basin as K enneth D ike and E kejiuba have tried to sh o w T T h e Igbo people them selves how ever had com e there e arlie r than m ost of the other groups in search of land to expand on, and had in the process to be entangled with the Aro elem ents who aided them in their bid to expell the Ibibios. A rochukw u cam e to be the home of these people, the Aro p eople, w hich they took over after they had h elp ed to sack the Ibibio at a place know n as U gw u Nkum a. These "outsiders" who Dike and E kejiuba have identified as the Akpa or the Ekoi w ere a people with m e rc a n tilist in te re sts w ho "already had co n tact w ith the d ev elo p in g trade in slaves on the A tlantic coast". The tw o h isto rian s referred to believe that through the activities of their leader A kum a the Aro were able to establish a centralized State. Even if this is so, it is worth noting that this State was not a divinely inspired hegem ony as that of the Nri, so that it did not create stories of origin and of the w orld of the type w e com m only a sso ciated w ith the N ri-Ig b o by w h ich they explained th e ir e x iste n c e . So th a t w h a tev e r sto ries th ey to ld , stre sse d the diversity of a people "who do not claim descent from one ancestor", and w hich, as m odern stories of the new superstructure in w hich they found them selves, w ere m ere coteries of econom ic and pseudo-religious tales.
1.9 A r o k in g s h ip Traditions
A further look a the Aro kingship traditions, even go to reveal this lack of relig io u s basis of the State. A though D ike and E kejiuba have p a in ted a p ictu re w hich gives the im pression th at in his attem pt to unify the disparate groups of people into a kingdom , A kum a organized him self as a king w ith elaborate powers and insignia of office, this is not alw ays consistent w ith any ability to control the supernatural realm s as
1 See Kenneth Dike and Patricia Ekejiuba's ’’The Aro State: A case Study o f State Formation in Southeastern Nigeria" in Journal o f African Studies, Los Angeles,
1978, pp.286-300.
w ell, and as such w e cannot com pare the Aro kings in their ability to m anipulate ritual pow er and authority as w ell as the forces o f nature to the N ri kings. The ethnographer, Chike Dike, has inform ed us that it was in the A ro com m ercial activities that the "king was a cen tral figure", and th at the n ecessary unifying force w hich held the "w idely varied peoples inhabiting the kingdom together was the E kpe m asquerade cult and not the k in g " 1. The king, we are told, m ust belong to it and be bound by its reg u la tio n s. U nder these circu m stan ces th erefo re, if in tim es of their greatest glory the ancient N ri kings used art and religious sym bols and icons to express the nature of their divine kingship system , in the case o f the A ro k in g s th o se m aterial sym bols w ere hardly em ployed in the sam e w ay as they w ere m erely used as sym bols of in tern al and ex tern al com m unication in their co m m ercial and m ilitary en terp rises executed by Aro m erchants, m iddlem en, and m ilitary bands of hired fighters, controlled and m anipulated by the king in council.
On the w hole, it appears that the Aro did not p lace any value on spiritual rulers as the N ri-Igbo did. Chike D ike sum m arises this absolute lack of a spiritual king in the case of the Aro by referring us to the Aro saying that "anyi ejighi eze mere ihe" m eaning "we do not place much value on kingship". It is not surprising then that this attitude m anifests even m ore v isib ly in the general appearance and co m p o rtm en t o f the
"king". W e are told that nobody ranging from the king to his councellors are "m arked by elab o rate reg alia. T he arch itectu ral design of the Eze A ro’s palace is said to follow the "norm al building patterns of the Aro", and this, in tim es past, "was a m ud structure su p p o rted by bam boo sticks" and built by the king him self from his "own resources and to his own taste".
From the relativ e expositions o f the history o f the tw o sub-Igbo groups w e arrive at the conclusion that the rise of the Aro is only a re c e n t p h en o m en o n w hen c o m p a red to th at o f th e N ri. T he N ri c iv iliz atio n is th ere fo re v ery an cien t and its in stitu tio n s founded in antiquity. Follow ing from this, the N ri had a coherent w orld-view which was based on the ecological factors o f their existence and this gave rise to, and shaped, the N ri-Igbo cu ltu re and civ iliz atio n w hich preceded
1 See Chike D ike’s "Art, Symbol and Authority among the Aro o f South-East Nigeria," published in Nigeria Magazine, V ol.55, no 2, by the Federal Ministry o f Information, and Culture, Lagos, 1987, pp.30-35.
16
that o f the A rochukw u. A lso, this civilization generated concepts which we usually associated w ith the sun-entity C h i and others besides , as well as a m aterial culture that is unique when com pared to that of the Aro. This being so, the Aro State can therefore be said to be chiefly m otivated by slave interests and slave econom y, w hich did not help it to develope the kind o f concepts that had to deal w ith the supernatural pow ers such as that of the N ri, for explaining th eir w orld. A lso, even w here the shrine of I b i r t i - U k p a b i or C h u k w u (as it is variously called) could have served them that purpose of cultivating a relig io u s sense of the universe, it was used m ainly in the service of the A ro econom ic interests, having been transform ed into a political, ju d ic ial and econom ic institution. In other words, it had no religious significance for the people such as th at w hich produced the divine kings o f N ri. From all these facts, it can be said that the concept of Chukwu was native to the Nri- Igbo group in a way that the C h u k w u of the Aro people was not, hence the notion that the N ri-Igbo m ight have borrow ed it from the Aro does not arise as N w oga had suggested. Rather, the reverse was true, that the A ro appropriated it from the Igbo with whom they cam e into contact or from those Igbo elem ents who w ere them selves also m ixed up with them from w hom they m ust have extracted the nam e fo r referrin g to their shrine. Thus, w hile converting its role in society from one of being a divine being, they suceeded in turning it into an ogre which is seen to have the ab so lu te p o w er of ad ju d icatin g on so cial and econom ic m atters involving their trade w ith their coastal agents by the sea.
1.10 Occupation
The N ri-Igbo o f pre-colonial tim es engaged in such occupational activities as farm ing, trading, arts and crafts as w ell as iron and wood w orking. They also m onopolized ritual m anipulation and control of earth and m arket forces.
Farm ing was m ainly carried out to satisfy the need for food and so each ho u seh o ld u n it tried to be se lf-su ffic ien t in this by having farm lan d s aro u n d the h o m este ad w here they g rew y am , co co y am vegetables pepper, cassava, pum pkin, corn and so on. M en had control of the land and also controlled the cultivation of yam , considered to be the m ajor food product or "king o f crops" used for ritual and econom ic p u rposes as w ell. The people p ractised shifting c u ltiv atio n w hereby a
p lo t of land cultivated in any one year is left fallow in the succeeding year to let it replenish before being m ade use of again. It is on such plots that crops lik e cocoyam and cassava are grow n as they are then su p p lied w ith m anure th at w ill becom e u seful in the end w hen the p la n tin g o f yam s co m es. A ro u n d the fa rm la n d s, and w ith in the com pounds of each fam ily unit econom ic trees such as palm trees, co co n u t trees, p la n ta in , banana, m ango, orange, k o la n u t as w ell as b rea d fru it trees are grow n. O ften they k ep t farm lan d s in the forest areas w hich they attended regularly as a m eans of supplem enting those at hom e.
E ach fam ily u n it k e p t liv e sto c k w ith in an e n c lo su re at the h o m estead , and th ese in clu d ed goats, sheep, lo ca l cow s, hens and chickens w hich are exchanged for other goods on big m arket days.
H orses w ere im p o rted from areas around n o rth ern N ig e ria presum ably from the land of the Igala and used on im portant festival days.
1.10.1 T ra d in g
As w ell as farm ing, therefore, the N ri-Igbo engaged in trading in w hich excess fo o d crops obtained from the farm w ere exchanged for other item s such as knives, hoes, ritual objects, clothes etc. The people also engaged in ex ten siv e trade w ith th eir im m ed iate neighbours and long distance trading was not unknow n. It is partly in connection with trade th at the fo u r days of the N ri-Ig b o w eek w ere in stitu tio n alized . H ence, every v illag e group had a p articu lar day by w hich its central m arket was know n w hich is also the day traders cam e from far and near to exchange their goods as w ell as socialize. A part from this m arket day, v illa g e s c a rrie d on lo ca l m ark etin g a c tiv itie s at o th er days ap p o in ted for them . T he N ri-Ig b o b ought and sold liv e sto ck on big m arket days; and ju d g in g from th eir extensive use o f exotic m aterials for their pendants and pottery they m ust have im ported copper, beads, bronze and even horses from the outside (presum ably from the region around the Ig ala w ith w hom they are said to h av e had ex ten siv e trading and c u ltu ral exchanges (O nw uejeogw u 1981)) in exchange for ivory w hich they exported in great quantities (Ifem esia 1974). W hen it com es to slave econom y, even though the N ri-Igbo p articip ated in slave tra d in g , it is b e lie v e d th a t th e N ri p h ilo s o p h y fro w n e d on it.
(O n w u ejeo g w u 1981:26)
1 8
1.10.2 R itu a l reg u la tio n a n d co n tro l
O nw uejeogw u also identifies ritual functions as one of the m ajor occupations o f the N ri people. The E z e - N r i him self operated by ritual authority and sanctions, having the pow er to abrogate or enact taboos relatin g to m ark et activ ities (O nw uejeogw u 1981: 88). From tim e to tim e he sent out his agents to other parts of Ig boland, at tim es after having been consulted or appealed to, to carry out cleansing rites in other Igbo tow ns w here the earth has been desecrated; or to install an ozo title m an with a staff of office.
It is in this connection that the arts and crafts as w ell as the technology of the of the N ri-Igbo flourished. The craftsm en produced ritu al spears alo carried by the o z o titled eld ers, elab o rately carved w ooden doors fo r adorning the gates of the com pounds of nobilities, ivory horns o k ik e used for the early m orning invocations, and beautiful m asks, carved objects representing then various gods and spirits in the N ri-Igbo pantheon. It is fo r these th at the A w ka w ood carvers and sm iths are know n till this day. These sm iths also produced m etal works such as the gong, hoes, knives and m atchets fo r farm and dom estic duties. B ut the art of i c h i fa c ia l sc arifica tio n rem a in e d the m ajor concern of the U m udioka group who w ent about from p lace to place carrying out m ajor operations.
1.11 S o c ia l a n d religious o b serva n ces
The m ajor processes of socialization for the youth are the age- grade, the m m o n w u "m asquerade" society and the title taking systems.
T he a g e-g rad e in tro d u c e d y o u th s to the id ea ls o f le a d e rsh ip , the m m o n w u society in itiated them into the m ysteries o f the land of the dead, w hile the titles taking system affiliated them to the m oral order of the living society in which they ex ist.1
W hen a m ale child is of age to fend for him self, he m arries a wife and establishes his own separate hom estead. This usu ally com prises a w alled enclosure w ithin w hich there is the o b i , the cen tral place for
1 For details o f these and also o f the kinship and political structures see O nwuejeogwu, 1981.
