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Eze
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Eze (IPA: ) is an Igbo word that means "king." A popular saying in Igbo is "Igbo enwe eze", which translates to "Igbo have no king." This popular saying does not, however, capture the complexity of Igbo societies as portrayed in many centuries of anthropological, sociological, and political research.
Igbos, in fact, do have ruling bodies of political leaders where an individual can be recognized by the entire society as primus inter pares, i.e., first among equals.
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Encyclopedia
Eze (IPA: ) is an Igbo word that means "king." A popular saying in Igbo is "Igbo enwe eze", which translates to "Igbo have no king." This popular saying does not, however, capture the complexity of Igbo societies as portrayed in many centuries of anthropological, sociological, and political research.
Igbos, in fact, do have ruling bodies of political leaders where an individual can be recognized by the entire society as primus inter pares, i.e., first among equals. This primus inter pares status is usually hereditary, and among the male line, since Igbo culture is patrilineal. Women in Igbo cultures also are known to develop parallel social hierarchies through which they both compete and collaborate with their counterpart male kingship and governing hierarchies.
Kingship in Igboland
Scholars generally believe that Igbo kingship institutions originated from three sources.
The first source is indigenous and ancient priesthood, which traditionally combined clerical and political duties in the village-based republics. This is the case in several places, notably in Arochukwu, Nri-Igbo, Awka, and Northern Nsukka, which are home to the Igbo-Eze communities of Enugu-Ezike, Ovoko, and Iheakpu-Awka. The king is variously referred to as Eze or Ezedike, depending on lineage.
The second source is the colonial imposition on Igbo communities by neighboring Benin and Yoruba kingdoms. There is, however, an opposite view wherein the Ezes of Nri imposed or influenced the constitution of Benin Obaships. The differing points of view are particularly focused the river belts of Asaba, Onitsha, and Oguta. According to some scholars who argue against what is known as the Afigbo and Omenka Thesis on Origin, Igbo kings of these places trace the historical roots of their investiture either immediately to the Oba of Benin or, ultimately, to the Oba of Ife. These Igbo kings are officially called Obi.
The third source of origin of Igbo kingship is believed to be 19th and 20th century colonial impositions by the British. Under a policy called indirect rule, Warrant Chiefs were created by the colonial administration. Though native Igbo, the Warrant Chiefs were usually selected from among those most cooperative with the imposition of foreign rule. For this, among other reasons, the Igbo populations usually resented, and often overtly resisted, the authority of Warrant Chiefs. An example of such resistance is the Igbo Women's War of 1929. After Nigeria gained constitutional independence from Britain, many of the Warrant Chiefs tried to maintain their power by seeking to transform their identities. Those with residual political influence and new-found wealth bought honorary Eze-sounding titles, and clamored to be retained as "traditional rulers" by the government of independent Nigeria.
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