All About Umuoji History

Umuoji is a town in Idemili North local government area of Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria. Legend has it that centuries ago, a seasoned warrior/hunter named Okoli Otie from Arochukwu fought his way down to the medieval Kingdom of Nri (1043-1911) where he settled and married an Nri woman. Shortly thereafter, this brave hunter, who has by now became known as Okodu, moved out of Nri with his bride and settled on an uninhabited spread of land that is known as the modern day Abatete.

It should be noted here that a variant of Umuoji traditional history claims that Okodu and Okoli Otie are different individuals, and that it was Okodu, not Okoli Otie, who migrated from Nri to Abatete. However, sound Igbo traditional history analysis strongly suggests that Okodu and Okoli Otie are one and the same person. The name, Okodu, may have been given to him in Nri, perhaps, a title in recognition of his physical and hunting prowess. While the debate about the true origin of Okodu rages on between erudite scholars and traditional historians, some key facts about Okodu are settled, and they are:1) That Okodu was once a residence of Nri (either as native-born or migrant)
2) That Okodu’s wife was an Nri woman
3) That Okodu and his wife migrated to an uninhabited spread of land that is known today as Abatete
4) That Okodu and his wife had three sons namely Omaliko, Oji and Dimudeke
5) That Omaliko, the first son was the progenitor of Abetete, Oji progenited Umuoji, and Dimudike’s progeny is Nkpor (originally known as Umudim)
6) That the descendants of Oji’s only known siblings, present day Abatete and Nkpor, commonly recognize Okoli Otie as their ancestral father.

The historical account goes on to state that, in conformity with Igbo customs, Omaliko, the first son of Okodu, became the sole inheritor of Okodu’s piece of land. The reality of Omaliko’s exclusive inheritance resulted in Oji and Dimudeke having to depart to find separate settlements.
Be it as it may, the legend that is generally accepted by Umuojians continues that Oji had four sons namely Eziora, Ifiteora, Dimechem and Akala, in birth order. These four sons of Oji Okodu constitute the four loosely administrative quarters in Umuoji. Each of Oji’s four sons begot several sons of their own, and each of their sons individually originated one of the twenty-three villages in Umuoji. Unfortunately, the legend says nothing of what became of Oji’s female offspring or whether he or his sons had any daughters. The favored traditional history goes on to narrate that Oji’s sons and grandsons had such large families that their population soon eclipsed those of Omaliko and Dimudeke combined. It is said that old Okodu, who must have been blessed with longevity, was so impressed with the multitude that descended from his second son, Oji, which he proudly referred to them as “Igwulube Okodu”, literally interpreted to mean “Okodu’s swam of locusts.”
Listed below, in order of seniority, are the four sons of Oji and their children who were the progenitors of the constituent twenty-three villages in Umuoji.
1. EZIORA
Abor, Umuobia, Ire, Ekwulu, Amoji and Urueze
2. IFITEORA
Ifite, Urudeke, Umuazu and Umuoli
3. DIMECHEM
Aguma Elum, Umuoma, Uruaneke, Urumkpu, Ideoma, Dianokwu, Dimboko, and Umuechem
4. AKALA
Aguma, Uruegbe, Akala Etiti, Anaogu and Abidi

The Eke-Uke Dog Narrative

Eke Uke, when used derogatorily, refers to local / ugly dog. It sometimes used to refer to somebody that is archaic.

Origin of the word.
Uke is a town in Anambra state, Idemmili LGA, with Ojoto, Umuoji, Nnobi etc as its neighboring towns.

It's the town that hosts the popular Reverend Father Ebube Muonso of the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Uke.

Just as every Igbo town has their own market named after the market day it mostly trades and associated with, the Uke market is named after it's market day being Eke. Thus the Uke market is referred to as Eke-Uke just as other town's market in Anambra state are referred to by their market days e.g. Nkwo Igbokwu, Orie Nimo, Afor Nnobi, Eke Awka etc.

The Eke Uke market in the 70s and 80s is very popular for dog business just as Afor Nnobi is currently known for goat and sheep business. All species of dog are found in this market. The lame dog, the fat dog, skinny, half-dead, vibrant dog etc.
But as the business has it then, the ugly dogs overpopulates the market.
With time, people started referring to ugly dogs as "Eke-Uke" And the name keeps transforming till date.

Source: Facebook User.

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All About Nnokwa History

Nnokwa is one of the seven towns in idemili south local government area(LGA) of Anambra state, Nigeria. It  has the distinction of being the only Nri town in this LGA.It comprises of ten villages: Ogonogo, Ozala, Isimgbede, Umuide, Aboh, Odumodu, Eziama, Umueshi, Ubili and Umudim. These ten villages are grouped into three quarters: Nnaku,Etiti and Ifite for easy administration. With a population of 30,000 (2006 census) Nnokwa is among the most populous towns in Idemili South LGA.

Nnokwa originated from Nri. There are many versions of the origin of Nri people. One tradition states that both Nri and the Igala descended from ERI in an area in the present Kogi state of Nigeria.Igala went into one direction while NRI moved southwards.

The Nri origin of Nnokwa states that there were two bands of Nri settlements at the early stages of their migration. The first, settled on the eastern side of the Anambra river of the present Anambra west LGA and later founded the towns of Aguleri,Umuleri,Nteje and Igbariam.The second band moved southwards to found the four towns of Nri including Agukwu,Nawfia.Enugwukwu and Enugu-Agidi.

According to the tradition of Nri (confirmed by those of Ora-eri and Nnokwa),Nnokwa and another Nri town,Ora-eri were two uterine direct Princes born to the King,Nri-Namoko VII of Nri, who lived in his old kingdom located at Diodo,one of the three quarters of Nri .These two Royal Princes were conferred with spiritual powers of Eze Nri Namoko VII. However their Royal Queen Mother, the wife of Nri Namoko VII Aghabilo was the Kings most favorite, most attractive and the youngest wife and a native of Adazi-Enu.

Queen mother Aghabilo, due to her exalted position, excited jealousy from the court. So intrigues were hatched against her which eventually led to her banishment from the palace with her two children, Nnokwa and Ora-eri..The king was forced by his counselors to acquiesce as he was egged on by Aghabilo`s co-wives and their most senior children and relatives. The King was reduced to tears when Aghabilo left with her two children, Nnokwa and Ora-eri.He gave her two sacred staff of office and a roped bronze vase to keep in trust for her infant sons. They were Otonsi and Ofo – Anaigbo.Aghabilo returned to Adazi-enu.When her children grew up, they settled first at the present site of Ora-eri, who was the elder brother.

Later a bitter quarrel developed between Nnokwa and Ora-eri.Nnokwa helped Ora-eri his elder brother, to get a wife, but when he requested Ora-eri to assist him, Ora-eri refused,because the latter’s wife was not in support of it. The two brothers disagreed violently, and Nnokwa broke away and migrated southwards to the present site which he founded. The bitterness was ritually cleansed and the mutual curses removed on 31st December 1977 after centuries of bitterness. In 1977,the Ora-eri people made amends to placate the injured feelings of Nnokwa and both embraced and buried their hatchet. Inter-marriages,which were tabooed between both and their descendants were ritually restored. However, despite the bitterness, the ancient history and futures of Ora-eri   and Nnokwa were inter-woven.

Early Spacemen of the World:


Nnokwa is reputed to be one of the first places where mankind made its first attempt at exploration of outer space.

According to Nnokwa tradition, the incident took place in the distant past, many years and possibly centuries before the advent of the Whiteman to Igbo land. It happened that some energetic young men from Isimgbede village Nnokwa,  came together and conceived the idea of plucking down the moon from the sky and keeping it in their custody as their exclusive possession to be rented out to whoever has the wherewithal to hire it. Their purpose was primarily to demonstrate the supremacy of their skill and strength to other villages of Nnokwa and beyond. They also intended to celebrate their traditional marriage ceremonies in grand style by taking the moon along with them as one would demonstrate the extent of his wealth by displaying a cow while performing a marriage ceremony.

Thus resolved, their youths reasoned that the easiest way to reach the moon was to climb on top of the tallest iroko tree and from there stand on one another’s shoulder, shoulder upon shoulder, vertically escalating upwards into the sky. In this way one of them would ultimately reach near enough to the moon and with iron hook, pluck it down from the sky like a fruit. They imagined that the moon was a spangle hanging out in the space. They embarked on their mission at night during the time of the full moon. They went about to execute their idea after weighing the possible risks and dangers. With the aid of a ladder, they climbed on top of the iroko tree. They tied a metal gong to a long rope with which those on top communicated with those on the ground regarding their needs, including their distance from the moon this way they established a communication link with the ground crew waiting to attend to their needs in space.

According to tradition, they were coming close to their target when the crew met a catastrophic fall from the sky. Their fall created a huge crater on the ground which exists till date. The site where this incident took place is called “osha okuko onwa” or forest where the first attempt to pluck down the moon was made. It remains tabooed for anyone to enter there. However in modern times Nnokwa intends to develop this site as a tourist site.


Culled from the book “THE EARLY SPACEMEN OF NIGERIA “ by Obioma Uchendu.

Male Daughters, Female Husbands: A Tribute To Nnobi by Rudolf Okonkwo

In an African Studies Quarterly paper titled "Domestic, Regional and International Protection of Women Against Discrimination: Constraints and Possibilities," Mojubaolu Olufunke Okome made references to Ifi Amadiume's book, "Male Daughters, Female Husbands: Gender and Sex in African Society." In the book, Amadiume talked about the culture in Nnobi where childless women acquire 'wives' who bear children for them. These women are referred to as female husbands. By bearing children through this form of arrangement, the women gain power and status within the society - power and status childlessness would have denied them.

There are also those referred to as male daughters. These are women designated not to marry but to stay at their parents' home and have kids. This usually happens when a couple has no male child. The daughter in effect becomes the male daughter. She sacrifices the chance to go out and marry. She stays at her parents' home to have babies with the hope of giving birth to a male child who would inherit the parents' property and continue to uphold the family name and maintain the lineage.

In his book, "The Liberty of Man and Other Essays" His Royal Highness, Igwe Edmond Ezeokoli II of Nnobi, wrote about the propitiation and abolition of Osu caste system in Nnobi. He narrated his personal effort that led to the severance of the Osu from the deities that once held them sway and the integration of the former victims into the mainstream Nnobi society. The ceremony performed on December 30, 1971, was led by the Chief Priest of Idemili Nnobi and was witnessed by traditional rulers of neighboring towns and the 3000 year-old ancient OFO IDEMILI. After Nnobi, neighboring towns like Umuoji, Awka-Etiti, and Oba followed the Nnobi example.

This was the progressive and liberal Nnobi that I was born in, but more importantly, the Nnobi that was born in me. For the first fifteen years of my life, I had no sense of allegiance to any other constituted authority than that of my hometown. During the 70s, my family spent seven years living in Ogbunike, specifically at the staff quarters of Women's Training College (WTC) Ogbunike where my Dad was teaching. One summer in the early 80s, I spent my vacation in Makurdi where my aunt lived. In all those travels, never did the center of my worldview shift away from Nnobi. Until I began to fill forms for West African School Certificate (WASC) and Joint Admission and Examination Board (JAMB), nothing made me think I could leave Nnobi.

Nnobi was more than a physical home for me. It was my spiritual home. It was a place where my ancestors lived. More importantly, it was a place where my grandfather made his mark. I came back to Nnobi in the late 70s and I was eager to absorb my heritage. I finished my primary school at the famous Nnobi Central School and went on to the irreplaceable Nnobi High School. It was during the fun-filled 80s and there was really nothing like home. The richness of Nnobi became my riches, the politics became my politics and the flavor also became mine. I was a consummate Nnobian before I left Nnobi.

When I left Nnobi for the Federal University of Technology, Akure, where I beheld Nigeria, I found that Nnobi had prepared me for what I saw. In more ways than one, Nnobi is a mini - Nigeria. Nnobi is divided into three main villages - Ngo, Awuda and Ebenesi. One group could easily take the place of the Igbo, the other the Hausa-Fulani and the third the Yoruba. Within these villages are politics and issues that closely resemble the Nigerian experience. In recent years, Awuda had been threatening to secede from Nnobi. And one of its prominent sons has been fighting to become the Igwe many years before the ruling Igwe Edmond Ezeokoli II joined his ancestors.

I come from Ndam. It is one of the three clans in Ngo village. The others are Umuegbu, and Umuagu. Ndam has no school, no post office and no road. Ndam has one kindergarten where kids spend their day singing "aka-beke-gbue…" Ndam is at the boarder with Alor. Most of its landscape is being swallowed by gullies. Buildings are falling in and families are being displaced. The official masquerade of Ndam is called Nkwasi Nkwa. When translated, it means something that pushes down obstacles. The obstacles facing Nnobi are seemingly beyond what Nkwasi Nkwa can push away.

Nnobi has three major institutions - the Catholic Church as represented by Madonna Catholic Church, the Anglican Church as represented by St. Simon's Church, and Chief Zebrudaya Okolo Igwe Nwogbo, alias 4: 30. The Catholic and Anglican Churches are our own Muslim and Christian divide. The Catholic Church would excommunicate a member who allowed his or her daughter to marry an Anglican. Mere walking into an Anglican church would bar a catholic from receiving communion until he or she undergoes "opipia". The Catholics run the Boys Scout while the Anglicans run the Boys Brigade. Catholic mothers join the Mambo dance while the Anglican mothers join the Awelenma dance.

Surrounding Nnobi and sharing the same Idemili tropical rain forest are towns like Nnokwa, Alor, Uke, Awka Etiti and Nnewi. Just like South Africa is when compared to Nigeria in the continent of Africa, Nnewi towers above Nnobi in our side of Anambra. But like any one would tell you, it is in Nnobi that the potentials are. But why is Nnobi the town that is struggling the most? Why is Nnobi with lots of educated citizens the one that is still battling with issues of fundamental development? Why are the roads to Nnobi one of the worst in Idemili Local Government Area? Why are Nnobi intellectuals like Dr. Edwin Madunagu uninterested in the fate of Nnobi? Why are Nnobi businessmen and women agonizing at the bottom of their class? How shall we return Nnobi to its glorious days when it brought Christianity, Western education and modernization to its neighbors?

These are the questions Nnobi people all over the globe are beginning to ask. Those at home recently resorted to the burning of all the shrines of their forefathers with the hope of chasing away evil spirits which they blamed for Nnobi failures. Nnobians in the USA will try to answer these same questions when they meet at the first Nnobi-USA General Meeting slated for July 4th weekend in Minnesota. There participants will try to reawaken in themselves the meaning of the Abalukwu Nnobi symbol - a man carrying an elephant on his head and crushing a lion with his feet.

It is in the star of Nnobi for each generation to confront the challenges of their time and triumph. Usually, it begins with a gathering like the one planned for Independence Day weekend in Minnesota. Though Nigeria may not want its National Conference yet, but Nnobi, my Nnobi, is well on its way.
Written by by Rudolf Okonkwo.

Some History About Nnobi - The Holy Land By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo

Nnobi: The Making of a Holy Land By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo.

In the dead of night, when the crickets were chirping the loudest and the rays of midnight stars were struggling to penetrate the canopy made by leaves of cashew and palm trees, he marched along the dusty road connecting Nnobi to Alor.

The weight of his feet hitting the red soil rattled wild rabbits in their holes. In the vast Nnobi-Alor forest, encroaching both sides of the road were valleys made by gully erosion.  He chanted songs of soldiers on cross country race, pausing to hear the echoes of his voice married in a remix with the chattering of forest monkeys. Smell of decaying leaves mixed with the latest deposits by flood water along the gullies crawled through his nose.  Old women who knew him when he was just a student at Dennis Memorial Grammar School (DMGS), Onitsha, cracked open their family compound hardwood doors to peep out. One woman who was bold enough to walk outside at that time of the night asked him, “Nna a, don’t you fear the night?” His answer was as crisp as the creases of his shirt. “There’s no fear.”

That was before he joined the then Lt. Col. T. J. Aguiyi-Ironsi’s 5 Queens Nigeria Regiment (5QNR) to Congo on the 1960 United Nations’ peace mission.

I became aware of him when I got admitted into Nnobi High School. I discovered that one of the school hostels was named after him. Others were named after people like former Governor General of Nigeria, Patterson and former Premier of Eastern region, M.I. Okpara. So, I felt he must have done something to deserve that honor. But I hardly asked. And we didn’t read about him in history books. The second time him name came up was when my brother applied for admission into the Nigerian Defense Academy. The trepidation that followed his interest in joining the army was attributed to the fate that befell Lt. Ezeugbana.

On Saturday February 4, 1961, Lt. Ezeugbana died in a gun battle with soldiers loyal to Patrice Lumumba in the Kivu province in Eastern Congo. His platoon was defending the UN barrack in the city. The circumstance of his death was not disclosed, at least not to his folks. His body was not brought back home. The young ones who remembered his funeral always noted that a stem of banana plant was laid inside a coffin in place of his body. The consensus was that if he had not died in the Congo, he would have died in the crises surrounding the 1966 coup and the war that followed. He was that kind of a soldier, they said, the Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu type.

The one who did not go to the Congo or die in the 1966 crisis is Major Humphrey Chukwuka, one of the famous Five Majors that planned the infamous January 14, 1966 coup. I don’t remember when I first found out that he was from Nnobi. But the first reporting assignment I went to as a new reporter for May Ellen Ezekiel’s Classique magazine was to visit the Sandhurst-trained soldier in Enugu for an interview. For a while, the time I spent with him at his home in Enugu was the biggest thrill of my life. I was not just in the midst of a historical individual, this one was a son of Nnobi. Lt. Col. Humphrey Chukwuka, as he insisted I must address him, didn’t discuss on record anything about the 1966 coup with me. Despite all my efforts, he insisted that he had moved on beyond that. But he spoke for hours on Nigeria.

As a student at Nnobi, I watched in amazement as thousands of pilgrims descend on my home town to mark Passover. Marching barefooted along the major streets of Nnobi, these pilgrims from across the world feted Rev. Michael Amakeze, popularly known as Prophet Musa. He was the General Overseer of the Holy Sabbath Christ the King Mission, now called Community of Yahweh Worldwide.  Long before anyone heard about Prophet T. B. Joshua, he saw tomorrow, for those who believed. His followers referred to Nnobi as a holy land. Since a prophet is not recognized in his home town, most of us paid no mind to Musa. Then at Chinua Achebe’s 70th birthday at Bard College in upstate New York, I was introduced as a son of Nnobi to a professor who came to the celebration from Germany. Immediately, the professor, a follower of Rev. Amakeze prostrated. “You are from a holy land,” the professor said.

At the very least, everybody’s hometown should be a holy land.

After years of keeping a date with Dr. Eddie Madunagu’s column on Thursdays at the Guardian newspaper, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the mathematician, scholar, polemist, Marxist theorist and the last socialist in Nigeria is from Nnobi. Those days that I spent at the Guardian with Eddie (as he is popularly known), I learned something about how the environment surrounding one’s formative years influences the dialectics of his souls.

Even during the pre-colonial era, Nnobi played a role in the advancement of the Igbo cosmology, including the science of the dibia Igbo and the culture surrounding the Igbo worldview. Professor Ifi Amadiume, celebrated anthropologist, essayist and a daughter of Nnobi captured an aspect of that in her seminal work, "Male Daughter, Female Husband: Gender and Sex in an African Society." 

In show business, Chika Okpala, Chief Zebrudaya Okoroigwe Nwogbo, alias 4: 30, of the famed New Masquerade, comedian extraordinaire leads a roll call that includes Gospel Musician, Gozie Okeke, of the Akanchawa fame.

At one point in the 1990s, there were three Nnobi-born Vice Chancellors/Deputy Vice Chancellors of Nigerian universities. Leading the pack was Prof. O.G. Oba, Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Owerri (1992-1999). In religious arena, Most Reverend Owen Nwokolo, is the Bishop on the Niger, the Anglican Bishop of Onitsha Diocese. Ret. Rev. Samuel C. Chukwuka was the recent retired Anglican Bishop of Isuikwuato/Umunnochi Diocese.

In medicine, Dr. Ferdinand Ofodile is a world renowned plastic surgeon and inventor with patents right to some of the most innovative fixtures for plastic surgery, the most popular of which is the nasal implant for rhinoplasty named Ofodile Implant. He is also a retired professor of Medicine at Columbia University

The first time I saw myself as a conscious being was at Ogbunike where my father was a teacher. We were strangers in Ogbunike but whenever we visited Nnobi, my siblings and I were expatriate children. We were pampered and adored but it was the lure of Nnobi that engrossed me. Before I knew a thing about Nigeria, Nnobi was the place that earned my allegiance. For a while it was the only government I knew. Its values became my values and its politics and heroes mine.

Nnobi in so many ways is like Nigeria- a mini-Nigeria. It’s essentially divided into three villages, Ngo, Awuda and Ebenesi. During the colonial era and the few years after, Nnobi was rising and thriving under the guardianship of the Great Igwe Ezeokoli, a traditional surgeon, educationist, celebrated King and the man who brought Christianity to Idemili. In those years of yonder, Nnobi was like Singapore or Malaysia, projecting confidence and inspiring the neighbors. In the last few years, it has dealt with tussle over kingship, an attempted breakaway village, denominational divisions and charges of marginalization of one section or another in developmental projects.  In the cause of the crises, it has seen its neighbors leave it in the dust. While Innoson Motors is producing cars in Nnewi and Ojoto is the headquarters of Idemili South, Nnobi is still searching for its place.

Across the globe there are moves to reawaken the true meaning of the Abalukwu Nnobi symbol - a man carrying an elephant on his head and crushing a lion with his feet. This generation of Nnobi people, like other great generations before it, is poised to confront the challenges of their time and triumph. Usually, it begins with a gathering.

On June 20, the people of Nnobi in North America will gather in Atlanta to again begin to contribute their quota in the ongoing renaissance at Nnobi, a rebirth that will restore Nnobi’s status as a holy land.
Written by; Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo.

All About Oraukwu History

There are two stories pertaining to the origin of Oraukwu people. The rust version says that the land Oraukwu was originally known as Ohokwu. The name actually belongs to an individual called Ohokwu, a hunter and an adventurist, who migrated from the great Nri kingdom to the present site of Oraukwu around the year 1583 AD.

This great man, together with his household, initially settled at a place called Edeomu at Uruamada village. After a little while, he left Edeomu and came up to Otta. He built his Obi at Otta. An Iroko tree stands on the spot where he built his house and that Iroko tree still exist to this day. Ohokwu originally has eight sons according to some sources. The eldest son was Otta. The names of his children according to the order of seniority are:- * Otta * Nkwelle * Ezennaja * Irukwelekor * Amaeze * Dim-Ubana * Urua-Amada * Ibenabo
The first wife of Ohokwu gave birth to Otta and Amaeze. It is necessary to state that the original name of Amaeze was Eze. Ohokwu built a house for Eze at the present site of Amaeze village. The route leading to the house was being called Ama Nwa Eze. Overtime, due to the need for ease of pronunciation, the "nwa' became silent and the name was called Amaeze. The meaning hasn't changed. The palpable togetherness that exist between Amaeze and Otta villages especially during the crises that engulfed Oraukwu after the civil war can be explained on the fact that they were born of the same mother. The same scenario is applicable to Ezennaja and UruaAmada. In fact, there were formerly called Amada Akanabo meaning "the two hands of Amada". It also seems that Nkwelle and Dim-Ubana also sucked the same breast and they behave like brothers too. Ibenabo and Irukwelekor are born of the same woman and they used to bear the name Ebenesi. The possibility of Ohokwu having a female child has not been established. In Otta village, the eldest of the kindreds is the Ottaeke. Ottaeke is the first son of Otta who is the son of Ohokwu. Together with other sons of Otta, they make up Otta village. This kindred maintains the Obi of Ohokwu. Genealogically, the family of Peter Udoezeani is the Isiani of Oraukwu. His family is the Okpala (the first son ofOhokwu) He is the head of the Ezeani society, a society whose duty it is to crown the Igwe. They are the kingmakers. And in matters of tradition, they are consulted. Infact, they, not the Igwe in Council have the final say in such matters. His father crowned Igwe Samuel Abor, and on his father's death, he crowned Igwe Onyeka and Igwe Emeka Ogbunude. The credibility of this historical account is hinged on the fact that he is the source. In law, he can testify as an expert witness. The second version says that there is no person called Ohokwu. The proponent of this version says that It was a young hunter called Eke who migrated from Agukwu Nri and settled at the present Otta village together with his family. His first son was named Otta. According to this source, that was how Ottaeke kindred derived its name-Otta being the name of the first son and Eke his surname. This version also states that Ohokwu was originally called Ohaukwu which reflects the destiny of the early settlers. The two versions agree on the fact that Otta village is the eldest of the villages and that Ottaeke kindred holds the Ofor of Oraukwu. They also agree that most of the villages are direct descendants of the first settler. The account concerning the seniority of the villages is debatable. Some sources say that the seniority order of the villages may not actually be based on who was born first. Otta, the eldest village, is situated in Enuoha. The second village according to the order of seniority which is Nkwelle, is located in Uruani. The third village Ezennaja is in Enuoha while Irukwelekor is in Uruani. The same goes for other remaining villages. There is a lot of wisdom in this political arrangement. It reduces rancour and bad blood to the barest minimum especially when it comes to sharing of political positions.

The Nigerian nation will do well to learn from this ancient wisdom in her bid for a more perfect and just union. Be that as it may, it is never in doubt that Otta remains the eldest of the villages. This is a generally accepted position without fear of contradiction. However, in any society, there are people who migrate and settle in another community for several factors. Oraukwu is not an exception. Some group of people migrated to Oraukwu and eventually mixed up with the original owners of the land. Such families can be found in every village. In Ezennaja, there is a kindred that bear the name of Umuohinta. Umuohi happens to be the name of a small community that have a shared boundary with Oraukwu. A boundary dispute later ensued and they teamed up with Neni to fight Oraukwu. The case, is still a subject of litigation even now. The Umuohinta kindred must have joined Oraukwu hundreds of years ago. Today, they have formed an integral part ofOraukwu community. Another kindred bear the name of Umuakpaka. According to the oldest man in this kindred Chief Martin Nnolim (Okwulora),the family migrated from Abacha. Their great grandfather Akpaka Onyilenyi who was a powerful medicine man, was hired by the people of Oraukwu to prepare a war medicine for them. After a successful execution of the war, he settled at the present Nkwo square and established his family there. Overtime, they became an integral part of the town. His art as a renowned medicine man also enhanced his status and he rendered a lot of services to Oraukwu in those days.   In Ibenabo Village, there is a kindred with the name Umuagulu. Oral tradition also pointed to the fact that some other families came from Ohaofia. Today in Ibenabo village, there is a god called habba. Its forest is still as it were in Ibenabo village. The origin ofhabba is Agulu. It can be deduced that they came with the god and established it here in Oraukwu among them. In Amaeze village, some of the families came from Ozu except the Umuatu who are the kola breakers whenever all Amaeze people gather together. Some families in Dim-Ubama have another ancestral origin.Tn the days of yore, they used to celebrate the Diji Ohi ceremony, a feast that is peculiar to that village. During the festival, nobody from any other village can visit Dim Ubana village. This village recorded a great loss of lives in an ancient war with the people of Alor because Alor warriors invaded the village on the day they were celebrating the Diji Ohi festival. No other village could help them. That explains their small number.   Within Oraukwu today, there are areas of land called the following names. Ozu, Owa, Igbolo, Ovolo, Ohofia, Mgbawa-Okili. Each of them was a small indepdent town. During the reign of terror made possible by Abam/Ohaofia worries, when slave trade was at its peak, some of them had their people captured and sold into slavery, their houses vandalized and their communities scattered. Ohaofia people lived where Oraukwu Girls Secondary School is now sited. There were mainly slave dealers who migrated from place to place. Some of them eventually joined the Oraukwu community and were warmly accepted. Some others left the place when enormous pressure was mounted on them due to their inhuman activities. Oraukwu and Ozu lived peacefully and had everything in common without exception. After the death of their grandparents, this tradition of communal sharing was maintained by their successors. They had common market places, feasts, ceremonies, and other observances. They were really living in brotherly peace and harmony. Like I had already stated, a land tussle that reared its ugly head in recent times made the community to team up with Neni against Oraukwu. Friends became enemies. Till this day, the matter is still a subject of litigation. Oraukwu's peace was also disturbed by the deadly attacks of her neighboring towns mainly from Owa and Ohofia towns. The Owa people were those who dug up dead bodies for consumption. Thus when a person died, his people had to keep watch over the grave for eight consecutive days to allow the corpse to decompse. A proverb had been developed which portrayed Owa people's singular quest for dead bodies warning that “Anaghi egosi Owa ini Ozu". (Nobody show the Owa people a grave) The Owa people were later driven out by Abam warriors. They also suffered persecution from Abatete, Neni and even Oraukwu people due to their strange life style. Some of them who escaped such "military" onslaught took refuge in Amada and Amaeze villages. Some families who settled in Oraukwu in the olden days were osu (outcast). The term is used for people who dedicated themselves to the deities for protection. Some were driven away from their original communities and they came to Oraukwu and took solace in some deities like Nwocha and Idemobi. Because of the hospitality of the Oraukwu people, they were allowed to establish themselves and even own lands. Today, they are part and parcel of the community. It can be said without fear of contradiction that the town of Oraukwu is an amalgam of settlers and indigenous people. THE METAMORPHOSIS OF THE NAME OHOKWU TO ORAUKWU When the white men "invaded" the Igboland with their brand of government and religion, Oraukwu was one of such towns that were heavily influenced by the "strange practices" of the white men. Such influences came by way of western education and western civilization. The people of Oraukwu embraced it both with hands. A lot of them sent their children to school. Some others took to trading and migrated to the then Otu Nkwo Onitsha for Abada trade. Many of them became highly successful. Some others travelled to Enugu and became coal miners. Others joined rice farmers in Abakaliki and established rice fields. The increase in the number of the educated people in the town led to the formation of Oraukwu Progressive Union OPU. The large presence of the newly educated young men and women who joined this group culminated into an intellectual gymnastics and brainstorming on how to fashion out a better name for the town. Examples were made of some neighbouring towns who had their names changed by their people as a way of projecting a better reflection of who they are. Such towns include Awka-Etiti formerly known as Awka Nkakwu, Igboukwu formerly known as Igbo, Ekwulumrnili formerly known as Ekwuluatulu, and Mbaukwu formerly known as N namkpu. The group, after a careful consideration of some select names, finally settled for ORAUKWU, THE TOWN OF THE GREAT. This was under the effective leadership of Raphael Udechukwu as the OPU President. Before the change and even after it, the people of the town have lived up to this name. IGBO CALENDAR WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO ORAUKWU For so long, the Blackman has been painted by the Western Press as someone without an organized way of doing, as a savage and barbarian plucking fruits from trees like Monkeys before the coming of the 'MESSIANIC WHITE MEN'. But the truth is that the African traditional society had a very organized system of life. Oraukwu, like every other Igbo traditional society, had her own calendar. We had our own system of counting time before the advent of colonization and western civilization. The Cock's crow announces the dawn of a new day. Again, another way of determining the time of the day is by gauging the shadow. When the shadow is below the feet, it shows that half of the day has passed. The coming of darkness in the night following the setting of the sun indicates the end of the day. Four market days make up a week. Those four days are given the names of Eke, Orie, Afor and Nkwo. Seven weeks which is equivalent to twenty eight days make up a month. This is called "IZUU ASAA". Thirteen months make a year. A close look at the Gregorian calendar shows some striking similarities with the Igbo traditional Calendar. Gregorian calendar: 7 days x 4 weeks = 28 days = 1 month. Igbo calendar: 4 days x 7 weeks =28 days = 1 month. Gregorian calendar: 52 weeks of7 days = 364 days = 1 year. Igbo calendar: 91 weeks of 4 days = 364 days = 1 year. The four day and seven-day weeks show amazing coincidence. A close look at the Gregorian calendar in its natural stage, coinciding with the natural order, shows that it operates within the frame work of the numbers four and seven as is the case in the Igbo four day week. The names of the days have their roots in the mythology of the kingdom ofNri. Eri; the sky descended founder of the Nri kingdom, had gone on to break the mystery of time and on his journey he had saluted and counted the four days by the names of the spirits that governed them, hence the names of the spirits Eke, Orie, Afo and Nkwo became those of the days of the week.

All About Ogidi great Son, Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe was a prominent Igbo writer, famous for his novels describing the effects of Western customs and values on traditional African society. Achebe's knack for satire and his keen ear for spoken language have made him one of the most highly esteemed African writers in English.

Chinua Achebe, a native of Ogidi in Anambra State Nigeria, is the son of a teacher in a missionary school. His parents, though they installed in him many of the values of their traditional Igbo culture, were devout evangelical In 1944 Achebe attended Government College in Umuahia. He later attended the University College of Ibadan, where he studied English, history and theology. At the university Achebe rejected his British name and took his indigenous name Chinua. In 1953 he graduated with a BA. Before joining the Nigerian Broadcasting Company in Lagos in 1954 he traveled in Africa and America, and worked for a short time as a teacher. In the 1960s he was the director of External Services in charge of the Voice of Nigeria.
During the Nigerian Civil War (1967-70) Achebe was in the Biafran government service, and then taught at US and Nigerian universities. Achebe's writings from this period reflect his deep personal disappointment with what Nigeria became since independence.
He subsequently taught at various universities in Nigeria and the United States. Achebe wrote his first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), partly in response to what he saw as inaccurate characterizations of Africa and Africans by British authors. The book describes the effects on Ibo society of the arrival of European colonizers and missionaries in the late 1800s.
Achebe's later novels No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the People (1966), and Anthills of the Savannah (1987) are set in Africa and describe the struggles of the African people to free themselves from European political influences. During Nigeria's tumultuous political period of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Achebe became politically active. Most of his literary works of this time address Nigeria's internal conflict (see Nigeria, Federal Republic of: Civil War). These books include the volumes of poetry Beware, Soul Brother (1971) and Christmas in Biafra (1973), the short-story collection Girls at War (1972), and the children's book How the Leopard Got His Claws (1972).
In 1971 Achebe helped to found the influential literary magazine Okike. His other writings include the essay collections Morning Yet on Creation Day (1975), which he later expanded under the title Hopes and Impediments (1988); and The Trouble with Nigeria (1983).
In 1990 Achebe was paralyzed from the waist down as the result of a serious car accident. Despite the setback however, he remained active and has continued writing and publishing.  In 2007 Achebe won the Man Booker International Prize for fiction.
Achebe died on 21 March 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

All About Obosi history

Obosi is a town in Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State, Nigeria, West Africa. Obosi is located in the Southeastern part of Nigeria. There are various accounts of the origin of Obosi. OCA does not claim any superior knowledge of the history, the history contained here are as understood through review of various research reports reported by others.

A man named Adike was the first to settle at the place now known as Obosi town. His wife was Akwugo. Adike was the youngest of three sons of Nri. The three sons of Nri, in their order of birth, are Alor, Ojoto and Adike. As they grew up the three brothers lived together in Alor town. Later Ojoto and Adike moved to the present Ojoto town and settled there. Adike was a hunter and farmer. A hunting expedition took Adike to the present Obosi which was a thick forest. Adike was impressed by the abundance of hunting game in the area that he decided to settle there. He went to Ojoto and brought his wife with him back to Obosi town. As he tried to build a mud house, the house kept falling when the mud dried up. Due to the difficulty of building a house with the mud, Adike called his new found home Obosi (meaning land with mud or sand that falls apart).
Adike and his wife had two sons namely Oba (first son) and Okodu (the second son). Oba married and had a Son who married and had three sons namely Okpala (first son), Ezeana (second son) and Okpo (third son). Okodu, Adike’s second son, married and had three sons namely Nnebo (first son), Uru (second son) and Owulebe (third son). Nnebo married and had two sons Ota (first son) and Ire (second son). Uru married and had one son Umuru. Owulebe married and had three sons Mmakwum (first son), Uruowulu (second son) and Ugamuma (third son). Therefore, Adike had two sons, four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Adike’s nine great grandchildren form the then Obosi town and were referred to as Obosi Ebo Itenani.

Adike’ great grandchildren in order of seniority by birth are Okpala, Ezeana, Okpo, Ota, Ire, Umuru, Mmakwum, Uruowulu and Ugamuma. Historians indicated that one King of Obosi (Igwe Messa 2) decreed that during first harvest, all the yams in the head of the barn (isimkpa) of every Obosi farmer will be given to the King. Farmers put their best harvests in the head of the barn hence the king would get the best of the yams. One Umuru farmer put his best yams in the tails of the ban (odumkpa) and his lesser yams in the head of the barn. The king noticed the change and ordered his men to get the best yams from the tail of the barn. The Umuru farmer protested the King’s conduct of taking yams from odumkpa rather than from the isimkpa. In his anger, the Umuru farmer killed the King. The other great grandchildren engaged Umuru in a war to avenge the murder of the King. Four out of the nine great grandchildren died in the Umuru war. Those that died are Okpala, Ezeana, Okpo and Umuru. The surviving five great grandchildren namely Ota, Ire, Mmakwum, Uruowulu and Ugamuma formed the five villages that comprise Obosi town presently. Descendants of Umuru were exiled because of the abomination their brother committed by killing a King. When Umuru descendants left Obosi, their properties were taken as spoils of war and their land shared among the surviving great grandchildren of Adike and their descendants. Umuru land is currently known as Little Wood Estate in Obosi.

Ito-Ogbo in Obosi.
Every three years Obosi town will celebrate birthday for all Obosi people who are between ages 80 through 82 years old. These Octogenarians are celebrated for longevity. Their families, villages and the entire town gather to celebrate with the Octogenarians. The King of Obosi issues a certificate of merit to each Octogenarian. After the ceremony each male Octogenarian will be given a red cap (hat) and bestowed the title of Ogbueshi. The female Octogenarians would be given red scarf and bestowed the title of Ogbueshi Nwanyi. The Octogenarians who are Christians will go to church after the celebration to thank God for long life and good health. The Non-Christians would go to Eke Market to pay homage to the Eke deity.

All About Abatete History

Abatete is a town in Anambra State in Nigeria . Abatete is bordered by Uke , Ogidi , Abacha ,
Oraukwu , Alor, Ideani , Eziowelle , Umuoji . It is located in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State. It is made up of four villages: Nsukwu, Agbaja, Ogbu and Odida. Its people are one of the Igbo speaking peoples of Eastern Nigeria. Abatete, like most Igbo communities, has a rich cultural heritage. Okolie Otie was indisputably the ancestral father of Abatete, Umuoji and Nkpor, but his origin is still unsettled. Otie had three sons: Edeogu, Ora and Ideke. Edeogu his eldest son married Mgboko eke, and they had nine sons: Viz, Nsukwu, Agbaja, Isiuzo, Akwa, Azu ogwa, Mputu, Odida, and Ogbu in that order.

Ora married and had a son he named Oji. When Oji had his own son he gave him his grandfather's name. Oji's descendants are known as Umuoji . The first village in Umuoji is
Eziora as a reflection of their grandfather's name. Ideke's descendants are known as
Nkpor . Edeogu the father of Nkpor. Edeogu the father of abatete proudly referred to his nine sons as (Igwulube-otie-denoting the plurality of his children). Over generation Mbateghete was corrupted to Abateghete and to Abatete with the advent of British rule. Out of nine sons of Edeogu only four survived to form the four pillars of Abatete namely: Nsukwu, Agbaja, Odida and Ogbu. Isiuzo clan had group into a quarter but was driven out of Abatete due to constant feud.
In 1904, the British administration through the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria based in Onitsha sent a Gun Breaking expedition (Otiji Egbe) to Abatete as a prelude to imposing imperial rule. Armed surrogates posing as peacemakers were deployed in all the four quarters of Abatete. At first, they pleaded with the natives for assistance to subdue a troublesome neighboring community. They requested that every gun owner assemble at the market square with their guns. Most natives took the bait. What happened next shook the foundation of the town. Suddenly, the soldiers unleashed their superior firepower and burnt down market stalls and shrines. Capitulation was complete. Native guns were confiscated, stacked and set ablaze. As the fire smoldered so did the pride and power of Abatete.
In 1905, District Officer in charge of Onitsha asked the four quarters of Abatete to select their warrant chiefs. Agbaja selected Eze Omaliko-Atulee Ekusa of Ezimuku, but Ogbuefi Omenyi Anaekwe begged to differ. He reminded, “King makers” that Omaliko deity would be deeply troubled by the trappings of office of the Warrant Chief. His argument prevailed and Ogbuefi Anaekwe was selected to become a Warrant Chief. Chief Onwadiebo Nebuwa Ezekwe, the charismatic grandson of Ebube Ogu, the progenitor of Nri lineage in Nsukwu was a favorite son and well credentialed to serve as Warrant Chief. of NsukwuChief Eze-Elisiaku Anyaegbu was selected and appointed Odida Warrant Chief. Otiji Egbe expedition was traumatic to Ogbu people and that bred mistrust of white men. Rightful titled chiefs declined nomination for Warrant Chief, and Chief Uduezue Omaliko volunteered and thus became a Warrant Chief by default.
The first church/school was built in 1908 by a Catholic Priest Rev. Father Ward at Agbaja. Chief Anaekwe sought and secured the approval of the project from other Warrant Chiefs. In return, quota system of equal representation on admission was instituted. It allowed 50 boys from each quarter of Abatete to enroll for classes. Penalty for tardiness/absence was one fowl for each transgression. But other Warrant Chiefs from Nsukwu, Odida, and Ogbu watched with disbelief as the loot from extortion of yam, fowl or goat for missing Akwukwo. Anaekwe went exclusively to Chief Anaekwe, despite the fact that most of the fines were coming from their district because of distance to the school. The Warrant Chiefs of Nsukwu, Odida and Ogbu met and decided to get even by inviting the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S) to build church/school in their own backyard. There was a catch. They had to pay teachers salary of 6.00 pounds.
Chief Onwadiebo Ezekwe could afford it. He paid up and Christ Church was built at Olile-Nsukwu in 1914. Odida and Ogbu Warrant Chiefs pulled their resources together and got St John’s Church was built at Ogbu-ikwele. In 1930, both churches merged and moved to present location at Afor-Agu as Holy Trinity church. The churches did not come with schools attached. The young converts would have to attend school at a very far location at Eziowelle. It was afternoon school and at an appointed time the town crier would beckon the pupils to school with Ekwe:
Gbaghalu ji,
Gbaghalu ede
Jebe akwukwo,
Kpom kpom kpom.

In 1937, Holy Trinity School was built incorporated and popularly known as Uno Akwukwo Afo-Agu. In 1929 St Dominic’s Church/School Agbaja branched out to Ekeagu. Its staff residence was built by Otu-Nkwali, Ogbu. New Africa school and later renamed Chukwura Primary School was built by great philanthropist Sir P. E. Chukwura and was commissioned in 1945. Holy Rosary Convent School was built in 1948 to enhance and promote female education at Abatete. Notre Dame High School, which started life as Lugard Memorial High School was built by Chief T. O. Morah and Chief S. Mbakwe of Abacha in 1958.
Girls Secondary School was built by the Abatete Social Club of Nigeria and was commissioned in 1979. The Warrant Chiefs in their wisdom brought to Abatete Church/Schools for salvation, education, and knowledge. But they never imagined the problem religious intolerance and zealotry would create. Thus, Abatete waded from one religious crisis juxtaposed with politics and greed to another for three decades. Every issue had religious undertone, it was either Anglican or Catholic, nothing in between. Never mind that at the time, majority were traditionalists, God was either an Anglican or a Catholic. Whether it was commissioning of maternity clinic or Igwe selection, myopic views prevailed. Abatete crisis reached a crescendo in 1959 when Eastern Region Government asked towns to nominate community heads.
Chief Peter Aroh Eze-Onyeka was unanimously selected for installation as Igwe of Abatete, but the Igwe designate had a problem: he was an Anglican extraction. Many Catholic faithful gave their blessings to Chief Onunkwo Ezenwayo for Igweship as a counter weight for an Anglican backed Igwe. Abatete was in quagmire with two Igwes, each with enthusiastic supporters. The animosity between the two camps produced sound-bites ‘Utala n’ofe’ ostensibly referring to Peter Aroh Eze-Onyeka’s camp while ‘Akpu aghaka’ referred to Ezenwayo’s chairleaders. Such was the situation until 1963 when the impasse was resolved at Ekeagu.
In 1976 the Anambra State government made a policy requiring every town to nominate a Chief for recognition. Nsukwu, Odida, and Ogbu nominated Chief P. U. Mkpume. Other candidates Chief J. C. J. Anaekwe and Chief Anisiobi also filed their nomination papers at Ogidi. Justice Agbakoba’s Commission of Enquiry was set up to resolve the issue. In the end Chief Mkpume was the winner and Anambra State government recognized Mkpume as the Igwe of Abatete. On Nkwo, Saturday June 9, 1990, Chief Patrick Ugochukwu Mkpume was conferred as the Igwe Edeogu 1 of Abatete.

Source:  Prince Martin Uchechukwu on Facebook.

Ide Nnaa, Ada Ide - Proudly Idemili by Ugoben Udeka

People from idemili are known for taking pride in their culture while they are 99.9 practicing Christians. We refer to young men in idemili as IDE nnaa while ladies are called ADA ide. Idemili people are some of the most successful people in Africa. It is on record that what the rest of the world sees as Africa culture is the culture of idemili people which was projected and sold to the world through the work of our illustrious son chinua Achebe(late). Idemili belief in d principles of "ife ndi na-eri ka ndi naso", that's why while some town eats the very peaceful python we simply avoid killing it.

We 've never fought people that killed it in their villages but we forbids killing it in our lovely land of idemili. Idemili is blessed with the most out standing catholic priest ever to come from Africa (cardinal Arinze) yet this man who usually visits for xmas and ede festival has never killed eke or encourage the killing of eke.

I want to also make it clear that eke is not a god in idemili so we don't worship it, every town have it own NSO, that is what makes those towns unique. We ve many nso in idemili among them is killing of eke idemili, climbing the udara tree to get udara (we pick it when it falls) etc eke is generally seen as a peaceful reptile, i remember eke lying besides me severally as a kid and doesn't hurt me. I can place it around my neck like a pet and it wouldn't bite. This is our land and we ve made clear our nso just as awka's nso is killing of monkeys. Agulu don't kill agu-eyi (crocodile). Umunya don't kill azu isi (one particular fish that smells) ogbunike don't kill tortoise, nnewi don't kill nchi (grass cutter). We hold these nso sacrosanct and we expect u to comply with us while u live among us promise u will never have problem with us. U can't say what and what are responsible for these incessant death that occurs these days. It is on record that our fathers didn't die in d Manner this generation that claims to be civilised and closer to God are dying. Remember, what u don't know is bigger than u. Long live idemili.

Written by; Ugoben Udeka.

Eke Ukwu Idemili - The Python King

Here is an interesting article I stumbled upon and decided to share with you guys. Please share your thoughts at the end of the post below.

Python kings of Idemili.

 How would you feel, waking up to find a python lying beside your bed? What of if you found a snake in your wardrobe? What would you do on opening your door and meeting a shinny skinned python at the entrance? What about a snake crawling freely around in your environment? These and many more are questions many youth corps members posted to Anambra State usually ask one another anytime they are redeployed to their places of primary assignment after the completion of the three weeks National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp.

Most, if not all, have heard of Idemili, a community where a certain species of snake reigns like a king. Idemili, a conglomeration of about 20 towns in the current Idemili North and Idemili South Local Government Areas of Anambra State is one of the ancient communities in Igboland.

There, they treat a royal python known as ‘Eke’ with utmost respect and dignity. In many parts of the world, python is good meat and hunters do take delight in tracking it down, killing it and eating it. Some people, especially the villagers do take delight in eating a dried python as a delicacy with palm wine. But if you do this in the majority of the towns in Idemili, such as Ogidi, Obosi, Ojoto, Urukwu, Umuoji, Eziowelle, Ideani, Uke, Nkpor, Abacha, Abatete, and many others in Igboland, you are trouble. In Idemili people see living with Eke, as the royal python is known and called, as a way of life. Also, it is forbidden to kill it because it is regarded as a sacred animal. The royal python is a python with shinny skin of different colours. In Idemili, Eke is regarded as one of the messengers of god of the land known as Idemili. Hence, it is a taboo to kill it.

Speaking with Saturday Mirror, during a recent visit to some of the towns in Idemili, the Iyesele and traditional Prime Minister of Obosi, Chief Earnest Nwokwu Orjiakor, traced the existence of Eke to the creation of Idemili community. Idemili is one of the gods that founded Idemili community and the community is named after it. Idemili shrine, which we call Nkua is in Obosi. It is a powerful place and before someone becomes the king of this community, he must visit the shrine. It is only the Igwe and the Iyesele that are entitled to visit the shrine before they assume office. It is a very secret shrine and  Eke is part of the shrine’ s deities. It is very sacred and we don’ t kill or eat it. Anybody that kills it will be in trouble.

We respect it whenever it comes out, he explained. A h igh ranking chief in Idemili, the Onowu of Obosi, High Chief Anthony Eze Nwabude, said the name, Idemili, was derived from the river that flows through the whole length of the town, while the python called  Eke Idemili lives in the river. His words: Since the time we came to this world, what we learn is that Eke Idemili is untouchable and we don’ t eat it in Obosi and in the entire Idemili land. The history of Eke Idemili was dated back to when our forefathers settled down in Idemili. The name Idemili was derived from the river while Eke lives in the river. Eke is seen as the messenger of Idemili that our forefathers served and worshiped. History has it that the first man that founded Idemili came from the deity and as a result people worship the goddess. Therefore, it is not amazing to see people living within the Idemili community sleeping with the python in their beds or playing with it as if they are snake charmers.

Eke can come to your house and enter your room anytime. If you see him, what you are going to do is to try and chase it out. In the olden days, people usually talked to him and it listened to them. So, when you see the python, you can plead with it to go and it will listen by leaving the surrounding immediately. It doesn’ t bite anybody. There is a lot of misery surrounding the existence of the royal python in the community, especially in the olden days, when the snake usually carried out a lot of messages as messenger of the god. It is believed that Eke as messenger of Idemili plays several prominent roles in the community. Saturday Mirror learnt that in the olden days it was a common tradition that whenever a child was born in Idemili, the python would crawl to the place where the baby was kept and curl around it harmlessly to the admiration of the parents of the little child. It was also common then for it to visit any home whenever it desired to deliver the message of the gods.

Saturday Mirror gathered that the royal python on many occasions has visited many indigenes of Idemili, who are living outside the community to deliver a special message to them. There is also a notion that Eke on many occasions had visited Idemili indigenes within and outside Nigeria to deliver the message of the gods. Attesting to the possibility of Eke’ s journey to many parts of the world, the Chairman, Culture and Traditional Practices in Obosi land, Chief Edwin Ofobi disclosed that: Eke as a messenger of the gods does travel to many places for special ass ignment. It usually travels in the spirit. Eke can go to Lagos 10 times in a day to deliver a message. Some of our people who are based in London do see Eke in London. Sometimes they found it in London on their bed or any other place and immediately they see it they will know that the god is sending a message to them. They will carry the snake outside and promise it that they will return to Idemili to find out the mes sage of the gods. Some of them after seeing Eke travelled from London to Idemili to find out the message of the god. It is believed that Eke’ s visit to people’ s homes could mean different things as the snake is said to have the power to bring good or bad tidings.

If, for instance, a noble person is about to pass on, a python could visit the relation of the person in his or her house a few days to the man’ s death. Meanwhile, whenever someone is fed up with the visit of the snake to their home, they can carry it with a bamboo stick outside their compound. It is a common trend to see people carrying a life snake around anytime of the day without any fear. But to prevent the python from coming back after carrying it outside, the person who carried it must ensure that while throwing away the snake, the stick too must be thrown away. If not, the snake will crawl back to the house where the stick is kept. Despite the belief that Eke is not harmful, Saturday Mirror investigation revealed that the snake might sometimes be dangerous; especially to strangers who try to attack it or whoever that is eating the snake secretly.

According to Nwabude, No Idemili son or daughter can be afraid of Eke because the snake cannot hurt him or her. It can only hurt a stranger who tries to attack it. If it bites a stranger, he or she will die; but it cannot harm any person from that town. If somebody tries to kill it and it attacks that person, he or she will die. Any person found to have killed Eke secretly or openly is usually required to bury it with the full funeral rites normally reserved for human beings in Igboland. Even despite the advent of Christianity in the area, the people of Idemili still accord great respect to the royal python whether dead or alive. During its funeral rites, the dead python is wrapped in a white cloth and carefully put in a small coffin and buried. In the case of the burial, the killer and his friends are usually compelled to mourn and cry for the departed royal python as if they were mourning their love one. Nwabude said: It is forbidden for anybody to kill Eke. Even if someone kills Eke by accident, the killer will bear the consequence.

Those that killed it in the past usually suffered and we have seen many instances of such issues. Anybody that kills Eke must give it a befitting burial by providing basic materials such as goat, cock, kola and many other things for its befitting burial. We have a great respect for Eke Idemili either dead or a live. If someone is walking on the road and he or she sees a dead Eke, the person will bring out money and clean his or her eyes with it and drop it beside the snake. Nobody can take the money except the Chief Priest. Anything you do for Eke secretly, you must come out to say it openly or you face the consequence.

If somebody kills it secretly and he or she refuses to confess, something terrible will happen to him or her. Anybody that kills Eke must appease the god because it is one of the great messengers of god in our land. Investigation by Saturday Mirror revealed that many people have paid dearly for their refusal to give a befitting burial to Eke after killing it. According to Orjiakor, a few years ago, a prominent Prophet in Idemili died a mysteriously after he secretly killed and ate the sacred snake. Eke does not usually fight people; it only attacks those that eat it.

If Eke bites anybody that usually eats it, the person will die immediately. I could remember one prophet who killed and ate Eke secretly and nobody knew about his action. But one day the python started walking in his stomach and his stomach started swelling up and down. It was from that sickness that the man who was a very wealthy man died. Saturday Mirror during a visit to Odinani Museum in Nri, Anaocha Local Government Area, where many customs and traditions of the Igbo could be found also stumbled on a yam, which was in a snake form. The yam, known as Python Yam (Ji Eke) came into existence as a result of the refusal of a farmer, Maxi Nwana Obedu, to perform the required sacrifice after killing the royal python in his farm in 1975.

The tag on the Python Yam reads: In many Igbo towns, sacred pythons are given respect because it is believed that they are children of deity. They are not killed or harmed. If accidentally or otherwise one is killed, ritual and funeral ceremony must be performed to appease the deity that owns the python. This water yam (Python Yam) came into existence as a result of accidental killing of a sacred python by one Mazi Nwana Obedu of Nri in 1975 in his farm during site clearing in readiness for 1975 planting season. When he made reports to elders on the accidental killing of the sacred python, he was advised to consult an Afa Predictor so as to know the deity that owns the killed python before ritual and burial for the dead python.

As a core Christian, he refused by saying that Afa’ s prediction, ritual and traditional funeral are against his faith. As a result of his refusal, all the hundred water yam tubers planted in the land that year on harvesting turned and looked like the killed python with head, spiral body and tail.

All the hundred yams must never be eaten; any person that eats any of the yams will have coiled python in his stomach and must die after four days. Attesting to the story of the Python Yam, the traditional ruler of the oldest kingdom in Igboland and custodian of Igbo culture and tradition, Eze Nri, Obidiegwu Onyeso (MFR), while speaking to Saturday Mirror in his palace said: Eke is a special snake in Igboland. It is a taboo for anybody to kill Eke in Igboland because anybody that kills it must give it a ceremonial burial so as not to incur the wrath of the gods. Saturday Mirror gathered that many people in the past have mistakenly and deliberately killed the snake but no evil has come their way because they gave the royal python befitting burial after killing it. The reality about giving a befitting burial to the royal python almost cost problems for some corps members few years ago if not for timely intervention of their landlord.

According to a former corps member who spoke to Saturday Mirror on condition of anonymity , his colleague in question deliberately killed Eke one night because they saw it as threat to their live, believing that sparing the royal python may be risky and dangerous. One day around 8pm in the night, I wanted to enter my room and as I raised my cotton, I saw a big snake at my door.

It would have crawled inside if I had not locked my door before going out. Immediately I saw the snake, I rushed out in my briefs shouting which attracted my neighbours, who were mostly corps members and they all followed me. On getting to my door, we saw the snake lying in front of my room. We quickly killed the snake. Immediately, we killed the snake, we tried to burn it but it was difficult to set it ablaze and because it was very late in the night, we decided that we would go and throw it away second day. But very early in the morning, the landlord and some elders heard about the incident and they told us to get a cartoon to bury it. The snake was later put inside a cartoon and buried without performing any sacrifice. Till today, all of us are living happily. Though the people of Idemili till today despite civilization still hold on to their belief and see the royal python as a friend, many strangers, especially corps members who name the place Snake Island, do express f ear about the snake, especially whenever it visits them unannounced.

Many of the corps members posted to towns within Idemili because of the fear of the royal python; usually change their posting to neighbouring towns. While those who are not lucky in changing their posting usually resolve to secure accommodation outside Idemili Speaking to Saturday Mirror, a corps member, Sunday Adesina, said: Corps members are aware of Eke because they have told us many things about the snake right from the orientation camp. We were told that it is forbidden to kill the snake and that is why many people don’ t dare touch the snake.

Culled from Temitope Ogunbanke's blog.

Ndi be anyi, kedu ihe unu chere maka edemede a? What are your thoughts on this article? Are there facts in it or just mythologies? Are there still strict adherence to the python unwritten laws in the present day idemili? Let us know via the comment box below.

Umu Idemili Ekene Mu Unu o